@muttsandMT
Did your D l academic acceptance from Hartt prior to audition? We are in the waiting stage for MT -
No, she didnâtâŠwe were told that the academic and artistic acceptances would be âall in oneâ and delivered together. Are you still waiting on results from a December audition?
We are also waiting from Hartt but for Acting and were informed, during one of the presentations, that it would be only one response from them (Hartt plus academic)
Boston University - On Campus audition January 2020
The session started with check in, which was simply turning in a headshot and resume. Once most had checked in, I noticed them going through the pile and âfixingâ any resumes that were not stapled back to back. A lot had turned them in not even attached to each other. There were approximately 24 students at this audition.
Once all had checked in, McCalea Donovan (Assistant Director, School of Theatre) greeted us and explained how the day would run. Information session and Q&A first, then we would move upstairs to a waiting area for the audition portion. Three staff were interviewing, so they would randomly split the group into three and each student would audition with one interviewer. Once you had auditioned you were free to go.
The information session/Q&A was very helpful and lasted about an hour. McCalea was extremely personable and impressive. There were members of the current freshman class there to also answer questions. McCalea stressed that they are an ensemble and a supportive environment, and that was evident by the answers the students gave as well.
They audition roughly 1000 students with a goal of a class of 35-40. To yield that number they accept 70. They expect to let everyone know by mid-March. BU issues just one decision, not separate academic/artistic.
We moved upstairs to wait. The three interviewers quickly made the audition order list and posted it for everyone to see. Once you had your spot, you could either sit and wait or go on a tour of the theatre facilities with some students. My daughter was 4th, so we just sat and waited, chatting to the other auditioning students/parents and the freshman class students.
Each audition took roughly 20 minutes. They mentioned they might give feedback and work a monologue, but they might not, and told the students not to read anything into that. After the monologues there would be a interview portion. They ask that students not to slate their monologues because generally they have already been talking to them and it seems weird to reintroduce yourself.
My daughter said the audition itself was straight forward. Her interviewer asked the usual types of questions with no curve balls. They did not work her monologues and she was done within 20 minutes.
I didnât want to type it all here, but I took two pages of notes, so if anyone has any specific questions I can try to answer them. BU was a great visit and it remains high on my daughterâs list.
UW Milwaukee - on campus
We checked in early and they had snacks. Parents went into a separate room to hear about admissions, financial aid, and get answers to questions on the program. Students went to a brief information session about the program.
The students heard about the program from the program heads, then they had the movement call, and had the audition along with the interview. They had pizza afterward and the faculty walked around and talked to the students and parents. Then they gave tours. My d said this was the most relaxed interview she had to date.
Notes - they are adding an âacting for the cameraâ class hopefully next year but have a strong film program. There is also a good theatre scene in the Milwaukee area. Another interesting note is that their program track has 3 years of training and the 4th year is to finish up a minor, gen ed classes, and to get training in theatre in the real world in the Milwaukee and surrounding area. They emphasize the curriculum but also about helping each student meet their specific goals.
Illinois Wesleyan - on campus
There were current students doing the check-in and all of them were very nice. They had a beautiful cold breakfast table (fruit, pastries, and bagels along with coffee and tea) set up for the parents and the students. Jean Kerr, Director of the School of Theatre Arts, talked about the program, their growth in the program, adding acting for the camera class, and a film minor. There were current students available to help answer questions.
They gave each student 15 minutes in a room to warm-up prior to the audition. The audition consisted of the monologues and an interview. Acting students were told that they would be scored and would have an answer soon. During auditions, they offered campus tours and a chance to have lunch with current students to ask questions.
Note - IWU does have juries. The juries are to see if the student is progressing (learning and improving) and to see if the student is staying on track for the goal(s) they set for themselves. If not, they help them get back on track. It is not about cutting a student from the program.
Hartt Audition at NY Unified:
Hartt holds an info session at the start of the morning and afternoon sessions. You have to attend one in order to complete your audition.
The morning info session began at 8:30 am in the studio where they were holding auditions. There were several faculty members, a couple of alumni who currently work at Hartt and a current student was in attendance. They went through the program highlights and answered some questions. Some points of interest to us:
-Actors take 1 yr of ballet and more dance if theyâd like and can fit it in
-Actors take 1 yr of Musical Theatre Chorus and can do independent voice training
-MT and Acting get broad training to prepare them for all career possibilities
-MT and Acting both get 1 yr of acting for camera training
-Lots of collaboration with regional theatre
-Jeremy, the alum, is a talent agent and also helps students transition to the profession with a focus on marketing and branding and exposure to agents
-They say they are competitive, but friendly competitive
-They will stack scholarships
-Frosh do crew and do not perform in mainstage productions
-Minors are possible but not double majors in 4 years
-Along with the study in London program which focuses on classical training, there are opportunities for study abroad in summer for course credit in Italy, London (maybe elsewhere)
-Thereâs an honors program which sometimes requires an extra class or special project to elevate the class to honors level
-Always have Sundays off and if not in a production might have some evenings off
-If you show you care and communicate with faculty there is lots of academic support and accommodation
-Students live on campus for the first two years
The info session ended at 9:00 am. The structure of the audition was:
-Dance call (MT only)
-Audition appointments, specific time assigned (MT does song and auditions/Actors do monologues, after there is a âchatâ)
They all seemed very warm and welcoming. My kid enjoyed the audition and had a good feeling about the program overall.
They gave us a folder of information which said "We are committed to having all applicant decisions released March 1st."
