<p>This is an important, if possibly unanswerable, question. We hear stories from all ends of the spectrum, so at least for now, anything IS possible, but the chances of admission to an auditioned program are ALWAYS low.</p>
<p>It does seem that of the list NJTheatreMom posted, you do have to have one or two of those attributes. Note that some of them, particularly “Have been involved with a number of theatrical productions” and “Have seen a great deal of theatre” are not particularly privileged, expensive, or hard to do. If you have been in as many of your HS and community’s productions as possible (in any way, including tech), and if you read plays and go to see anything around you, you can probably become “experienced” in theatre enough to prepare yourself to get into at least the “slightly less selective” auditioned programs (meaning a 15-20% acceptance rate, as opposed to the 8-10% at places like CMU), and no one is going to discourage you from giving the reachier schools a shot.</p>
<p>I will be honest and say that my D had “little training” when she auditioned for BFAs. She had done some theatre at camps, but never a camp that specialized in theatre (she spent most of HS focusing on music). She had coaching with her monologues from someone we respect, but who has no real experience helping people get into auditioned college programs. She never had a Theatre class in her life, and her HS’s theatre department is mediocre - she had only been in two productions there. She did have some terrific experiences in several community theatres, including doing makeup, costumes, set design, assistant directing and choreographing. Just as important, from age 5, she has read plays, written plays, studied theatre history, gone to everything she possibly could see - from children’s shows, community groups, and some of the best professionals in the country. She wasn’t going to get into an auditioned program based on her reading and seeing experience, yet having such a deep knowledge of and passion for theatre really strengthened her auditions, and certainly her essays and interviews, and may have made up for some lack of sophistication in her performance.</p>
<p>Like stagemum, I am only guessing at the reasons for her results. She was rejected by the super-selective programs (CMU, BU, UMinn-Guthrie, and Montclair State) and accepted to Adelphi and SUNY New Paltz (an auditioned BA). I do recommend that EVERYONE have a balanced list of auditioned programs, because this forum will tell you that ANY kid can get rejected from ANY school, regardless of talent, coaching, or experience. I have no idea if my D’s never having theatre classes, gone to an intensive summer program, nor having an admissions-focused coach kept her out of the 4 that rejected her. The fact is, she was rejected by several schools and most likely carefully selecting a wide range of auditioned programs and ONES WHERE SHE FIT AND THAT FIT HER is the reason why she did get in somewhere with her level of training.</p>
<p>Another factor is that for whatever reason she had a very difficult time auditioning at Unifieds to her maximum potential. My D had done dozens of auditions - many in theatre and countless ones in music, since she was a little girl, but she was extremely nervous and couldn’t find her “mojo.” Perhaps coaching or the kind of mock auditions they do at theatre camps might have improved her performance there, but we’ll never know. I do not think it is an accident that she got into the schools where she had individual appointments, but it is only a coincidence that the auditions at Unifieds also were the most selective of her schools, so again there is a mystery. </p>
<p>My recommendation is to do EVERYTHING you can to understand and be experienced in theatre, not just to improve your admissions chances, but to know that it is what you want to do. Actual “training” might be hard to get - it is where we live - but experience is always available, including reading and seeing plays. If it helps you get into an auditioned program that’s great, but more importantly it will make you a better student when you are in any school.</p>
<p>Which leads me to my next point: Look and read and think about theatre schools very broadly and very carefully. First, there are dozens of auditioned BFAs in the US and abroad - why do we only see the same 10-15 discussed here, year after year? Many auditioned programs have not only slightly higher acceptance rates, but they also might fit a particular student better than others. Second, if the experience of a BFA appeals to you most (i.e. the lifestyle, curriculum, credential), there are many non-auditioned BFAs that often are fairly easy academic admits. Third, BA programs in theatre can offer excellent training and experience - you just have to read the curriculum carefully and apply to a school that offers what you like and has the balance between academics and theatre that appeals to you. Often BA schools even have the kind of small, family-like department that a BFA can provide, and if you fit the “type” of student that tends to go there, you can get a terrific experience without an audition.</p>
<p>Last, there is always the option of a gap year or a shorter conservatory program to gain experience and training while planning auditions to the more selective BFAs. This appeals to many people, and I can’t tell you whether it is right for you. My D wanted very much to go to college and would not have considered this option. In the end, at her level of experience and training, she had one auditioned BFA, one auditioned BA, one non-auditioned BFA, and several excellent BAs to choose from, all of which were great options for her to grow and learn in. Now in her second year of college, she is thrilled and proud that she got into a BFA, and - probably MORE importantly - extremely satisfied with the mix of training, academics and experience she is getting.</p>