Students interested in majoring (or double-majoring) in the performing arts, even at schools which are not primarily focused on the arts, generally need to audition to gain a seat in the major. This isn’t true across the board, but is the case at many colleges and universities, both public and private. These auditions can be daunting, as high school students may or may not have had to contend with such before. This is especially true because for students applying to these programs, your audition is often a major deciding factor in your chances of admission. Even if you have a great application to the school as a whole, a poor audition showing can lead to a rejection. In this article then, we’re going to explain how auditions work, and how you can prepare for them. We’re going to begin generally, and then go through different art forms, as each has their own audition quirks.
Why Colleges Have Auditions
For most college programs, you are expected to show some interest in a field, but they certainly don’t expect you to be a master of it. They appreciate it if a student who wants to major in aerospace engineering has taken part in model rocket launches, but it’s far from a hard requirement. Students intending to enter the arts, however, are expected to enter these programs with a high degree of mastery already.
In large part this is because of how the arts work. Most students begin playing their instrument in elementary school, dancers often begin even earlier. College programs reflect this; a certain level of technique is needed to understand and benefit from what they teach, with additional advanced layers on top. Composition and choreography, how to find jobs in the industry, and heightened artistry in performance are all things that require a solid foundation in a field to be worth discussing.
Auditions, across disciplines, are therefore looking for a few key factors (though what constitutes these of course depends on your artistic discipline):
- Foundational technique. If you have enough solid grounding in what the art requires to do what is asked of you by the program. Much like you need calculus to study engineering, you need the same level of groundwork for the arts.
- Artistic voice. How you portray your own artistry through the performance. This doesn’t need to be fully developed yet; honing your voice and vision is part of what these college programs are for. They are looking for signs of it however, and this can only come through in a performance.
- Personal qualities. These are somewhat lesser, but are still observed and noted. How you comport yourself outside of the audition, and within it, serves as a kind of informal interview (though sometimes they have a formal interview as well), to see if you’re the kind of person they want in their program.
We’ll go through what colleges are looking for in each particular artform in their respective sections. Overall, what they want to see is who you are as a person and an artist, and how you will fit into their particular program.Ìý
Preparing for Auditions
Across disciplines, auditions happen in the fall of your senior year. We advise students begin preparing for these in the summer before, or even the spring of their junior year. You should work with your current arts teacher to begin preparing for these auditions; they have gone through this same process, and will be able to give you the best practical advice on which sections you need to improve on, and which of your skills are best to highlight.
Dance Auditions for College
Dance auditions went virtual during the pandemic, and there are still often virtual options, though most schools have brought back in-person auditions as well. We do recommend doing in person auditions when you have the resources and opportunity to do so; this also affords you a chance to visit campus, and see what else they have to offer.
Dance auditions are generally, though not always, ballet auditions, though some colleges do modern or contemporary as well, they generally want to see a strong grounding in ballet technique, even for students interested in those programs. These consist of a full standard ballet class; if you’ve ever auditioned for a summer program, they generally take the same format.
Here are our key pieces of advice for dance auditions:
- Show up early to check-in, stretch, and warm up. You want to be ready to showcase your full skills from the very start of the audition.
- Don’t wear warmups during the audition itself.
- Dress code will vary by audition, but generally dress professionally; your home studio’s uniform will generally serve well if in doubt.
- Don’t be afraid to stand in front, either at the barre or in the center. Some programs will organize by height, but usually they don’t. You’re there to show off, so don’t be afraid to do so.
Many of these, especially auditions for ballet programs specifically, will require pointe work for women. Check on this beforehand, so you know what to pack and bring with you. Other than that, standard ballet class etiquette applies. In many ways, these are the simplest of the kinds of auditions, even if you’ve never done one before. This doesn’t make them easy, or reduce the stress of them, but they are not a massively different experience from any class you may have taken with a guest artist, save that the stakes are higher.
Music Auditions for College
Music auditions, both instrumental and vocal, are offered both in-person and virtually, though virtual auditions are becoming more common. Auditioning in person is still preferred by some colleges and programs, and we do recommend doing it where possible based on your resources. The chance to visit campus and get a feel for it, along with meeting people from the music school in person, is a valuable experience.
Many music programs have a two-phase audition process. The first is a pre-screening, where students are asked to send in recordings of themselves performing; select students from this group are then invited to audition. Note that many schools require video recordings for these, not just audio (though sound quality is more important that video quality).
For both pre-screening recordings and auditions, you will need a repertoire to perform. Different schools have different requirements for what they’ll want to see, but you’ll want a wide range of pieces and styles in your repertoire; enough to show off the breadth of your technique and artistry. The exact pieces you will be asked to perform will depend on school, program, and instrument.
