My D is a Jr. and has been in theatre since she was 9 years old, both musical and drama. She has a beautiful voice, has not had a ton of voice lessons but is in choir. She has always performed in her school musicals and done music theatre camps every summer. That said, she has never gotten a lead role and while I’m sure she’d love it, she is never disappointed. She absolutely loves theatre but I think she’s not sure about making it a major, because she knows how competitive it is. I want her to do what she loves most. Yet, I’m very happy to know she’s very comfortable with who she is, even if she isn’t the star. She’s always happy for her friends who get the leads. My question is, should she still apply for some audition-based colleges or stick with non-audition schools where she can possibly get a BA but still have a another plan?
This is impossible to answer because we don’t know your child, where you live, or what her classmates are like. We also don’t know the “culture” at her school or camps. Some favor seniority, some favor talent, some favor the kids whose parents sell tickets… you get my drift. Kid A and Kid B may have equal talent, but one grew up in Rural Nowheresville and went to Nowheresville High, and the other in NYC and went to a Performing Arts High School. If in doubt, seriously, get an objective opinion, such as MTCA.
I believe Barrett Weed (recently in Heathers) said until Heathers, she had never been a lead role. Also, some people who do not get into BFA programs end up on Broadway. Kyle Dean Massey who auditioned with "Corner of the Sky’ didn’t get into programs but he ended up playing the role on Broadway and performing it every night… Also, Laura Osnes got rejected from CCM.
Granted, these are all just stories, and this whole process is so varying, but I think it’s a cool perspective to know about. Some people who never set foot in audition programs make it to Broadway, while many people who graduated from “top” programs never make it to Broadway. Everyone has different journeys.
But there are less spots for “leads” I don’t care what they say about not "casting ". So not necessarily a bad thing.
I doubt it matters where we live or what her classmates are like. I know that every experience is different based on the culture of the school. I’m only trying to help her come up with a good list of schools that might be worth investigating. You get my drift? 
But my point is: maybe she IS really the star. Maybe she’s the next Sutton Foster but hasn’t gotten the lead because of a zillion other reasons that have nothing to do with talent. So, if she loves it, why not try? But an assessment by a professional coach could give you an idea of how competitive she’ll be and what schools she might have a chance at.
I see your point. I think that’s how my daughter feels about it too. She has said, “if I have talent, someone will take notice sooner or later.” She’s not hugely competitive but she is willing to see what happens and go with the outcome. Thanks, we may take a look at MTCA.
@igitur if it is feasible for you, you should think about having your D research some summer programs that the colleges have. There are some that are audition based. It would be a good litmus test for her to put herself out there. It would also be good prescreen practice if she ultimately decides to pursue MT in college.
Son grew up in a large state with a small population in a relatively small town with one High School. Pursuing MT was a late decision, so after finding and reading this forum, we opted for him to attend a summer pre-college program to get an idea how he stacked up. If you have folks in your area who can give your daughter a good assessment of her strengths and weaknesses, I encourage you to do so. I really didn’t feel secure in the knowledge that son had “talent” until he passed his pre-screens. That is when I finally exhaled, though he was already committed to pursuing audition based programs.
To the OP: my D was your D in high school. She went to a very big public HS (over 4500 students), and it was a very competitive environment. She was in the top show choir for two years, the last one as President (and their show choir was ranked in the top 5 nationwide), She was in three musicals, and she acted in a number of different plays at the high school. Plus she did local Summer Stock all 4 years of high school. And through all that, she had one lead role in a play, and never was the lead in a musical.
She auditioned for ten schools for the BFA MT, got into two, was acccepted by another school for the BFA in acting, wound up going to one of the MT programs where she was voted Rookie of the Year for her freshman year last year, and has landed a part in every musical production thus far in college. And she just found out she was cast in her first professional production this coming summer, so she’ll be a working, paid actor!
What my D would tell you is that, because of her experience, she actually adjusted to college more easily than some kids who were the big fish in the little pond. When some classmates who were sued to gettignt he elad every time got to college and had to face competition with equally talented kids, they didn’t know how to handle it. My D did.
So the answer to your question is yes, your D can make it into a BFA program without having played a lead in HS. Make sure she applies to a range of schools including safety BA schools, make sure she gets enough dance , and I would advise a coach to help her with audition material.
@jeffandann - you make a great point. I think that kids who have had to “fight” for recognition are actually better prepared for top notch bfa programs than those who have always been the “superstar”, b/c they go in with the expectation of needing to work for any measure of success rather than the idea that success just “happens”. It can be a struggle for kids who got every lead for 4 years in HS to adjust when EVERYONE is as good (or better) than they are. Here is one area where I think girls actually have an advantage over boys in MT- since the pool of boys (at the HS level) is often smaller- a talented guy is used a fairly easy road in terms of casting!
One of my D’s dear friends from her PA school is a freshman BFA student. She had 1 leading role in HS - and was accepted at both Ithaca and Otterbein.
You really can’t just go by how one is cast in high school. As some have shared, at a very large high school, it would be very difficult to get the lead. At a small high school, (like my kid attended), it isn’t quite as hard to get a lead, but then that doesn’t mean necessarily you are competitive on a national playing field.
