The Unauthorized Biography of a Musical Theater College Auditionee
What I Knew, What I Learned, and What I Wish I Had Known. While preparing for the college audition process, theres undoubtedly a lot of...
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VPA COLLEGE COUNSELING
Home Base
All high school seniors understand the difficult task of applying to school; the essays, supplementals, and finances can be daunting. However, for students looking to study theater, essays are only the tip of the iceberg. With the addition of prescreens, portfolios, and auditions, the college audition process is terrifying to to those ill-equipped to navigate it. However, we hope to make the arts a more accessible option for the future, and aid students in not simply surviving the audition process, but thriving.
About
My name is Elizabeth Nelson, and am a graduating senior from the SHCP Class of 2023. I've known that I wanted to major in theater since I was 8-years-old, and my surety only grew after years of participating in VPA activities both in-school and throughout the city. After years of extensive research and training, I felt ready to attack the process head on. However, as my senior year approached, I took notice of the lack of in-school resources available to students looking to study the arts in college. Though my counselors were ready and willing to learn, I wanted to find a better way to grant my peers access to the information I had spent so long accumulating. As a DePaul Scholar, I sought out the best way to inform and assist my community by doing what I loved, and thus, the VPA College Counseling site was born. I hope that, through this forum, future students can bypass the awkward and isolating stages of familiarizing themselves with the college audition process while simultaneously de-stigmatizing the experience as a whole. Ultimately, I want to help others fall in love with theater as they map out the next four years of their training and life.
Prescreens tend to be one of the most nerve-wracking aspects of the college audition process. However, with the right planning and preparation, they become an easy asset that you can easily submit to schools! Here is a link to a comprehensive prescreen vocabulary guide, as well as a template to plan your prescreen filming day!
*Linked to the right is an example of a contemporary monologue filmed in a 3/4 shot for prescreens
Financial Aid
When applying for schools, be aware that the college audition process has the additional fees required to submit artistic supplements. Not to mention, the financial aspect of traveling for school visits, auditions, and resources can be overwhelming. Many theater schools offer fee waivers for prescreens and supplementals, and there are various sites that advertise various artistic and academic scholarships!
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