Audition vs. Non Audition Schools?

vvnstar
Fri, 24 Aug 2018 02:25:14 +0000

I don’t think the preference comes from whether or not an audition is required. I think for most families who are allowing their children to pursue this degree in college, they want a program that has demonstrated success by its alums. Their main concern is they want to know their kids can get a job when they graduate whether they end up as a performer, in some other part of theater, teaching or something altogether different. They just want to know they’ve earned a college degree and that they are employable.
Having said that, true or not, I think there is a perception that the more difficult it is to gain admission to a program, the better training that program provides. And passing an audition gives the applicant a sense of accomplishment - sort of a badge of honor they’ve earned in the process. So for many, they would consider an auditioned program more prestigious or better than a non-audition program.
Conversely, there are many families seeking a non-audition option as their “safety” school. So while you may not be their top choice (their top choice being an auditioned program) there are many families out there seeking non audition alternatives they can feel good about. So there is a niche out there for non-auditioned programs. Every year people are begging for suggestions of good safety schools. But the key is, that safety still needs to provide the training these students desire. That means skills based classes in acting, dancing and singing.
There also seems to be a perception out there that a BFA degree provides more or better training than a BA degree. There are also some Bachelor of Music degrees (Baldwin Wallace, OCU, etc…) and perception about those vary also. Even though they both continuously produce Broadway talent, there is a perception that the degree is less than there because they are BMs rather than BFAs. I personally always recommend to applicants that they look at the curriculum and not the letters of the degree to see if the school is providing the training they are seeking. So perhaps if you focus on tailoring your curriculum to provide the training these aspiring performers are seeking, that may also appeal to them. Typically BA programs are more theoretical and less skills based and what most of these MT kids want is intensive training in acting, singing and dancing.
All that to say, I think if you position your program as providing the training that people are seeking that will be appealing. You could consider doing what some schools do in having auditions at the end of freshman or sophomore year to get in the MT program. But that can be a deterrent to some also.
Not every program can be the right fit for every applicant. But there will be a number of applicants out there who would be delighted to have a strong non-auditioned option.