<p>Not sure where in the US you are located, but the SETC (southeastern theatre conference) in March (in Atlanta in 2011) has an audition that juniors may do. This is more for recruiting purposes than for admissions. For example, the school where I teach attends the auditions at SETC, but students would still need to come to campus as a senior to audition for admission to the program. Many schools also have info tables at the conference. There are also many workshops on auditioning, repertory selection, acting styles, dance, etcâŠ<br>
Unifieds are not a conference like that. Rather a location where member schools gather to audition students. As other have said you audition for each school separately.</p>
<p>kksmom5 - If your D wants to get college audition experience as a junior you may want to consider going to SETC. My D went as a junior and enjoyed the audition process and she had a chance to learn a lot at the college fair. There are also workshops and other activities.
[Undergraduate</a> School Auditions and Interviews - Southeastern Theatre Conference, Inc.](<a href=âhttp://www.setc.org/auditions/undergraduate.php]Undergraduateâ>http://www.setc.org/auditions/undergraduate.php)</p>
<p>Good luck to your D!!</p>
<p>Thank you all so much for your information. </p>
<p>It makes sense that the auditions would be open to juniors who are graduating early - thanks for clearing that up for me. </p>
<p>We live in Oregon, but the sectional idea sounds promising. Do you all know if there any opportunities like SETC on the West Coast?</p>
<p>Also, many state Thespian conventions have auditions with college recruiters. In Texas, each school can send two kids to the auditions. Typically these are college-bound seniors, but I suppose it could be a junior depending on your school. Also, this is way for auditioners to see you twice - once at state Thespians and again on campus or unifieds. My D got called backs from several schools at Thespian convention and then auditioned for some of them again at Unifieds.</p>
<p>Not sure if there is something like Southeastern Theatre Conference on the west coast⊠but, I do not think that kids need to live in the Southeast to attend SETC. There are schools from all over the country that attend.</p>
<p>While the above sounds like a neat idea and opportunity, I just want to assure you that my own kid (from VT and attended BFA in MT college) never heard of any such events or had the opportunity to be seen by any colleges prior to the college admissions auditions and I work with prospective theater and MT applicants from all over the country and none of them have been seen by these colleges either until college admissions auditions (unless they attended a summer pre-college program at one particular collegeâŠor two if they did different ones for two summers) and so this is the NORM. These kids have all been accepted to BFA programs, as were all my Dâs MT friends from around the country and none were seen by the colleges in advance of the real auditions in senior year. Your child can gain audition experience just by auditioning locally for theaters. Most kids will not be seen by college programs until their senior year when they officially audition. Just want to put that out there.</p>
<p>In my observation over the years, this type of thing mentioned in earlier posts is more common with kids who live in Texas or the South.</p>
<p>I think that youâre referring to state acting competitions/conferences (which include singing too)? My D went to the State Conference this year for the first time. She made showcase in acting but we didnât know about the International Thespian Festival until it was too late to attend this year (She didnât have a solo song at Regionals, due to our ignorance). Hopefully next year with her drama teacherâs cooperation/support she can do the whole regionals/state/nationals thing as a rising senior. </p>
<p>And thanks soozievt for your calming words regarding your daughterâs experience - itâs a pretty overwhelming process.</p>
<p>Like I said, weâre definitely learning the ropes. I feel like the Clampitts going to New York City for the first time!</p>
<p>kksmom5 - My D attended a charter school that did not have a theatre program so there were no state competions or anything like that for her to attend. Thatâs why we went to SETC -because we thought it would be a fun way to learn more anout the college programs and also to see what the audition process there was like. As soozie pointed out it is by no means something you have to do to get into a college program. But one of the really fun things was getting to be the proverbial âfly on the wallâ and watch the college grads learning the dance routines for the professional theatre auditions that were taking place at the same time. Wow! I got tired just watching them!</p>
<p>Iâll add that our high school had no drama program (though did put on plays and musicals). My D was never in any thespian events or competitions in our state. Some of the events mentioned here like in Texas or SETC are not the norm for those in some other regions of the country. While they sound like neat experiences and exposure, they are definitely not necessary as a part of the college process and for everyone I know, this was NOT the norm, and I do know kids who have gotten into a variety of BFA in MT programs who hail from around the country. So, I just want to ease your concern because the normal path, so to speak, will be to be seen by the colleges for the FIRST time at your actual college admissions audition (though again, some attend a summer pre-college program at a specific school and will have met faculty from that particular program there). By the way, my D also did not attend a summer pre-college program, though those are great to do too. The first time any college personnel met my D was at auditions (or I suppose on visits to campus though those were not audition oriented at all), and I do believe this is the norm for most people.</p>
<p>Thank you AustinMTmom, KatMT, megpmom and soozievt!</p>
<p>You can get seen by BOCO, CCM, CMU and University of Miami by attending theartsedge summer camp in NYC and get one on one feedback but, it is expensive (about $2K + Hotel). This is not an official audition.</p>
<p>What kind of dance shoes are you all wearing for the dance combos? Should my daughter have a couple of different kinds? colors? Jazz, ballet, character. And do you all think the brand of shoe matters?</p>
<p>Bring what you have. At one audition, my D was the only one who brought tap shoes, so she got a little more personal attention that the others.
In most cases, though, ballet and/or jazz shoes will be fine.</p>
<p>Agree with onstage. Ballet or jazz shoes should be fine. Sometimes the audition webpages describe the nature of the dance portion which can guide your Dâs choice of shoe. My daughter brought both and decided which to wear during the pre-audition info discussions about how the audition was going to proceed. I wouldnât worry too much; either will work for most of the dance audition segments.</p>
<p>Good idea. Weâll wait until the overview to know for sure what they want. Sheâll just bring everything. I wondered if people wore La Ducas. I donât want her to be the only one without them!!</p>
<p>My D didnât even know what La Ducas were when she auditioned! She just finished her freshman year and still does not own a pair.</p>
<p>My D auditioned at 8 BFA in MT programs. She brought both ballet shoes and jazz shoes with her to auditions and decided which to use depending on the school. She did not dance in character shoes. And she certainly didnât own La Ducas prior to college. The brand of shoe is unimportant for college auditions. A regular jazz shoe would do at most college auditions in fact. My D has danced her whole life (just mentioning that as she was going into the auditions as a trained dancer and this is what she took and is ALL that was necessary). Also, the color doesnât matter whatsoever for college auditions. (my D owns La Ducas now but these are not common at college admissions auditionsâŠand again, she did not dance in heels at college auditions)</p>
<p>La Ducas are absolutely not necessary. As a matter of fact we do not allow auditioners to wear them (or any character shoe) for the dance auditions in order to protect the integrity of the dance studio floor. I suspect that might be true of other schools also.</p>
<p>I am pretty sure my daughter wore the little footies shoes for auditions- the ones that only cover the ball of your foot. She likes those the most and feels the most comfortable in them. She did not even take character shoes with her. She wore a dress and regular dress heels for her vocal audition, but then switched into her dance stuff. I donât think anyone cares what kind of shoes you wear but I agree I donât think any of the schools want you wearing character shoes.</p>
<p>I also agree that character shoes are not a good choice for the dance portion of the auditions. Wear the shoes you wear for dance classes (but not tap or pointe) and are the most comfortable in.</p>