Syracuse Audition NY Unified:
The session was 1-5 pm. When we arrived the kids checked in at the front of the room with Ralph Zito and left their headshots and resumes in the folder on the table.
Zito ran the info session and answered tons of questions very candidly. There was really so much information itâs kind of tough to recount it all. The official info session lasted about half an hour, after which the kids were called to audition. MT kids were split into two groups, one danced first and one sang, then they swapped. Actors went to a movement and improv session. Then the groups of kids decided the order theyâd do monologues and waited for their turn in the hallways outside the monologue room. Parents stayed in the info session room with Zito and kids could come and go (get bags to change into movement clothing, etc.)
Zito introduced the other faculty members who ran the audition sessions. There were two dance teachers, a singing teacher and two acting teachers. There were some new hires, which was interesting. They seemed really enthusiastic.
In the monologue room they asked for any questions about the program, asked some questions that seemed relevant to their ongoing discussion and asked for monologues. They worked some creative adjustments with my kidâs monologues which was fun.
If your session is like our session, be prepared for a long and interesting day. If you have specific questions about the info session, try me. I might have some answers in my notes.
Has anyone heard a decision from UHARTT for Acting? We auditioned in December and at the time were told we should hear within 4 weeks (plus holidays).
I only saw people here from MT that received a result by now.
@TenaciousC thank you for the Syracuse notes! A couple questions:
Do kids come in their monologue outfit and then change into movement clothes then back again? It sounds like the movement part is more involved than what Ithaca did which was more of a warm up and you could remain in your monologue outfit.
Do you know the names of the faculty that were in the audition room?
Thanks!
@Abutilon Donât know if the movement is the same as last year (animal locomotion), but if it is, one can do it in audition clothes. D did, but she wore an outfit that allowed movement while not showing body parts. ?
@Abutilon To answer your Syracuse questions: My kid did the acting movement/improv session and did not need movement clothes. If your kid would like to change, there was definitely time and a place to change as the MT kids were all changing between dance and song, and it took a couple of hours to get through all the monologues. The acting faculty were Ricky Pak and Holly Thuma (my kid says after looking through photos.)
@TenaciousC Thanks!
For those who have been through it, what do the âimprovâ and âscene workâ sessions entail?
@TenaciousC I re-read the Syracuse notes about the audition, âActing applicants should come prepared for a full-body movement warm-up. Please bring suitable, loose-fitting warm-up clothing and comfortable footwear.â The âloose-fittingâ is hanging me up. My D was planning on wearing a top with black jeans that fit like jeggings so she can move in them but they arenât baggy/loose. Does that sound OK?
Yes, it should be fine. My kid said there was no need for special movement clothing for the movement/improv and just wore regular audition clothes that sound comparable to your Ds in terms of ability to move.
@meohmyoh The improv at Syracuse was, I believe, some partner improv work in a large group. There was no partner scene work in that audition, though the faculty did work my kidâs monologues in the individual audition and that involved requesting the monologue in a different way after the first run through (ex: ok, now pretend youâre sitting at a bus stop telling it to the person next to you on the bench). Hope that helps.
Thank you!
UCLA â BA Theatre (Acting)
- Arrive and check at least 30 min. prior to start time
- Have headshot and resume stapled together
- Receive a number that is worn at all times
- No time to change clothes so wear something comfortable for movement audition
- Information Session Approx. one hour presentation about UCLA by Dept. Professor. BEST presentation ever! All theatre parents and students should hear this presentation. Started off with, Iâm not going to sell you on UCLA, Iâm going to tell you Why you might not want to choose UCLA - LOL Then discussion on âthere are 2 types of studentsâ Type A (more academic â likes a lot of subjects, loves learning, does well in class). Should attend a BA Theatre college Type B â really just wants to act, not academic Should attend a BFA college and/or conservatory college UCLA is a BA Theatre but is unique on how the core theatre classes are handled like a BFA 50% in core Theatre classes specific to your tract (acting, MT, etc.), which is a little different from a typical BA (Northwestern is the only other college structured this way) All other BA Theatre colleges â classes are a âlittle bit of everythingâ â well rounded Other 50% of classes are Academic (history, english, etc.) If academics is ânot your thingâ â you will not be happy at UCLA. He repeated this at least 10 times. Freshman Experience â ALL freshman are together taking same theatre classes first year. Sophomore through Senior year theatre classes are in your particular tract. Things you Can Not Do: Change majors within Theatre/Film Dept â you are out Double major â but you can minor in something Take classes in another tract (i.e. acting canât take MT classes and vis-versa)
Q&A
- Scoring is a combination of student GPA, test scores, essay, audition movement, monologue(s) & interview.
- UCLA has a Freshman class of about 65, of which is a combination of Acting, MT & Production kids (so call it 20 acting slots). Out of over 1000. Just like all of the more competitive schools.
*After the presentation â parents left the building
*Movement Audition â done as a group
*Interview â done individually with a different person
*Monologues â done individually with one auditor
You might only get to perform 1 of your 2 monologues (so perform your favorite first)
One monologue in verse (any period) - 90 seconds or less
One from a published play (any period) - 90 seconds or less
We were done in about 3 hours.
Not sure if McCaela mentioned this in her overview - grades/test scores are a very important part of the admission process at BU - more so than most BFA programs. We had a personal on campus with McCaela a few summers ago (because my husband has a good friend on the BU faculty who got the meeting for us).
McCaela really stressed the importance of grades. You might have an actor they really really want, but if the grades are not to BU standards they will not be admitted.
How strict is BU with the 1 min. monologue timing?