Open Forum

I have often wondered "What do top performing arts schools want in their applicants?"  Has anyone sat down with the head of Theater Arts admissions and asked that question?  What are the guidelines forentrance to NYU Tish or USC undergraduate?

How important is grades? SATs? Your Audition or Portfolio?  And what do they expect?  Do colleges want to see student directors in high school? Would a technical theater program rather take a 4.0 AP student who never got out of the scene shop or a 2.5 student who has an amazing portfolio of beautiful and creative designs and renderings?

If anyone has done this, thanks for responding. If no one responds...I guess I'll email my local colleges next and see what happens.

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Bryan Ringsted
San Jose CA
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Bryan,

I've learned a great deal by regularly attending the International Thespian Festival in Lincoln every summer. You and your students will have a chance to talk to talk to college reps from all over the country. I've had many students over the years be admitted (on scholarship) to colleges that they have never heard of before.

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Billy Houck

Fremont High School
Sunnyvale CA
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Bryan - I can only speak to my own situation and with the caveat that WFU would probably not be ranked on anyone's list of "top performing arts colleges". We are a top 30 liberal arts university and are known for the general quality of our education as well as other (pre-professional, science, business, etc.) programs. Nevertheless, the university values the arts & humanities and we do offer talent based scholarships in the arts that are awarded by faculty (portfolios, taped auditions, etc. are used for screening though finalists are invited to campus for a multi-day visit to interview and/or audition in person).  Once faculty have made their decisions, admissions reviews their admissibility - talent and potential can trump but it's a hard sell given how academically rigorous we are. That final phrase is critical. Our admissions staff (with whom I have lots of contact and many conversations) are looking for students with an intellectual curiosity and a level of achievement (rank, recommendations, difficulty of chosen courses, etc. - we don't use test scores) that provides some confidence in their success in post-secondary studies. No university wants to admit a student anticipating their failure or unhappiness.

Ultimately we strive in our program to recruit and graduate smart artists. We like to see indications of how students thinks, what they are passionate about, how articulate they are, how they problem solve, how they work with others, with deadlines, with challenges, etc. Portfolios, and auditions can provide some information but we're in the business of providing training so a student's level of abilities, past instruction is of less concern to us than knowing any given student might find our school to be a good fit for them academically, socially, intellectually, artistically. 

 You also asked about student directors in High School?  We generally recruit the student with the expectation that their life goals and interests will in all likelihood develop and change during their four years of college - most of our first year students are performers - often drawn to musical theatre - but our graduates have found their lives as playwrights, directors, agents, dancers, choreographers, producers, art directors, screen writers, sound designers, etc. as well as actors in classic, devised, contemporary, international, cabaret, opera or music theatre. (They have also found their lives as doctors, hedge fund mangers, marketing executives, professors, teachers, etc.)

 So our real goal when recruiting is to find those bright students, passionate about their art, with an intrinsic curiosity about the world - our job is to identify them and decide if we're the right program to help them on their way.

 I realize this is probably not what you're looking for and yes, given that 85% of our students graduated in the top 5-10% of their high school class, I can suggest some 'guidelines or shortcuts' for finding those capable, smart students but ultimately, that's not how it works in the final analysis. 

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John Friedenberg
Director Of Theatre
Department of Theatre & Dance
Winston-salem NC
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Hi, Bryan,

I hope I can provide some insights, particularly following JERF's insightful response.  As a training program, we are looking for many of the same attributes as Wake Forest.  It is important to see in an audition or portfolio interview just what the student will offer for growth.  We all want to see a strong, insightful audition or an interesting collection of "stuff" in a portfolio.  We are looking for students that will be receptive to the process we have to offer. The student should be familiar with the material they are presenting, thoughtful in their interpretation, ready to be flexible and adaptable, posessed with a sense of discipline with an appropriate work ethic and are curious.  Somehow, we expect to see demonstrated a love and desire to be part of theatre and a joy to be part of the collaborative process.  A "slick" audition can be easy to prepare with coaching or advising, but it is possible to be "overly slick".  It is more important to see the potential for growth, a joy and excitement to be involved in the creative process and a strong desire to engage an audience in the experience.  All of this is subjective and intangible, I realize, but we are searching for focused individuals with the capability to bring text to an experience that is varied and that audiences would welcome to share.  We are looking for a thoughtful and collaborative artist.   Hard to figure out, isn't it?

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Peter Sargent
St Louis MO
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Bryan

John and Peter's responses are right on the money.  I am the head of the design and technology program at NIU, and I recruit for the program all over the nation.  My response will be similar to those above, but may light the issue from a slightly different direction.  It is important to understand that there are many differences between theatre programs, and likewise, different programs look for different attributes in a potential student. Analyzing what a program looks for in a potential student will tell you a lot about the program as well, so be cognizant of that as you help your students shop for programs.  

At NIU, grades and ACT scores are not as important as a students' potential for growth, their ability to articulate their current artistic process, and their ability to work well with others.  We provide a collaborative learning environment for young professionals, and we look for students who will benefit from this experience and who will be a benefit to their peers.  As John and Peter have said, it is difficult to quantify and there is no specific checklist of high school experiences I can give you that will guarantee that a student will be accepted into any specific program.  What I can say is that the bigger scholarships in our program usually go to students that the faculty "liked" during the interview.  The ability to present their work in a confident, concise, and informative manner, and answer questions about their work in a thorough and thoughtful way is definitely a plus.

I hope this helps.  All my best.

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Tracy Nunnally
Owner/President
DeKalb IL
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