@2024parentbfa, yes it was…my D auditioned on campus on Sunday, December 8.
@TenaciousC Thank you so much for the info! This page is so helpful. This is my first exposure to the process as a mom of a MT son. He has an audition scheduled for Michigan on 1/24/20 and is scheduled to audition for Carnegie Mellon and Ithaca at the Chicago Unifieds. I have to say this is an intimidating process for an introvert mom so I always appreciate any information so I know what to expect.
Audition info for Dean College:
My S auditioned the 1st weekend in Dec and it was his first, which I am glad about because it was very laid back so it was a nice way for him to ease into the process.
He applied to their acting program (not MT)…all applicants were taken to a room as soon as they checked in and provided their head shot and resume.
Parents were taken to a separate gathering area where there was a continental breakfast. Once the auditions started, the admission counselors and student ambassadors held a Q&A that lasted over an hour - it was very informative.
From what my S tells us, once the applicants were together the MT applicants were taken to warm up for song choices and the Acting applicants were called into a room one by one to perform one of their 2 monologues. After the first monologue they went back out to the waiting area and then some were called one at a time in to another room (it may have been the room where the MT applicants performed their song). The 2nd room had the director, as well as the person who watched the 1st monologue. After my S performed the 2nd monologue they talked to him a lot and then when they saw all the MT experience my S had on his resume the director asked if he would sing. He was worried since he didn’t get to participate in the warm up, but he said OK. Then all MT and Acting applicants were taken to learn the movement piece. After the movement, they were free to go.
The cafe was open to all the visitors for lunch so it was nice to experience the food students eat. They also offered campus tours after the auditions. From check in to finishing lunch (we skipped the tour since we had visited campus over the summer), the day lasted about 2 and a half hours.
My S loved this audition day and really felt at home with the staff and students. He got such great feedback and felt so confident about the audition that a few days after his audition he emailed the director and asked if it was possible to be considered for MT.
Hello! My D auditions for Ithaca and Pace Acting tomorrow. Did anyone audition for then today and can share their experience? Thanks!
Wright State
There were students waiting in the main theatre lobby and they took all of the students (MT and Acting) to the directing lab.
A panel of faculty and students gave a run down of what the morning and the auditions would look like. There were some who stayed to answer questions while the auditions started.
Afterwards the students auditioning were directed to a list of names that showed the order of auditions (based on how far away you were from the school - distance you traveled).
There are two auditions happening at the same time. My d introduced herself when she went in and asked them what they would like to see first. They said it’s your audition and that she could put things in the order she wanted. She sang (there was a live accompanist and my d said he was fantastic), did her monologues, and then had her interview. Audition times slots are in 10 minute increments.
A side note - the faculty and students were extremely friendly. And the panel for the audition was very professional and pleasant.
NYU on campus:
Arrived at 1:30 for info session which began at 2:00. There were students helping to direct people, we checked in at front desk but they did not need IDs. We went to a room toward the back of the first floor which was already full of applicants and parents and even most spots on the floor had people sitting (get there earlier than 30 minutes if you’d like a seat!)
At 2 pm they called the applicants to line up, have their photo taken and check in. Then there was an info session which was very helpful. A member of the admissions team explained the program, the studios, the curriculum and options for advanced study, then went over the details of what the applicants should expect when they were taken upstairs for their audition. They went up, parents were invited to leave or stay in the room if they’d like.
The applicants went up and had a brief movement exercise and then were put into groups, each with its own auditor. The people in each group could decide their order. They all waited together and current students were there to help out. When the applicant went into the audition room, they gave their headshot and resume, did their monologues, then were invited to pull up a chair and sit at the table with the auditor for a conversation. The auditors don’t introduce themselves because there’s a policy of confidentiality. My kid’s auditor asked which studio they preferred and why. Also gave the headshot and resume back at the end because they already had all the info on a laptop. The room was small and intimate and my kid enjoyed the conversation.
Afterward, applicants could leave. My kid knew I was waiting in the room downstairs so we met up and left together. I think we were there from 1:30 until around 3:30 (I think my kid was 3rd in a group of 5.) It was well organized, we got useful information and we felt it was a positive experience!
Welcome! I hope your D’s Ithaca and PACE auditions went well.