So, I agree with others that obtaining some sort of assessment and prospective will help. One way is to get an honest assessment from someone who has taught or coached others who have gotten into BFA in MT programs and ask them to give an idea if your child is in the ballpark. Another way is for your child to attend a summer program that draws talented kids from all over the country and see how your child fairs in that setting and compares, etc.
I have to say that the latter experience opened my eyes years ago. We lived in a rural area. Honestly, my child was always cast whenever she auditioned for something, be it school theater, community theater, regional theater, etc. At school, she was usually the lead. But what really gave us an idea of her talent (beyond what mom and dad think, ha!), was when she went away to theater camp starting at age 9. I will never forget the first show we saw there (and we’ve seen at least 75 shows there since). The cast was soooo talented. I look back to that first cast we saw as youngsters and a great many of the kids went onto top MT programs and are now successful in the field, including Broadway, Off-Broadway, tours, movies, and TV. We saw that our kid was fairing well there. She got into a select troupe as the youngest member. She played leads there many times (plus other roles, including ensemble). It really gave us perspective. Also, another thing was at age 11, on her first agent submitted audition in NYC (never had a voice or acting lesson), she got cast and there were kids we knew up for the part who had Broadway credits, including Lea Michelle (who my kid knew from camp). She didn’t do a lot of NYC auditions as we lived 6 hours away but the few she did, including for Broadway and tours, and getting callbacks and such, gave us a sense she could “compete” among a much larger talent pool than in our rural community.
Had my kid not gone to a summer program that draws from a national/international pool of kids, or not tried some NYC high level auditions, or not done some state or national level adjudicated events, I would then have consulted an audition coach or voice/acting teachers (who had worked with those who have gone onto BFA in MT programs) during the high school years to get an assessment if our kid was in the ballpark for BFA programs. We didn’t do that, because we had these other “benchmarks” that helped.
I think I have read all of the replies but if this is a repeat I apologize in advance. Please don’t think your child isn’t talented just because they don’t get into a BFA program. BFA does not equal talent…There are kids who don’t get into BFA’s who make it professionally (quite successfully) and others who graduate with BFA’s and get no work. Getting cast in HS is a often political and not based on talent. College provides an opportunity to learn and grow as a performer and that can be done successfully in any program of any kind. JMHO
I agree with bisouu that many talented kids are in BA programs and can later meet with great success professionally and some in BFA programs may not end up successful in the field.
Two anecdotes to go with my post #11…
I had an advisee who was very talented. He played leads in musicals in his school (a more rural area) and also at a well known theater camp. He did some fall auditions and didn’t get into those particular programs. He had a few more auditions to go but I had him add a few more programs to his list. The only BFA he got into (though he did get into BAs like JMU) was one I had him add after the unsuccessful fall auditions…UArts. He got in for Acting and attended.
I also know a girl from our rural high school who never played a lead and she is now at NYU/Tisch for MT.
I say this as someone who has taught High school for a number of years - high school is an incredibly imperfect judge of the skills 90% of students will have as professionals. The best skill a teenager can perfect in High School is how to work hard and how to behave like a professional.
Their voices aren’t mature yet, they don’t know 1/100000th of who they will be as an actor, and they haven’t settled into their type.
A good college program will help her find who she is as an artist.
I so appreciated everyone’s feedback! TheatreHiringCo, I appreciate your comments. There are some talented kids at her school but I’ve also been surprised to see some who have gotten leads over others. My daughter is a realist and has told me, “mom, part of it is favoritism…I know I’m better than some of them but why get upset about it!” She’s a very well-liked kid but she’s not a suck-up. She’s a lot like my husband (who is an actor and refuses to suck up to people in order to get work.) I appreciate hearing everyone’s experiences.
Also, please recognize that people develop at different rates (in all areas of life, LOL!) A student might not be competitive with a skill set at 17, but “come into his/her own” (so to speak) at 20. You have to adjust your goals based on where you are as you grow. If she auditions and doesn’t get accepted, then she has the information necessary to adjust her goals, but right now she doesn’t have enough information.
That said- part of this process is confidence, so if she decides to go for it, she needs to be able to view herself as a top performer, regardless of casting outcomes in her past.
@All4FSU you are speaking of my son. Although he worked his tail off singing and dancing starting in elementary school, in junior high he was too tall to play “kid” roles. In early HS a his voice wasn’t low enough to play “man” roles (his big line as sophomore nazi in Sound of Music was “The Von Trapps!”). He finally landed sidekick Marcellus in Music Man as a junior, but the range was a little too high for him. He figured he would never get a major part his senior year because of the musical chosen and assumed past “favorites” would get the limited male roles - so he didn’t go to the audition. Even as he was auditioning for MT programs his senior year, his vocal range was still fairly narrow and the quality not what he wished for. He was accepted to three fine BFA programs and is now a happy college freshman. His vocal range will continue to expand for years to come and he was one of a handful of freshmen to land a part in the upcoming main stage musical. Ducklings really CAN turn into swans.