<p>Have you ever wondered who will make the decision on your acceptance or rejection from a college MT program? Is it the people who watch your audition in person or is it the people who watch a videotape of your performance? If you audition on campus, does every decision-maker attend your audition? If you audition at the unifieds does every decision-maker attend your audition? Does the school using a scoring/ranking system? Do you know what it is? Does anyone who is already in a program know how the school makes its decisions? Just curious . . . .</p>
<p>Ok - nothing to do with musical theater but the ‘behind the curtain’ title brought back a funny memory. My D was trying out for a regional high school honor band where the judges sit behind a curtain so there is no bias and you are not allowed to speak - instant disqualification. Problem was she had recently broken her ankle and was on crutches with strict instructions that no weight was to be put on the ankle. Well the guide person brought her into the room and left her - then she realised there was no chair to sit on. After panicking for a while she leant her crutches against a wall - played her piece standing on one foot - then picked up her crutches and left.</p>
<p>Great ?, mtmommy! I always imagine it something like the admissions process at my D’s high school, which is a public arts magnet with admissions by audition only. I have never been behind the scenes during the process, but a friend has, and he reported that 8 or 9 adjudicators (in various areas such as voice, dance/movement, acting, etc.) basically sit down after auditions with their notes and each kid’s picture and have it out. Certain adjudicators (who are all teachers at the school) lobby for certain kids, and they move the pictures around into piles and categories, until they fill the spots they have. (I think of this whenever I watch “Grease: You’re The One That I Want,” and Kathleen Marshall and company are fingering those headshots.) I am told that a few decisions are unanimous, but others take a lot of discussion and even argument and wrangling. I could be way off, but my guess is that this is not far from what happens once the auditioners leave at a college audition.</p>
<p>swimcatsmom–good for your daughter! That’s what you call grace under pressure.</p>
<p>NMR–Your description is exactly what I picture, too. If we’re right, I’d love to be a bug on the wall. Do they get into arguments? LOL</p>
<p>It does make you wonder, though, what happens with the unifieds auditions. Are all these people sitting in the audition room at unifieds? I think not, in most cases. Do they videotape? If so, whether they really think it through or not, students are being selected through videotaped auditions. No, not an audition where they can restart the videotape and retape it; however, videotapes are not the same as live performances and how do those compare with live auditions at the schools? I know we keep reiterating on CC that just as many people get selected from unifieds as from on-campus auditions (well, I believe we know Michigan does not do that), but then does that mean that taped auditions don’t matter? That it’s ok to send taped auditions to the schools which accept them? As I’ve posted before, my daughter did get accepted at the two schools she sent videotaped auditions to; however, in theory I agree with posters like Alwaysamom that it’s better whenever possible NOT to audition by video. Also, I know that OU’s requirement of auditioning on campus is considered a financial burden by some students, but in this way all students who audition are given an equal basis and all faculty witnesses each audition. So if live is preferable to taped auditions, then this seems more fair. Still, if the statistics are truly equal between unifieds and on-campus auditions, then how do we account for the fact that very often unifieds students are being selected by videotape? Hmm, very complicated.</p>
<p>I am not sure about all but in the case of at least some auditions off campus during the unifieds, there is no videotaping. In those cases, the recommendations of those faculty present at the audition are sufficient. I also know that there are schools that videotape oncampus auditions even when a full complement of faculty is present. These schools may have a policy of reviewing the videotapes to confirm their impressions. Different schools have different policies. It was my experience (sitting in lobbies, so bear this in mind!) that there wasn’t a lot of videotaping going on in the auditions offcampus during the unifieds. I believe that the faculty who go on the road are trusted to provide feedback which then is 80% to 50% of the admit/wait/decline decision.</p>
<p>I know that for BoCo, the Chair of the Department is the person you are auditioning for when you attend the Unifieds. He chooses the class on his own, after seeing all the auditions. That way he knows all the different “types” he’s looking for and fills the class with each one he needs.</p>
<p>Some schools use a number system. Kids are given a score of say 1-4 when they sing, act and dance. The kids who get straight fours are given offers quickly. The kids who get 2 and below are given rejections. The threes are kept until everyone has auditioned and then they start comparing notes, looking at headshots, grades, recs. As Lynnm said, some schools have a plan before they start, they know the “types” they are looking for and know how to spot real potential. The same kids are often given offers at mulitple schools but luckily they can only attend one, so the numbers are not as scary as they may seem at first.</p>