Student Blog: College Audition Tips

Hello again BroadwayWorld readers! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend. The start of the school year is quickly approaching and you know what that means: college audition season is quickly approaching as well.

College auditions can be the most stressful part of the year for most senior soon-to-be theatre majors. Today I'll be sharing some advice on how to make the process less stressful and how to make the most of all your auditions. Please note, these tips are solely based on my opinions and the experience I've seen others and myself have.

1. Know the requirements

Not all college auditions are built equally. Some just require a song and a monologue, some a portfolio, or even a dance audition for some. You should know exactly what is going to be required of you before you step foot into the room. I recommend trying to find this information out as soon as you possibly can. That way you have plenty of time to prepare and practice for said audition.

2. Build up your audition book

If you don't have an audition book, I highly recommend that you build one. Your book should consist of multiple songs and/or monologues that show off both your range and your talent. It is also important to have multiple opinions ready and available just in case the audition panel asks for more from you. It is also important that you have a song/monologue for every occasion. This means using an appropriate song/monologue for any audition you have (ex. you wouldn't audition for a comedy show with a gut-wrenching, dramatic monologue). It is also important to find both classic and contemporary monologues/songs for your book.

3. Find where you fit

Just because a college has a theatre department doesn't mean it's necessarily the best fit for you. You should find the college where you see yourself being successful both academically and in the theatre department. If you pick somewhere where you can only see yourself being successful in only one of those areas, you're probably going to be miserable in the other. You should choose the college where you see yourself being happy and successful all around.

4. Have patience and keep calm

Sometimes the college audition process is as easy as one audition and done. Sometimes people go to multiple different colleges and have multiple different auditions. Don't let the process psych you out. It can be long or hard, but the end goal is definitely worth it. It's important to remember to have confidence in yourself and your abilities.

And finally,

5. Have fun

I know it's a cliche, but it's true. You know you're having fun if it's something you know you want to be doing. Don't ever make it un-fun for yourself. You have to remember: the people on the audition panel are not out to get you. They want to accept you into their department, they want you to be successful. You have to remember that they're on your side.

I hope that you were able to find some of these tips helpful. I myself was very fortunate to just have a one-and-done college audition process (highly recommend Columbus State University to all the Georgia theatre kids out there, it's maybe the best theatre school in the state). Even so, these tips still applied to me and helped me through the process. To all my rising seniors going into college auditions, break all the legs. I know each and every one of you is going to absolutely kill it! Once again, thank you so much for reading and I'll see you all next time!

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