When Should I Start Preparing for Musical Theatre College Auditions?
Want to pursue a degree in musical theatre but don’t know where to start?
Most musical theatre college programs have required auditions for their major.
And because so many of these programs now have prescreens, it’s important to get on top of things as soon as possible.
(A prescreen is basically the audition before the audition. Colleges usually ask for prospective students to record their own prescreen videos and send them in when applying for the program. If you get through the prescreen process, you’re typically granted an in-person audition either on campus or at Unifieds.)
High schoolers - listen up! Here’s a general timeline to follow when preparing for musical theatre college auditions.
Texas State University
Freshman/Sophomore Year: Start Your Research
Research any and all college programs you may be interested in. Are you looking for a BFA program? Or just a BA program? Do you want to study musical theatre? Or straight acting? Do you want a conservatory program? Or a liberal arts program? Are you looking for a big university? Or a small school? How far are you willing to travel for school? Do you want to be in a big city? Or a college town?
When doing your research, jot everything down into a spreadsheet. Organize it by program. This will make your life so much easier… trust me!
Junior Year: Prepare Your Material
It’s important to choose and start prepping your audition material that you’ll film for prescreens. This includes song and monologue choices.
Junior year is a great time to consider connecting with a reputable college audition coach and musical theatre college summer programs. Click here are some suggestions!
The end of your junior year is also the perfect time to get new headshots done. Maybe you’ve never had professional headshots taken - or maybe you’ve been using the same shot from when you were a tween! Headshots are best when taken in the months before your college auditions.
If you don’t have one already, it’s important to create a professional resume. A resume is simply a one-page document that highlights your credits, training, special skills, contact information, and more. Every college program will request a resume of you.
Senior Year: Applications and Auditions
First things first - college applications would be nothing without your essays, letters of recommendation, test scores and transcripts. Make sure you have all the requirements you need to send off to the programs you wish to audition for. Your guidance counselor will become your best friend.
Applying for programs will take up the majority of the beginning of your senior year. Be sure to stay on top of due dates. As mentioned before, many programs will request prescreens in addition ot your application!
The actual in-person audition process of college auditions will start fall of your senior year. Most on-campus auditions and the National Unified Auditions will fall somewhere between December to March.
ACTOR AESTHETIC ONLINE COURSE
The Ultimate Guide To Preparing For Musical Theatre College Auditions (IN 5 STEPS!)
If you’re reading this and thinking you’re behind - don’t panic. You may be able to catch up with the help of a good audition coach, who should be able to help pick and prepare audition material.
Find this helpful? Be sure to check out the Actor Aesthetic podcast. New episodes every Monday!
Happy auditioning!
6 of the most important lessons I learned from applying to BFA programs in the US.