Student Blog: The Reality of the BFA MT Audition Process: As Someone Who Didn't Get In

I am a theater kid. I always have been, and I always will be. Growing up, all I ever wanted to do was perform. I was the youngest member of a local youth theater company at age 6, did my summer camp's musicals for seven years in a row, and went on to be a co-captain and co-choreographer of my high school's drama club. It's all I ever saw myself doing, and quite honestly, all I ever wanted to do.

The summer going into my senior year of high school, I was lucky enough to be a part of Oklahoma City University's Pre-College Musical Theater Intensive program. For two weeks, I sang, danced, acted, and worked on perfecting my craft. (All over Zoom, of course, as this was June 2020).

During this program, a college audition prep company came in and gave a masterclass on what it's like to actually audition for a university's BFA (Bachelor of Fine Arts) Musical Theater program. I think it's safe to say now that my mind was thoroughly blown. The kind of extensive preparation and training required to simply audition for one of these programs was astounding, what would it be like if I actually got in?

I took that night to get myself together and fully understand what would be required of me if I decided to continue on the path of pursuing theater in college. It would mean the next 6-8 months of my life would be filled with voice lessons, song prep, dance prep, learning choreography, memorizing lines, pulling repertoire together, rehearsals, the actual taping of my audition videos, AUDITIONS, all on top of applying to other schools academically and being in school full time.

Despite the challenging road ahead that would most definitely be filled with lots of rejection, I decided that I wanted to do it. I loved being in theater too much to ever dream of giving it up. I sat my parent's down and told them my plan, and luckily, they couldn't have been more supportive of me and the dreams I hoped to accomplish. (The picture above is of me circa December 2020, getting the lighting and video ready for one of my live auditions).

Over the next few months, the passion that I had slowly but surely started to fade away as my days became filled with seemingly endless work and audition prep. I don't know what I expected going into the process, but I was in for quite the surprise. Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined the lengths it takes to merely get to a "BFA MT" audition.

First you have to pass what are called "pre-screens" where schools look at the initial audition material that you send in. You're typically asked to prepare two songs, two monologues, perhaps a dance if they ask for it. Things that take weeks upon weeks to perfect, all video-taped to perfection. To put myself in real competition with those around me, I had to rent out studio space to get the perfect shots, in a perfect outfit, all to get the perfect take.

Rejection after rejection came in, and I started to wonder why I even decided to do this in the first place. I loved theater, I thrived in the environment, I thought I was a talented enough person. Why was I starting to hate it?

By some miracle I made it to the final auditions for three schools, all with programs I would have loved to be in. I didn't get into any.

By the time that last rejection email came through, I was exhausted. Fully drained. I felt as if my love for musical theater had been ripped away. I had done all of this work and there was absolutely nothing to show for it.

I'd be lying if I said there weren't many a night spent shut in my room, crying over what I thought was the ultimate failure.

As the following weeks rolled by, and the initial shock and disappointment of rejection went away, I started to realize that all of this rejection was simply redirection. I sit here today as a sophomore Journalism student at Rutgers University in a major that I love, writing for BroadwayWorld.com, a site I've admired practically my entire life.

Theater is still such a big and important part of my life, making up so much of who I am. Not majoring in theater opened me up to opportunities that I didn't even know existed while still giving me the space to continue enjoying theater both as a hobby and as an audience member.

Being on the other side of it all now has allowed me to fully appreciate the talent, determination, and hard work that goes into being a professional performer. And beyond that, I can look back on my work and be proud of the ways I pushed myself creatively and went for my dreams, no matter the outcome.

Being a theater major, or being in a top program, does not define who you are as a performer or as a creative person. Staying inspired and continuing to immerse yourself in art despite all else is all that matters.

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