You should be comfortable with both prepared pieces, and with sight-reading. This is done to assess your level of technical readiness, and your artistic skills. If you are given options on which pieces to perform, then choose a range of them, to showcase the breadth of your styles.
Here’s some other pieces of key advice:
- Dress professionally, for both the pre-screening video and the audition. A suit for guys and a dress for girls is generally the standard, and all-black is traditional.
- If you are bringing music for an accompanist, make sure it is clearly legible photocopies, in a three ring binder for ease of access and use. Plastic sleeves can create a glare, and shouldn’t be used.
- Arrive early to your allotted audition time. This will give you time to check in, and make sure nothing goes wrong; being late is a bad look.
While you are visiting a college for an audition, you can also often schedule a lesson with a professor. These are often short, fifteen minutes or so, but can give you a feel for the style of instruction on campus, and give them more insight into you. This may not be permitted, but it is always worth asking.
Theatre Auditions for College
Students interested in theatre auditions face one of the more complicated and competitive audition processes (even compared to the other performing arts). These auditions follow similar formats for both theatre and musical theatre, though of course the pieces you are expected to perform for each do vary according to discipline.
The first stage is prescreening videos; for these you prepare a number of monologues or solos. The exact requirements may vary by program, but you can likely use the same footage for multiple prescreens. Note that for musical theatre, you may also be asked for dancing videos; singing is of course, also required.
You don’t need to dress extremely formally for either these videos or the audition, but you shouldn’t be too casual either. Dancewear is, of course, accepted for the dance portion of the video. Students who are selected based on prescreenings are invited to in-person auditions. In person auditions are much more common than virtual, but some schools and programs do accept virtual auditions as well.
You may be asked to prepare certain pieces, but more commonly you will be given latitude for which you will prepare and present. You want to pick pieces that showcase your full range of style and technique. Work with your current acting teachers or coaches to select and rehearse these pieces.
As always with auditions, you should arrive somewhat early to check in and prepare yourself. Each audition will have a set block of time; make sure your prepared pieces fit within that without running over. They will not appreciate running late because of you. Record and time yourself when initially preparing your pieces.
You will likely have done auditions before, but program auditions are distinct from auditions for a role in a production. They aren’t looking for how well you match their vision of a particular character, but instead for the breadth and depth of your acting potential. The logistics and pressure may be similar, but what they are looking for is distinct.
Unified Auditions and Prescreens
Some colleges and programs offer unified auditions and prescreens, though these are not universally adopted and only a small number of programs participate. Unified auditions are held over three to four days in New York, Chicago, and LA, while unified prescreens all ask for the same material and are uploaded to a common website.
If you are interested in one of the programs which offers a unified audition or prescreen, it can be worth checking out the other programs connected to it as well, for logistical ease if nothing else. Note that while unified auditions sometimes accept walk-ins, most only view students who have sent in a pre-screening video.
Auditions, Acceptances, and Rejections
Each college and program handles auditions separately. In some cases, you may get accepted to the university as a whole, but not to the more selective program you auditioned for. If, for example, you applied to UT Austin’s while in the top 5% of your class in Texas (thus ensuring automatic university acceptance), you may get into the Liberal Arts college, but not Butler.
Other colleges where you apply directly to the music program, like Northwestern’s , will simply accept or reject you, without the consideration for other programs at the school. In general, if a music or arts college is a separate entity and handles its own admissions, this is how it works, while music and arts departments which are within a single liberal arts college may see you admitted to the college as a whole, but not the specific major or program you wanted.
You don’t want to plan for rejection of course, but this is something to consider when building your college list. You also should decide if you are interested in attending a school even if you don’t get into an arts program, and what other majors you may consider in such an eventuality. Planning this out ahead of time makes things far less stressful in the moment.
Final Thoughts
When you apply to college as an arts major, your grades, essays, and test scores still matter. Unless you’re applying to a conservatory, you’ll still be expected to take general studies requirements, and be as academically proficient as any other member of the students body. Auditions are something that is required of you on top of those requirements, rather than in place of them.
We hope that this article has given you a good introduction to the audition process. It is somewhat involved of course, but that’s the case for every aspect of college admissions. If you’re looking for help planning out your own auditions, or aren’t feeling as confident as you should with the non-artistic parts of your application, then ³Ô¹Ï¹ÙÍø can help. Our mentors are skilled at every aspect of college admissions, and can help you navigate the often byzantine process. Schedule a free consultation today to learn more, we’re always happy to hear from you.
