Student Blog: Ruby's Survival Guide for the Musical Theatre College Audition

Each year high school seniors across the globe work tirelessly on college applications. At my high school, students typically apply to a range of 3 to 8 schools. While the normal college process is already time-consuming enough, those seeking a college experience on the stage live out a completely different senior year. Musical theatre programs accept on average around 12-20 students per class each year, and thousands apply. Video prescreens must be submitted and approved before an audition appointment can be made. I personally applied to 26 schools which meant 26 academic applications, over 50 writing supplements, multiple school tours, 20 auditions, and a whole lot of application fees. This process is not for the faint of heart, and now that I am off to college for a BFA MT program, I want to share the top 10 things that helped me survive this year!

1. A support system!

This process gets pretty lonely without finding your people! You miss a lot of school and don’t have much free time. I worked with Musical Theatre College Auditions (MTCA) and found support in my audition coaches and in the friendships I made with other students. Lean on your family and friends as well! As them for help with your filming and memorization. Have them do practice interview questions with you! This process is easier with a support system.

2. Pre-Planned Audition Outfits!

Wearing the "right" thing to an audition can be stressful, so plan ahead! Wear something you're comfortable in that reflects your personality! Don’t try to be someone you're not...they want to see your unique self! This goes for dance attire as well! Try everything on ahead of time and run your material to make sure you're comfortable so when the audition day comes you can focus on the work instead of your clothes.

3. A HUMIDIFIER/VOCAL STEAMER

After my first round of auditions in October, I learned that hotels are DRY and would leave me with a sore throat in the mornings. I bought a travel humidifier for all of my audition trips and it saved my life on multiple occasions! For more direct steaming, I bought a My Pure Mist vocal steamer!

4. COMFORTABLE SHOES

After walking from location to location in big cities or across college campuses, I learned to always wear tennis shoes to an audition and change into my "audition shoes" when I get there. This helps you feel comfortable and grounded. Finding comfortable dance shoes that you love and are broken in is also a must! I saved up for some LaDuca shoes for auditions and broke them in the summer before Senior year. They got me comfortably through every dance call! Find shoes that make you feel comfortable and confident!

5. HYDRATION

Make sure to hydrate in the days leading up to your audition instead of just the night before or the day of! I like to add Hydration multipliers like Nuun and Liquid IV to my water to make sure I'm getting as many electrolytes as possible leading up to (and after!!!) an audition.

6. Make a family calendar!

I recommend mapping out the year before the year even starts! Mark days you plan on practicing/picking songs and monologues. Write down the days you plan to film and submit prescreens. Politely request that your recommendation letters be written as early as possible! Give yourself a deadline for academic applications. Write down the dates of your auditions (as you sign up) and write down the dates of any Unified Auditions you plan to attend! (NYC, Chicago, LA, and/or Pittsburgh). Don't forget to write down school events, homework, shows, sports, and concerts! Planning and being organized is SO important.

7. Grether's Pastilles and Throat Coat!

During audition-heavy months I experienced a lot of vocal fatigue and started bringing Throat Coat tea and Grether's Pastilles to all of my auditions! Game changer!

8. Sleep whenever you can!!!

A year full of early morning flights and multiple auditions a day made me realize the importance of sleep. My voice felt weaker and hoarse on mornings when I would get less than 8 hours of sleep! Go to bed early! Your voice will thank you :)

9. Always. Have. A. Snack.

There is nothing worse than walking into a dance call and suddenly realizing how hungry you are. Nerves often make me not want to eat, so I developed a habit of eating one protein-packed snack 1 hour before an audition.

10. Do things NON-THEATRE related in your free time!

Go see a movie with friends! Walk your dog! Balance is just as important to audition prep as doing actual audition prep. You don't want to burn out on the thing you plan to major in!

Bonus: Do something fun after each audition! My parents and I made a habit of grabbing
coffee and dessert to celebrate!

Bottom line...If you're planning to major in musical theatre in college, you are awesome.
Remember, you're going to end up in a place perfect for you and the hard work will pay off. And when in doubt, refer to my survival guide for some help and encouragement!

To post a comment, you must register and login.