Transcript the Presentation Slides

Auditioning for the
Musical Theater BFA
Arno Selco, Professor Emeritus, Department of Theatre Arts
Thursday, March 24, 2016, 12 pm - 1:00 pm
Following a successful career as a performer in theatre,
films, and on TV, Arno Selco taught acting, directing, and
musical theater courses and directed theater productions in
colleges and universities for forty years. From 1983 until
2008, he taught and directed in the Department of Theatre
Arts at Ithaca College. In 2010, Arno was designated
Professor Emeritus.
While at Ithaca College, Arno received a Dana Fellowship
for Excellence in Teaching and a President's Faculty
Opportunity Award for Achievement and Service. From the
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, he received
the Gold Medallion for Excellence in Service to the
American College Theater Festival.
Who’s Here?
☐ I’m a parent of a high school student interested in BFA
theatre programs.
☐ I’m a parent of a child who is required to audition for
community performances.
☐
I’m a high school student preparing my auditions.
☐ I have experience auditioning, but I’d love to perform
better
☐ I’m preparing for my first audition ever.
Differences Between BFA and BA
Types of BFA Programs
Ithaca College offers BFA
programs in Acting and
Musical Theatre.
Both BFA programs
require an audition.
What career opportunities
await a BFA grad?
IC grads who’ve gone on…
Aaron Tveit
Jeremy Jordan
Any Questions?
Use the chat box at the bottom right
to ask a question
or to share your experience.
Auditions Make Opportunities
Musicals are produced not only on college
campuses and professionally.
Even if not attending a BFA program or pursuing a
career in theatre, people have the opportunity to
perform; but only if they audition well.
What do Judges Look For?
• Musicianship, pitch, breath support.
• Understanding of musical phrasing, dramatic
structure, emphasis.
• Confidence and poise (how you walk in
matters).
• Physical expression.
• