Unifieds Day 1 Part 2

When I reentered Pearl Studios after exploring the other buildings, I had to wait forever for the elevator and I thought I was going to be late. I think I said so, and the lady in front of me was like "don't worry honey, I'm supposed to be watching auditions right now!" So once we got in the elevator, I asked her what school she was with and she pointed to a poster in the elevator for SCAD. I was like, that's where I'm going too! She said she had another person before me, which was awesome. I camped out with my inspirational playlist and waited. When they called my name, I didn't hear because I had noise cancelling headphones on! Lesson learned. Beware of headphones. When I went in, I did my one monologue (I used my longest one) and song (I used my best one which is shortest). I finished my song and the auditor that I met in the elevator went,"you're obviously trained. You have a really nice voice" and I was like ??!?!?!?!?!?!! because as you are doubtlessly aware, I think my voice is the weakest thing, comparatively. She also told me about the program and asked what I was looking for. I told her how I'd been to Savannah because my grandparents winter there and how much I liked the artsy vibe and she said "I think you'd be happy there." It was the only time I listed a school's location as a reason I was interested, which I'm proud of. And this was a walk-in for a school I knew very little about, so it's OK. :) We chatted a little more and I left. It was pretty quick but very nice. I let another girl named Abby (twinsies much?) use my speakers while she did an audition for SCAD and then headed to Webster.

Webster, for the record, is very very tight with its admissions department. I've gotten multiple calls from them. They left messages. I had never heard of a school actually calling unless it was to tell you you are accepted! That's actually totally unrelated to my audition experience, but whatever. I got there 15 minutes early and had to (very messily) fill out a form saying why I want to go there and some other stuff. They also wanted a letter of rec. The person before me was at another audition so I got to go in early. There were two men behind the table--the head of MT and one professor--and I cannot say enough how nice they were. I did my monologues first and then my songs. My accompaniment was recorded on my phone and it was terrible quality, but I did what I could. Then they were like "pull up a chair" and they asked me a few questions, and if I had any. I wanted to know about taking classes with acting majors and study abroad, I think. They might have asked me why I picked the school, but just then MY PHONE RANG. Well, vibrated. What could I do? I had to have it on to play my accompaniment. We joked about it though. They were like "it's your mom saying how did your audition go!" The last thing I was asked was "how are you in the face of adversity?" or something like that. I said pretty good, which is true. But I was awkward about it: "I know I'm not that good, so how could it offend me coming from someone else?! I just want to get better! I'm all about the process!" I think they got it/me though. After I left I was sitting outside the room waiting for my mom to call and the head of MT left the room and said hi to me, like called me by name, which was SO nice. It's gotta be the Midwestern thing, right?
I'm going to finish day one in a separate post that will not be as fun because it is my second true *spooky voice* audition horror story.

UNIFIEDS Day 1 Part 1

At last the time has come! I am reporting live from Unifieds in New York. The first thing I did when I got here around 9 was look around for walk-ins. I found one at SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design, which is really cool) and signed up for 10:00. Then I went to the 12th floor and found Cornish. They only had slots at 10 and 2, and I have Webster at 3. So I went back downstairs, moved SCAD, and auditioned for Cornish at 10.
They started with an info session and I was so into everything the woman said (she was an acting teacher there and had an alum with her). Then we did a bunch of exercises connecting with each other. It is usually something I struggle with, but thanks to Circle in the Square I did way better with it than usual! My cousin was supposed to be in the 10:00 as well but ended up switching to 2. I found my friend before, and as it turned out his boyfriend was in my same audition group. It was an hour of listening to inspirational music and meeting people.
Then I went in and did my monologues and one song a cappella. They laughed through the comedic one and I came dangerously close to breaking character. Ha ha ha. And then we had the longest, most in-depth interview and they asked the coolest questions! She asked me if I write so I told her about my play and she told me to submit it as one of my essays and look into their original works track. I also mentioned that I went to Africa and produced my cabaret, which she thought was cool (like, she said so. I'm not inferring). And she looked at my resume and asked me about playing Maria in Twelfth Night and said it was a good role for me. Yay! I could go on all day about how great that interview was. At the end, she said to tell the monitor that I had a fee waiver.
I had a long break after Cornish so I went to explore the other buildings. Pearl studios is in two--mainly the one I started in, but also across the street--and Ripley-Grier is a block up and has mainly non official Unifieds schools. I figured out where DePaul was and signed up for a walk-in for University of Utah. Then I came back to the main Pearl building for my SCAD audition. Which I will put in another post because this is ridiculously long.

"So, what songs are you singing?" How To Talk To People You Meet At Auditions

So, during my pre-unifieds steam, I thought I would take a sec to discuss what it's like to socialize at auditions. It was a huge concern for me going into this process because I've heard some horror stories! One director I've had told me that when her daughter was auditioning 3 years ago, people would try to psych you out outside the audition room by telling you what the school was looking for, the wrong length cut, etc. I'm here to tell you that the vast majority of people at auditions are NICE! However, they occasionally bring up topics that are a tiny bit uncomfortable, simply because they are desperate to bond (I refuse to believe anything else). And I'm going to teach YOU how not to be of them!

THINGS YOU SHOULDN'T SAY TO A FELLOW COLLEGE MT AUDITIONER:
1.) "What songs are you singing?" This is debatable, but by far the most common/cliche thing you can get in trouble responding to. Me not giving material choices away is more on principle and less that I'm afraid of judgment, but here are some things you can say if you're asked and don't want to tell:
-"a legit song and a belt song" then quickly change the subject to making fun of your own singing: "except I can't belt lol!" [EDIT: Do not seriously put yourself down. You're just setting them up to say "oh, I'm sure that isn't true!" and/or something negative about themselves. It drags both of you into a pit of self-doubt and despair. MAKE IT VERY CLEAR YOU ARE JOKING.]
-just tell them super quick and then say "you?" Personally, both of my songs are pretty obscure so chances are there will be no response most of the time, except maybe "I've never heard of those!"
-make a joke out of it. "I'm singing I Dreamed a Dream from Les Mis and Defying Gravity from Wicked--you probably haven't heard of them!"
-"I'm singing different songs for different schools. Did you do that too, or keep the same two the entire season?"
-"I haven't decided yet." Which is ridiculous but yeah.
-Pretend to trip.
-"I'd rather not say." Risky because they might think you're a brat or something.
-I heard someone give an excellent answer at Unifieds but I can't remember what it was!
2.) "Who is your coach?" Shit gets awkward fast when you're me and don't have one.
3.) "Where else are you applying?" This prompts a list of schools that will inevitably bore you because they're probably all the same ones you looked at/auditioned for already. It's also an opportunity for judgment on your life choices. Stay away.
4.) "Which prescreens did you submit/pass?" No explanation needed. Also I've been surprised at how many people told me they did not pass prescreens.
5.) Anything about any school ESPECIALLY at Unifieds. Even if it's not negative, it's unwise. The only appropriate time to do this is in a hypothetical situation such as:
Other MT: "I just auditioned at BoCo yesterday. Are you auditioning there too?"
You: "No, I didn't want a conservatory."
Notice a) you were directly asked, and b) what you said was neither positive or negative. (And it was obviously true. You don't have to do research to know that Boston Conservatory is a conservatory.) Remember how I ran into the people who ended up watching my monologues at both SCAD and NYU? Be careful. Even if it's not negative, it might be incorrect.
6.) Be wary of talking about past theatre experiences. This isn't a competition thing (although don't brag). It's just that I, for one, absolutely despised my high school's theatre program. When kids start talking about what shows they are in right now (which is perfectly OK, see below), it can be tempting to be like "oh yeah my director would never do that show because she hates any show without sparkly top hats." Don't do it. I have done it. I am super guilty of it. Don't do it.
7.) Anything self-deprecating about something the other person can see. Like, "my head shot looks nothing like me" or "I barely have anything on my resume." Especially if it's true. You can maybe say stuff about your type if it is incredibly obvious. For example, I, an obviously larger than average and quirky human being, could say, "I'm not an ingenue so I didn't audition for Guinivere in my school's Camelot." If someone says this to you and it is true, say nothing. Unless it's like, "well my dream role is Effie in Dreamgirls and I'm a slender white male." I.e., a joke. Hahahaha. It is always good to lighten the mood in an MT-specific way.
8.) "How long have you been doing theatre/MT?" Opens you up to judgment.
9.) Don't comment on anything you see on another person's resume. Don't look at anyone's resume. It can be tempting for the purpose of formatting ideas or whatever, but it's weird. They will notice if you're looking at their resume. They will definitely notice if you're like, "hey, was that a regional or community theatre?" Don't do either.

THINGS YOU SHOULD SAY TO A FELLOW COLLEGE MT AUDITIONER:
1.) "Are you in a show right now?" Different than "what shows have you been in/can I see your resume." This one provides conversation opportunities. For example:
Me: Are you in a show right now?
Other MT: yeah! My school is doing Young Frankenstein.
Me: I adore Young Frankenstein! [Sings through entire Young Frankenstein soundtrack.] I can't believe you're managing that AND auditioning. I basically had to quit my job.
Other MT: Oh, where do you work?
Me: Local pizza place. It's hard but I get free food!
On goes the conversation.
2.) (If at Unifieds) "Have you walked in anywhere?" This is an equalizer, I think.
3.) Any honest compliment about their outfit! People love to be complimented. You can maybe compliment their headshot, but as I mentioned above, don't add anything disparaging about yours.
4.) "Where are you from?" This is the first thing you ask. It's 1000% harmless. Always ask.
5.) "How did you get here?"/"Where are you parked?"/"Did you fly here?" etc. These are follow-ups to the where are you from question. Also it's interesting to find out!

6.) Anything at all geeking out. At BU, we were talking about where you can set Hamlet and why Othello isn't taught in schools as often as other Shakespearean tragedies. This was me, one other guy auditioning, and a bunch of current students! I highly recommend bonding with them because I have yet to meet any who aren't super cool and wonderful. Plus it can't hurt in the admissions process, because although I'm not sure many schools ask their students who was the most fun to hang out with, I have heard stories of the opposite!

Hopefully that helps you out! Break legs and do not fear other people!

MLK Weekend Part 2: NYU Artstic Review

So, immediately post-Emerson I hopped on the Megabus to NYC! It was supposed to leave at 3 but it was delayed so they offered to put me on the 2:00 which ended up leaving at 3 anyway. Whew! 5 hours in a crowded bus is a long time but I got there on time and made it to my cousin's apartment in Brooklyn. I had all of Monday free, so I met a friend and we went to Zabar's and Levain Bakery, and checked out the NYU area. I rushed La Boheme at the Met and it was lovely! The next morning I went right to the audition. I got super lost on the subway and ended up taking a cab from Union Square so I could get there early (it's so close! It was like $5). I got there at 8:45 and they started right at 9. I chatted with a bunch of super nice people. Also, you know how they say to be as nice as possible to everyone on the campus? That is REAL. I was warming up in the bathroom and the song evaluator came in and I smiled and chatted with her, totally not knowing she would watch my audition. The same thing happened when I passed the monologue guy in the hall. Anyway, the info session was done by the head of the drama department and he is super great. I had gone to an info session at NYU last spring and all the same stuff was said. Again, I asked some pretty specific questions about options after the first two years of primary training. NYU is so cool. If only I could get in/afford it. Sigh.
The kids were once again brought to a different floor than the parents and split into 4 groups of 4 for MT and acting. They let you audition for both, which I did. My group was acting, then singing, then dancing.
I was one of the first to go for monologues, and they went really well. I was very honest (I almost cried at the end of my first one and had to pull it together oooop). The adjudicator was so so nice. He worked with me on one of them (told me to do it like I was at a fancy restaurant) and asked me a lot of questions. It was a great interview. I was super candid about my interests, and why I want to go to NYU, etc. Some questions asked were "why NYU?" (I said academic structure--actually, I said "at first i wanted a conservatory but then I asked myself, am I done learning about other stuff? HELL no! (Oops)--as well as freedom to choose training and minor in producing), "what studios are you interested in?" (I said Meisner because I've never been trained in it and Experimental Theatre Wing because of my interest in new work as an actor and producer), "what do you like to do in your free time?" (Alpine skiing and reading autobiographies, plus my job)...he was like "you have a LOT of interests" and I was like "lol yeah" and he was like "no that's good" and I was like "well I think it's so important to be educated as a person in order to be a good actor like I said" and he was like "awesome that's what we are about" and I was like "I know woohoo I love this school see ya" and I left.
Then for singing I was kinda nervous but when I gave the accompanist my songs he was like "these are awesome song choices!" And that put me at ease. The song adjudicator lady asked me my vpice type (I said soprano but still working on the middle) and how long I had taken voice (I said 3 years because saying 6 would have made me look worse). Again, the uptempo went great and the ballad was meh. The evaluator was very nice and she said "it seemed like you were connected to the first song, were you getting caught up in the singing?" And I was like "lol yeah" but she said don't worry about it and so I didn't and it went a lot better.
And then we had the dance call. I do not dread dance calls because I love them and think they are a blast. This one was not. It was hard and it was the dreaded Fosse. I mean, it was taught absurdly fast. ABSURDLY. We were the biggest mess. It was pretty much a disaster. Thank God they also consider you for acting studios!
I'm still in love with NYU, although not so much just NSB. It was a fantastic day. Except for the dance call. Then I bought myself socks and falafel and went home.

MLK Weekend Part 1: 1/18 Emerson Artistic Review

I had written an entire post on the bus and it deleted itself when my phone died. But here I go again.
So I was feeling really, really shitty the whole ride down and all that night at the house of the friends we stayed with. It honestly sucked. My audition probably would have gone lots better if I hadn't felt like throwing up the entire time.
Anyway, I was not in a warming up kinda state, so I was glad to see that they had a room for us when I got there. I arrived about 30 minutes early (which they said to) and nothing but registration happened in those 30 minutes. The current students were nice but I didn't feel like talking to them because I felt so sick. Also, I hadn't prepared questions. I tried to distract myself by chatting with fellow auditioners and I met some cool people. Then we had a Q&A with faculty during which I, again, tried not to vomit. I think I did ask some really specific question though. They said 50% is based on academics, and rhey consider you for the BA theatre studies/acting and BFA acting when you audition MT, which is chill. Anyway, we were split into groups when we registered and I sang/acted first. Acted first, actually. The lady was nice but I was awkward. My monologues went okay but then she asked me why I picked them. I was like "BECAUSE I DEEPLY LOVE AND CONNECT TO THEM." And then she asked if what I would choose if I could play any non musical role regardless of race or gender. I said Isabella from Measure for Measure, and she was like "why" and I was like "...because I also hold everyone to a high moral standard. And I would never be cast as a nun." I do relate to Isabella but I can't really explain why. Well. I can. But it makes me sound like a frigid bitch. Ah well. Anyway, then I asked about acting classes together the first year and she was like "talk to the students about that" and I was like "I did but I'm still confused." So she gave me a sort of rundown and I said thanks and left. Then I sang, and my first song was fine even without a proper belt warmup, but the second one went TERRIBLY! I cracked all over the place and...ugh. Again, oh well. The auditor knew Bill (my voice teacher) though and we chatted about past students of his who went to Emerson.
The dance call was a lot harder than Hartt's! We danced to "On Broadway" and it was taught pretty fast. And there were double/triple pirouettes which was surprising. I got it by the end, and the lady gave us notes which was AWESOME (she complimented me on taking direction!), but I was still dizzy and I fell over during one of the doubles. Lol. It was still a good experience though. Afterward my mom went home and I got on the bus to NYC to audition for NYU!

