I’m sorry if I’m ruining my young daughter’s chances of ever being cast (and she doesn’t even own a pair of LaDucas), but it seems so superficial to me not to hire somebody based on their footwear. Is there a rationale behind the ‘taboo’ that I’m not getting?
AlphaScropii:
I’m sure if the auditors love the actor who is auditioning, they will cast them no matter what is on their feet. I think the discussion is talking about what is considered best choices and so on. But if an actor/singer knocks them off their feet, it won’t matter what is on their own feet!
I asked two of the pros that I know about shoes. Both said almost the same thing, “low heels or flats are much preferable to character shoes - strictly speaking, character shoes are for dancing in musical theater performances (only). Wearing character shoes to an audition can be interpreted as lack of imagination or something along those lines. It is a rather fine point, but, I would not recommend them for an audition, unless, of course, it is a dance audition. Wear something different, show a little personality, but avoid high heels because they can adversely affect your vocal posture.”
^^^EmsDad…I think that nails it as to the reasoning.
I think character shoes are thought of more as something you wear IN a show. I think when you audition (singing/acting), you are supposed to wear street clothes and dress as yourself in your own style and not as if in a show or wearing any sort of “uniform.”
These posts are making me so grateful that my theater kid is neither female nor interested in auditioning for MT…
@Times3 Ha!!
One of D’s best friends is a potential Vocal Performance major. Her auditions are in and out. Fairly quick.
On the other hand, every time D has a college audition she gets some version of this text from her friend: “When are you coming home? Exactly what the hell takes so long anyway?”
D (HS freshman) is quite a bit younger than other posters, but I’m curious if her approach seems reasonable: she dresses in a casual, but stylish, modest dress, flats or stylish boots, subtle makeup. Her clothing selections are based on the role she’s trying for, but only to suggest the character, not to wear a costume. For example, to audition for a Disney princess role recently, she wore a tailored top in the color typically associated with the character. In general, is it tacky and off putting to subtly “channel” a character like that or ok to do so? It seems to work here (Midwest) but I’m not sure how that would look in a bigger audition venue.
Last week at Viterbo, Melissa Robinette (Eastern Regional VP of AEA, runs a very successful program called The Biz of Show) came to visit our program, and one of the subjects that she touched on was wardrobe in auditions. She said, and I quote, “if someone walks into my program wearing a jewel-toned dress and nude heels, I don’t let them back in until they’re wearing something else.” Her rationale is that most of the time, young women aren’t wearing these outfits because they like to wear them, they’re wearing them because they have been taught that ‘this is what you wear to auditions’. She said that if we’re not wearing the pieces of clothing we wear to auditions to other occasions in life, those are pieces of clothing not worth having. Clothing is a form of self-expression and a natural extension of personality: if someone only wears a ‘uniform’ to auditions, imagine how much less of themselves they’re sharing with the people behind the table! This goes hand in hand with @TheaterHiringCo’s point about engaging with the auditors–I would assume theatres want to hire cool, personable young people, not actrons 
And that’s, I think, why character shoes are becoming increasingly frowned upon? This is just my read on the situation, not fact at all, but I think wearing character shoes to an audition can mark someone as a little green. I think wearing character shoes sends a subliminal message to the auditors that this person is presenting themselves as an Actor as opposed to their most authentic self.
Believe me when I say that appropriate shoes (for life AND for auditions!)–heels, boots, flats, or otherwise, I’ve worn them all–are out there! My feet are very narrow, and I actually need more support in my shoes than the average girl to make sure that I’m staying grounded in performance, but if you’re willing to keep a sharp eye out and try EVERYTHING on, eventually you’ll find a pair that is absolutely amazing. I’m actually retiring a pair of calf-high brown leather Clarks boots with a heel after two years because they’re literally falling apart (at the toes, beyond the point of repair) and I could cry, because I’ve done EVERYTHING in these shoes. They make (or made? 
wah!) me feel sexy, powerful, and confident. I swear, a good pair of shoes changes your entire presence in the room–because as soon as you put them on and take a step, they’re going to inform your entire quality of movement from the ground up. You want to be in a shoe that makes you feel your absolute best. And I know for many girls that character shoes do make them feel the way my Clarks do–and word to that! My character shoes make me feel great and like I can do way more pirouettes than I actually can But my point is that there’s probably more than one ‘holy grail’ shoe for those who worship at the altar of their LaDucas…and now I have to find my next pair to replace my Clarks!
Great post, CanadianMTgirl!
@CanadianMTgirl you make excellent points, about expressing yourself with your clothing at auditions. However, my D typically dresses quite “edgy” and experimentally. She was concerned this look wouldn’t play well to auditioners, so for most auditions, tends to go for a much more sophisticated/ tailored look. (The one time she went for her everyday edgy look was when she auditioned for a pop/rock musical.) She tries to give the impression she is a professional in training. The polished & sophisticated look, while not her every day look, feels grown up and serious.
Looks like she/we have lots to learn from the experienced folks at CC.
