College Auditions- Supplemental Monologues

connections
Wed, 16 Jan 2013 20:19:08 +0000

My D didn’t get into Guthrie, but for what it’s worth, she wasn’t asked to do anything from a show she’d done. She WAS asked to re-work the third monologue after direction (“can you play it more like this?”), the one that’s “a monologue you’d never be cast in but wish you could do,” but that was it.

Times3, that’s a great response your son gave! Made me smile.

This is somewhat off topic and has been covered elsewhere, but one thing I wish we’d done differently was to have prepared the non-auditioned parts better. My D was very well prepared for her monologues, but not well prepared for any other question. By 'well prepared," I mean, 'Rehearse your answers out loud many times until you don’t have to think of them." I think many coaches do this, but if you don’t have a coach, you can do this at home yourself. YOu basically think of it as an equally important component.

My D was unprepared for the basic: “What other colleges have you applied to?” The first time it was asked (at Guthrie), she was tongue-tied and sort of randomly rambled off her programs, BA & BFA. I fretted it made her look unfocused and not in charge. Don’t know if that impacted her audition.

The other stumble she had was after her auditions and when they’d chat. A few times her mind went blank from nerves. One time, the college asked, “Why do you want to go here?” and though she knew exactly why, she froze and couldn’t think of a thing, and said, 'My mind went blank." They were kind, and thanked her, but she didn’t get in there either.

She would have benefited from role playing these non-audition components. Just a tip to others who don’t have coaches.