@jefvsmovies - as others have said in previous posts, people with talent, drive, and perseverance always have a chance in theatre. However, you do have some ground to make up to improve your odds of success in getting accepted to an audition-based college theatre program.
- A quick and easy way to see what is involved in getting into a college theatre progam is to watch the free series of vlogs put out by Mary Anna Dennard, a national theatre coach. Google her web page and click on "VLogs" on the menu bar. She covers lots of topics, including:
- Before You Get In - How to Get Started
- Where to Begin to Find the Perfect Program
- Creating a Smart College List
- Audition Prep on a Budget
- Unifieds
- What Happens in the Audition Room?
- Finding Monologues
Mary Anna’s free videos are really easy to watch and they cover a lot of ground.
She also has a book, “I Got In: The Ultimate College Audition Guide for Acting and Musical Theatre.” This is available on Amazon and its a quick and easy read that provides a comprehensive overview of the college audition process.
- You can make up some ground this year by getting in as much MT vocal training as possible through private voice lessons. MT is a different vocal domain than conventional vocal performance (although this is subject to no small amount of debate in the vocal community), so it pays to take lessons from a teacher familiar with modern musical theatre (if possible). Most competitive applicants have had years of private vocal lessons, but in the 18 months between now and when you would audition next year, you can get in a significant amount of training.
- Since you don't have much stage experience, taking acting lessons will also help significantly. For one thing, you need to explore the domain in some depth to ensure this is *really* what you want to do in college. Some students without significant training and experience in acting reach college BFA programs and find out that they really don't like what is involved in acting classes. To get a glimpse of what is involved, read Michael Shurtleff's book, "Audition." His "12 Guideposts" represent the key elements that many colleges look for in auditions. The book is available on Amazon.
You may also want to take a look at the series of articles published by the Educational Theatre Association by Jon Jory. These seven articles provide a great introduction to the basic elements of acting in terms that are easy to understand, including: *given circumstances, raising the stakes, tactics, objectives, *etc. To find the articles, Google: “Jon Jory on Acting Educational Theatre Association.”
- Taking ballet class is a great start to get ready for college auditions. If possible, you should also take as much Jazz as possible to become familiar with the basic terminology and combinations. College audition dance calls go much easier if you are familiar with the terminology and basic elements of both Ballet and Jazz.
- There is a great thread here on CC to look through to see what is involved in the audition process that is pinned to the top of this forum: "Preparing to Apply, Information for HS Juniors and Seniors."
- There are many non-audition-based college theatre programs that not only do not require an audition, but are likely to be a good fit for those without significant training or experience. You can find them in the thread pinned to the top of this forum entitled, "Big List of MT College Programs by Type."