So just so we are clear…my d will be the one in either nude or black character shoes because she owns both…hitting a flawless high e… possibly legit (gasp)…who is Hispanic (in case your following the diversity thread) who is majoring in vocal performance (a potential setup for failure if you want to be successful in Mt…if you are following that thread about classical voice), and if you want to goggle who she is…we live in Southern California and she attends hartt (if your following the thread about…oh crap I forgot what that thread was about)…but never fear, she will make a really good joke during auditions and hopefully she’ll land the job because that’s what it’s about at the end of the day.
Oh wait… Never mind, she was cast in an opera in Austria this summer, so she’ll be there and I’ll still be here with the mt (my love) and the vp forums because I love making friends!!
Best of luck to everyone and remember there is not a magic formula to get the job or be successful in this or any other career. If there were, some guy name Harold Hill would be selling it on the street corner.
Its advice take it or leave it. I feel fortunate to have people who sit on the other side of the table post here and give us opinions. Because in the end all that matters is the opinion of the people that sit on the other side of the table.
My S doesn’t wear LaDucas because he’s superficial he wears them because he’s a dancer and they are incredible dance shoes. I purchased them because I believe in great shoes, dancers need their feet. I don’t think the point is to buy expensive, designer dance wear, outfits or shoes its to look neat and be presentable.
At OTAs S received feedback his outfit was boring…not sure how guys can make it exciting but for what it was worth he took the advice and bought something different than the jewel toned dress shirt for his remaining auditions. Although at Strawhats they sent out info not to wear dark colors so he reverted back to his jeweled toned dress shirt.
I am loving all these audition attire posts! I had a terrible time finding something that fit my personality, so I ended up making my own audition dress. It was perfect and I got a lot of compliments, PLUS it felt like me. I have heard of the no character shoes rule, so while I love my LaDucas, I wore heels to my first audition, bare feet (tights) to a bunch (I know, unorthodox, but NYU suggested t and it makes me feel so much more like myself), and riding boots to the last two. It’s all about feeling like you. If you feel like you, you’ll look and act like you, and especially in a college audition that’s what they’re looking for—and often don’t get!
At Unifieds I walked by an audition room of a school I didn’t apply to and there were three girls outside it, all dressed EXACTLY the same—same color dress and everything! It made me wonder how the school would even remember them. There’s nothing wrong with that look…I actually feel much more comfortable in dresses myself. I just think it’s one more opportunity to show your individuality and they wasted theirs trying to look like each other or their perception of what was correct presentation.
I did hear from a friend who participated at one of these events recently ‘on the other side of the table’ that he/she could tell what kids had a particular coach by what they were wearing. 
I agree that there is no magic formula but I also think that advice given by those who are ultimately making these decisions should be taken, digested, and followed to the extent that you can. At auditions last fall for the show I was recently involved with, the director had each actor sing the song they’d been given once, then he would ask that they remove their shoes and boots and sing it again. It was interesting to watch.
As for LaDucas, I haven’t seen them at a professional audition for a very long time.
My S wore Khakis and a button down for every college audition. Most would probably think that is boring. That is what is comfortable in. When I saw on CC where it was being posted that guys were wearing jeweled coloreds shirts, etc. and suggested changing what he had been wearing, he said that was not him. He wants to be himself, I never mentioned it again. We have always told him to be true to yourself. So I think taking advice from others who know the audition process is a good thing to a point, but in the end don’t make so many changes that you lose yourself in the process. If you present someone other that yourself, you will have to keep that up. Be yourself!
Thats right, @alwaysamom! Carnegie Mellon asks most of the girls to take off their high heel shoes. Some of those heels are way too high for comfort and mobility. The colleges must see that.
At NYU/Tisch, they seem to prefer bare feet. My kid took off her shoes before entering that audition.
I agree with alwaysamom that hearing the feedback on this thread or elsewhere from those who sit on the other side of the table is beneficial.
I also observe that in recent years, a lot of kids seems to be wearing a bit of a “uniform” to college auditions and it seems to be a reflection of coaching. I did not see that back when my D auditioned and these coaches were not around or as prevalent then. Kids really looked more like individuals when she was auditioning. Her audition outfit looked nothing like the typical ones people describe are worn by a lot of girls at college auditions today.
In any case, I think it is atypical at professional auditions for girls to wear character shoes.
All that attire stuff aside, I think some of the feedback earlier in this thread about other auditioning tips are useful for these kids to read.
So true, @soozievt! Not to hijack this thread to be about wardrobe, but this is directly from the U Michigan website (and as you say, NYU states that they prefer flats). It seems that Michigan prefers conservative dresses for girls.
“Applicants should choose carefully what to wear for the audition day. An audition is similar to a JOB INTERVIEW, in terms of apparel. The clothes for the acting/voice/piano segments of the audition should be somewhat dressy, appropriate, tasteful and generally conservative. We suggest that applicants practice and prepare in the shoes they plan to wear. Women should be careful of wearing extremely high heels.”
I agree with what U of Michigan recommends. I think overall that one should appear professional at a college audition, much like they would for an interview. I think it should be a step up from school clothes and more on the dressier side. But I don’t think it needs to be the uniform look that some say many girls are wearing as of late to college auditions. I think one can look quite individual in a college audition. I don’t think one should draw attention to their clothing so much, but I think one can be themselves. The whole “dressier, conservative” concept is one to follow for college auditions. In the professional world, you are auditioning for a particular role or show, and would not need to follow that same advice.