10 Lessons I Learned From Musical Theatre College Auditions in 2021
Hi friends! My name is Sarah Lepre and I am currently auditioning for BFA Musical Theatre programs! Obviously, this is not the ideal auditioning situation. Right now, we should be crammed in rehearsal studios at unifieds and touring our dream schools. While it is not the college audition experience we always dreamed about, we can absolutely make the best of it!
I’m writing this article to all of you beautiful humans to share all the lessons I’ve learned with you and to reiterate them to myself because we all can always use a reminder. These 10 tips have helped me tremendously through this year's audition season and will stick with me for the rest of my life. Through this, I have learned how to be confident in myself and my talent and simply let go while in the audition room. I know you can too.
For college auditions in 2021, we have to be our own set dressers, lighting techs, sound techs, and camera crew WHILE actually auditioning. Although it feels overwhelming, it doesn't have to! Here are a few tips and tricks to make it through this blessing and curse of a process.
1) Most importantly, everyone understands.
This is something I really wish I understood before my auditions started. The constant fear of a tech issue was drawing my focus away from my actual audition. But everyone on the staff of every school understands the wifi issues, sound issues, outside noise, space restrictions, etc. They are going through the same thing! They will absolutely work with you and if something goes wrong, it will not affect your admission into their program! Try your best to avoid it, but some things are simply out of your control, and they know that. They are people too!
2) Keep an audition journal.
As soon as I saw this idea, I fell in love with it. Here is my format for mine: Date, School, Material, Choices (What I wanted to focus on and make sure I included), Feedback, Feelings (General feelings about my audition and things I want to do differently next time) with a #/10 rating! Make it your aesthetic with color coding, stickers, highlighters, and all that fun stuff. It keeps my thoughts clear and aligns goals for the next audition. It also acts as a bit of a time capsule for the future when we’re all grown and graduated.
3) Keep a spreadsheet of materials and schedules.
With all the different song, monologue, and dance audition requirements, it is so important to keep yourself organized so you don't get confused. Every school is different and every audition day will be different, so keeping a detailed, color coded schedule with your time slots for your dance calls, information sessions, and solo song/monologue slots and how long before you need to be on is essential. (Can you tell I’m a raging type A yet?)
4) Have a lot of material prepared.
In a normal audition, they can just flip through your audition book if they want to hear a third song. In 2021, that is obviously not an option, so have a myriad of winners prepared (with tracks)! Make sure they show off different sides of your vocal and acting range so they know you are a diverse and flexible artist. And mostly important, make sure you love it! Don’t sing something you think they want to hear, because what they really want is to see you and your artistic personality. Be a savage and OWN IT!
5) Don't have an "audition voice.”
They don't get to meet you in person, so be sure to bring out your personality even more than before! This is their only chance to get to know and love you! Seriously, talk to them like you would talk to your favorite teacher/adult. They do not want to see a carbon copy of the stereotypical actor, they want to form a connection with you and see you fitting into their little class of theatre weirdos :)
6) Be a DIY MASTER.
My "high table" that holds my laptop is a laundry drying rack with board game boards on top to make it flat! Photography paper stuck to my wall with hundreds of pieces of Scotch tape turns into my "backdrop". Your setup does not need to look like a professional studio to be functional! Get creative and use anything and everything in your space to your advantage!
7) Get an ethernet cable.
To ensure that your connection on your computers stays strong, I highly recommend an ethernet cable! It calms my nerves about my connection cutting out so I can focus on the actual audition.
8) RING. LIGHT.
My ring light is EVERYTHING to me and more. It makes my videos and calls look so much more professional! It also doubles as my tripod which makes it a necessity in my setup.
9) Seriously, don't stress.
The stress before my first audition wasn't letting me focus on why I was actually auditioning. It also affected the clarity of my voice, which obviously is not the goal. We're doing this because we love theatre and want to turn it into our careers and learn all we can. Even though it sounds cliche, having fun is the most important thing. They want to see YOU.
As a girl in one of my audition waiting rooms said, "Nothing to prove, only to share.” You are not there to prove your talent, you are there to share it with the world! They already like you if you passed the prescreen and they want you to fit in their program! Similarly, don’t compare yourself to others. I know how hard it is, as I fall victim to this constantly, but it really is okay if you can’t do 8 consecutive turns or fluently read music or belt a high G. You are your own performer and colleges want to help you grow from where you are now. As soon as I made the decision to let go and just be myself, I felt so much better and my auditions improved! You WILL end up where you’re meant to be.
10) Lean on others who are doing this!
Reach out! Ask questions! Everyone is a lot more supportive and loving than you may think. Teachers, cast mates, other random college students who you have not met! They are all more than willing to answer your questions and give you advice. You can also absolutely dm (@s below) me and we can obsess and cry over this fantastic, horrifying process together.
With all of that, I wish you the best of luck with all of your audition endeavours. You. Got. This. Be confident in yourself and big things will come! You will end up right where you are supposed to be in the end. I send love. Break all your limbs!
Sarah Lepre is an actress based in Parsippany, New Jersey. She has been taking voice, acting, and dance lessons and performing in various educational and community theatre productions since the age of 7. Favorite past credits include The Sound of Music, The Addams Family, Parade, Carrie: The Musical, and Bye Bye Birdie. She recently placed in the final top 3 of BroadwayWorld’s Next on Stage competition and is planning on pursuing a BFA in Musical Theatre in college. See more at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQmS7qV-WYIIfRRUQsmRE8A
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