Here is what @frontrowmama had to say about PACE
@CaMom13 Totally agree!!! From another class of 22-er here. Auditioned in LA as well. I actually photographed the madness of the hallways and wish I could share!! It was one of our 3 most memorable auditions…It was absolutely packed with kids and parents, so inform your kids to be ready to put in their earbuds to keep focus(did not do that) as the anxiety builds for sure with this one! And, the cut is brutal. Only 10 called back from what looked like dozens of kids. My S did make it to the final round and was ultimately accepted, but the whole experience had a “high stress” feel. Once accepted to the school(general school/not BFA), expect a lot of phone calls. BFA Acceptances are done via a personal call to your kid’s phone. And, they want a decision fast and offer very little flexibilty(well, none) to visit outside the scheduled accepted student days. They mean business! Excellent program and one of the more popular programs as well! Just prep your kids and self for a long period of sitting on a hallway floor! Bring a snack and water and remember to have fun with it!
Thank you for this info on Emerson. We have a tight window to catch a flight and was really concerned about the 3-hour window. Do they sign in when they get there? Wasn’t sure if it would help to get there super early so she can get first in.
@TenaciousC Thanks for the info. So what do you think of the NYU campus? We are going to wait it out to visit if D gets an acceptance.
@capitalrun. If your Emerson audition is in Boston. Each kids “raises their hand” and goes when they are ready. Just asked D and they did ask if anyone has flights to catch they can go first. We were done in 2 hours. My D auditioned in about the first quarter of the group. Arriving earlier doesn’t help. Other then parent gets pick of where to sit hangin with all the other parents -LOL
@LamaDrama - not sure if you know much about the physical layout of NYU so here’s some basic info on the Manhattan campus - there is no campus. :D. Really, there isn’t. NYU owns a lot of real estate in Manhattan and much of it is concentrated around Washington Square but Washington Square itself is public property. NYU likes to say “the city is your campus” and I think it’s really important that applicants understand that means when you walk outside your dorm room or dining hall or rehearsal space - you’re on the streets of NYC. The facilities at NYU are superb and extensive but to get from one facility to another requires walking … and sometimes taking the subway! My D lives off of Union Square, she’s a half-mile walk from her dorm to her studio, another half-mile from there to dance classes and from there it’s 3/4 mile to Washington Square for dining and academic classes. It’s not for everyone. My D loves it … but the very urban non-campus campus is what she wanted most. I would think twice and then again about sending a kid to NYU if their dream college has a traditional college campus or environment. I hope that’s helpful!
@CalMom13. Yep I should have put “campus” in quotes - LOL. Thanks for your description! Greatly appreciated. Like Emerson’s setup near Boston Common, but on a grander scale. I knew it was similar but…didn’t realize it was that spread out.
@LamaDrama My kid had a great experience at NYU. We enjoyed being in the city, especially while it was snowing Saturday! We stayed far enough from the unified studios to give ourselves a mellow place to come home to in the evening but close enough to walk back and forth. You never know about studio assignment, but we walked past Atlantic (a favorite) several times this weekend and liked the idea of going to your studio three times a week out in the city. We haven’t visited all the schools either, but will definitely visit any school that becomes an option!
Thank you so much LamaDrama!
Re: NYU “campus” Agree with @CaMom13 ? D lives near Union Square as a freshman and was fortunate to be put in a studio 3 blocks away. No subway everyday. However, one of her suite mates is in Adler and has to take the train 3 days a week. Posting to add that some of the Tisch students petitioned this fall to receive a subsidy for a metro card especially since the added $$ didn’t affect all Tisch students. Please don’t quote me, but I do believe D recently told me that Adler, NSB, and maybe Atlantic? students will have a credit next semester for a subway pass. Maybe someone else has more details, but I know it was an issue for students that had the extra financial burden.
Speaking of subway passes, FYI for those interested in DePaul, the school has a deal with the CTA so the cost of the subway/bus system, including subway to airports on Blue/Orange lines is $300 for the whole school year (normally it’s $105/month). Does not work during breaks but still a great deal.
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@anastasiasmom Thank you!
Hi everyone! We are back from NY Unifieds and I have a couple of audition experiences to share. My D completed two Acting and two MT auditions…I’ll just share the Acting ones here. Both experiences were excellent, and my D enjoyed them immensely.