Hartt 12/13 Audition Recap

So, I live about 3.5 hours from Hartford and my grandmother is recovering from hip surgery in Worcester. Thus, we decided to combine trips.
I had 4th block off so we were supposed to leave at 1:30 but we actually left around 3:30 or 4 because we still had to pack. The roads were TERRIBLE. It was a bad run (right now, it is exactly a month later and we have 2 inches of snow which is not much for VT). I had finished my audition dress in my sewing class THAT DAY and I was so excited.
Anyway, my mom was terrified because the driving was so bad but we made it there around 8 or 9 only to discover that she had forgotten her entire suitcase and our toiletry bag. Thankfully, I had packed my make-up and stuff separately. But we did an emergency Target run and we were starving so we got takeout from Chili's. I went to bed at like 11 or midnight and it was insanely dry in the hotel room so I slept with a wet towel over my face. I really, really need a personal steamer.
That night I also discovered that I had printed my full song in the wrong key, 2 steps up. I decided to get up early and print it at the hotel business center. I had the cuts in the right key but it said on the web site to have the whole song ready.
So in the morning, my voice was of course TERRIBLE like it usually is in the morning and Mom wouldn't let me warm up in the hotel room. So that was fun. But anyway, we packed up and went to the business center to print out the music. And the printer would not connect to either of our computers. So we left, late (registration went from 7:45 to 8:15 but I thought that meant "get there at 7:45 or else") and without the right sheet music and I was of course freaking out and hadn't eaten anything and hadn't warmed up.
But then we got to Hartt and everything was perfectly eerily calm. I was not late at all. I was actually right in the middle. The MTs gave you a form to fill out where you listed your pieces and vocal range and--surprise!--SAT scores. That was pretty good to hear for me, because as I have said many a time, my SAT scores are the best thing about me.
I had plenty of time to fill out the form and get dragged about exploring the building by my mother. It's kind of circular and really cool and totally separate from the other parts of campus. The current students were the coolest ever and I cannot say enough about how at home they made us feel.
There was a room where we could stretch, etc. before the dance call and there were a couple of groups of kids that seemed to all know each other but I started chatting with all the rest of the awkward misfits in the corner. Everyone was dressed pretty similarly (obviously, as there are not all that many versions of a leotard and tights). I wore leggings over my leo, but I usually wear a skirt and that's what probably half the girls there did. I also wore black jazz shoes--everyone did. (I mean some wore tan but you know what I mean.)
We were led into the dance studio where they had square barres (they were THE COOLEST) all over the floor and we did a ballet warm-up. I've had 3 years of ballet and my level seemed about in the middle of everyone. I didn't fully check them out though because I was pretty concentrated on my warm-up.
Then we did some across the floor things--jazz runs, pirouettes, etc. All of it was pretty much exactly like something we would do in one of my dance classes. Maybe a little easier. And then we learned a combo to Jesus Christ Superstar which was taught pretty fast but everyone seemed to learn it. I tried to get into the acting, semi-successfully. I didn't feel like a lot of people did, but as I mentioned, I wasn't really paying attention to them. We did the combination in big groups and then groups of 5ish, by number aka when you arrived. So I was right in the middle. There were 4 boys and 18 girls, I believe.
The dance call ended at 10, and my audition time was 10:40, so I had enough time to change and warm up a tiny bit in the car before I had to go in. They took my headshot and resume, obviously, as well as the form from the beginning. The students chatted to us while we waited outside the room. They were so, so, so nice. And all the kids were shy but lovely.
When I went in towards the beginning (they do it by when you apply) they were still asking for "32 bar cuts but we might cut you off" but I'm pretty sure they switched to 16 soon after. They were already behind when I went in.
There was a man and a woman behind the table. I gave the accompanist my tempos, which went pretty well. The only thing was he gave me a bell tone and not the intro which I had practiced so I started my 16 bar cut and then like 2 notes in I went "oops lol 32" and started over. I did the uptempo, which I feel much better about, first. And I thought I really acted it. And then the ballad...I was nervous about singing it and like...not so much. They cut me off right at the end. It didn't go particularly horribly, and I guess not as horribly as I was expecting, but still not great. Yeah. As I was singing it, a part of me was thinking "I have to change my ballad. This is not showing me off." It's a song I love to death, but it's just not in my best vocal area. Then I did my monologue and got oddly emotional. I mean, I was really feeling it, which I didn't expect but sometimes happens in audition rooms. In the past it has not-happened, so I didn't expect it to...but it did! Yay!
And then I was done and it was 11 and the next group was starting to arrive. It was really very quick. Some on-campus auditions are supposed to last the whole day but mine was done by lunch!
All in all, I had a lovely time at Hartt and I cannot wait to go to Emerson this weekend :)
In other news, I have decided to buy myself socks and sushi after every audition from now on.

