Auditions after 1st or 2nd yr

MomCares
Sun, 17 May 2015 00:24:55 +0000

I am confused by the few schools that do not have an audition admittance requirement but require you to audition after like soph year. What if you don’t “pass” the audition? Would you go into another program ? That doesn’t make any sense.

I want to offer a different perspective.

Our D’s first choice program after much research, including attending MPulse and having friends at virtually every top 20 BFA program in the country, was Northwestern University. As many here know, NU is a BA with a highly selective academic admit with no initial audition (except for VP and other students in the Bienen school of music). Towards the end of the first Quarter, both MT and VP students can audition for the MT Certificate program.

NU was her top choice for many reasons, but one of them was actually the unique way the program is organized. Importantly, the Theatre program, which is very performance oriented, is intentionally designed to enable all students to explore all aspects of theatre over 4 years, and to structure very individualized curriculum, often including various Certificates and/ or majors. Over 4 years some will decide to focus on MT, others on TYA, straight theatre, comedy, writing, Directing, Stage Management, producing, dance, teaching, theatrical business management… the options are limited only by imagination.

D never had even the slightest ambivalence about becoming an MT performer, but the ability to interact with people with different interests and to shape her own curriculum was a high priority for her. She was never overly worried about needing to audition for the MT Certificate, as she was getting plenty of strong MT training even before the auditions and preferred being at NU with or without being in the Certificate program. Many talented and well-trained MTs graduate from NU without it.

During D’s four years it’s been a joy to watch her NU peers discovering and exploring their passions, unlike some friends in BFA programs who grew to understand they wanted to move in different directions but were stuck moving through a prescribed curriculum to complete their degrees.

As an example that this change in focus happens at every school, one might say that UMich’s most famous “MTs” weren’t even in their MT BFA program (Darren Criss and Madonna) or didn’t become performers (Pasek and Paul).

I’ve heard that 70% of kids change majors over their 4 years of college, so in some ways it feels like asking most 17 year olds to commit to a narrow curriculum might make even less sense than applying for a specialized track a year or so into college (which is done in many other majors as well). This of course isn’t true for everyone, but is for many.

I think ANY type of program can be perfect for the right kids, so I wouldn’t write off all of these programs out of hand.