First up was Rutgers. Auditioners signed in at a check-in desk and then were led to a room with chairs to wait in. Some parents went in that room with their students, but I chose to give my D space (as she prefers) and went and found a bench in another area. My D was called in right around her scheduled audition time, and there were two auditors in the room – one was Kevin Kittle, and my D isn’t sure of the name of the second person (a woman). They had my D perform her two monologues and then asked her to sit and have a conversation with them. They asked her basic questions such as “Why acting?” and “Why Rutgers?”, and she was able to discuss her reasons, which led to a more detailed discussion about her acting experiences and training thus far. Both auditors were very warm and supportive, and made it easy for my D to relax and do her best work. One thing that didn’t bother her at all, but I noticed and thought it might throw me off if I were an auditioner, is that the room they used for the audition was very small – which meant that you were only performing your pieces a few feet away from them. This may be specific to the NYC location, though. At any rate, they thanked her for the audition, and she felt very it was a very positive experience. The entire process took maybe 10 minutes.
Next was UNCSA, and this audition was a much lengthier experience. The auditioners first checked in at a desk, and the alumnus handling check-ins said that two rooms would be used, but that everyone would be going into one of the rooms for a presentation about UNCSA first. Once everyone was in the room, Scott and Quinn asked the students to go around the room and say where they had traveled there from, and then began a detailed presentation about the BFA Acting program at UNSCA. They gave many details about the scope and sequence of the coursework, as well as what a “day in the life” is like, their philosophy of teaching acting, as well as acceptance statistics and information about working alumni. I took 7.5 pages of notes, so suffice it to say there was a lot of detail provided, and they were very open and honest about everything. They also took questions as people had them, and the entire presentation took about 90 minutes.
Once that was done, the auditors explained that they were trying something new this year (I’m pretty sure they said it was to save time) – the students were split into 2 groups, and one group would perform their pieces for Scott in one room, and the other performed their pieces for Quinn in the other room. They said that when students first walked in the room they would be asked to come sit and give some basic information (including their height), and then they would be free to do their pieces in any order they chose (they might have asked the students to tell them in advance the names of the pieces and the order they were performing them in…I can’t remember). They also said that most people would not be asked to do all 3 pieces, again in the interest of time. Then after they’d performed their pieces, they would be asked to come and sit again and have a conversation and answer a few questions, such as “Why UNCSA specifically?” – as with Rutgers, nothing unusual or that shouldn’t be expected. Then after every student had a chance to audition, Scott and Quinn would meet for a few minutes to discuss the auditions and then post a callback list. If you were called back, you had to perform your pieces for both auditors, this time with your “new” auditor taking the lead on the conversation you had afterwards. If you were not called back you were free to leave, and unfortunately this would mean you were no longer under consideration for admission. Oh, and while the students waited for their turn and for the callbacks list to be posted, they sat in the hallway between the two rooms, but were allowed to mill about and check back in to see how soon they would be “on deck” to audition.
Without divulging any specific details because my D prefers to keep things private, she felt that, as with Rutgers, it was a very positive experience. The auditor(s) was/were kind, supportive, and respectful, and again that made it very easy to relax and just give it her all. And oh – one detail that’s related to relaxing and giving it your all…Scott mentioned that UNCSA has an extremely low acceptance rate (they take 28 actors and 2 directors per class, and last year they had 900+ audition), which he pointed out was a lower acceptance rate than Harvard, and he said that they were looking to build a diverse class. He said his point in giving these details wasn’t to intimidate anyone, but rather to encourage students to relax and treat the audition as an opportunity to audition just for the joy of performing and for the experience, and to not put any pressure on yourself, but that he and Quinn were rooting for everyone!
Hopefully these descriptions are helpful! If anyone has any more questions, I’d be happy to try and answer them. I have more details about UNCSA because the parents were allowed to be in the room for the entire presentation, whereas for Rutgers I’m relying on my D’s description, which admittedly might be incomplete because she doesn’t always tell me everything right away, lol!
Thanks for the descriptions, especially for UNCSA. And I have no doubt that it’s harder to get accepted there than Harvard. Those numbers are just crazy. Fingers crossed for your d on her audition results!
@muttsandMT Your D’s Rutgers experience is very consistent with my D’s last year at NYC Unifieds, very positive and welcoming (they laughed at some point). Best of luck!