Update 1/13: Subject to Change

SSSSTTTTTRRRRRREEEEESSSSSSS.
It's midterm week. SO I'm writing a blog that has nothing to do with my AP Music Theory and English midterms tomorrow. Woo.
Oh, so the title is not saying this POST is subject to change, it's saying my LIFE is subject to change. This PROCESS is subject to change. Yeah.
Here's what happened with my applications that were due 12/1:
I wrote my BU essay in approximately 20 minutes and decided to audition on February 21st. As it turns out, the Theatre Arts program is really exactly what I'm looking for, and I already have 2-minute contemporary monologues I'm using for Emerson. And it's only 4 hours from my house. So it's day trip material. I can practically get home in time for work at 4.
Submitted to Northwestern (favorite supplemental essay I've written so far except maybe the Emerson one which asked what the title of your life story would be!).
Submitted to Brandeis (terrible supplement--it had good moments but I ran out of words so my concluding sentence was dumb as heck).
Submitted to NYU (pretty OK supplement...I got really really really excited about NYU as I was writing it and shook and cried with longing). And then a week later they e-mailed me to schedule my audition and the dates were less than convenient. See, they do weekdays. They really do weekdays at NYU. So, book really really early. I mean, it's understandable because they audition people from all over the country and do their Artistic Review Tour thing and end up taking a lot of people because studios. But yeah. The only audition date I could get was...dun dun dun dun....NEXT TUESDAY!!!
So I will be auditioning for Emerson in Boston on Sunday, taking the bus down to NYC, staying over at some place TBD (we have friends we are staying with next weekend during Unifieds but haven't talked to them about this weekend oop. Worst comes to worst I'll airbnb it), spending A WHOLE FREE DAY IN NYC (it's MLK day so I don't have school!) and auditioning for NYU Tuesday morning! This way I will only be missing one day of school, instead of auditioning the Friday before Unifieds or Monday after and missing two :) yayyy!
I technically don't even have to miss for Unifieds because--here's the subject to change part--Ithaca just e-mailed me saying they can't get the theatre management people down there so I have to come to campus! This means the first audition I will have is UArts at 3 on Saturday. So yeah, we can easily leave Friday night. [EDIT: I fucked up. My first scheduled audition on Saturday was totally NOT UArts. It was Webster, as you will see in the recap.]
Here's what else has changed: my intended major at American University. Here's what happened: Webster e-mailed me about a full-tuition scholarship opportunity when they accepted me. It involves writing an essay so I was like "nah." But my mom made me do it. Only if you get into the next round of people (30 from which they pick 5), you have to go to campus to interview. On the only audition date for AU. So if I get that I will also interview for their Theatre Studies & Dramaturgy major that weekend, and plan to major in Business and Entertainment with a minor in theatre at American.
Whew. There was a lot of stress surrounding that scholarship app because it was kinda due today and I kinda decided to do it today. I wrote the second-fastest essay of my life (BU being the fastest) and submitted A MINUTE before the deadline. I doubt I'll get the interview but we'll see. (That of course would mean flying to St. Louis...where they have an audition for MT the day before...but I'm auditioning at Unifieds...it's so complicated AGH.)
Here's what else has changed: I got into Indiana University academically! Yay! It's in, you know, Indiana, so I'm not sure how I feel but I did plan to go for the BA there originally so it's pretty cool. Somehow it is the first one that feels like a real acceptance. Which makes zero sense because it's not that hard to get into but oh well. I have options. I've felt like I have options pretty much since I got my SAT scores back in November. I'm very very lucky in that regard.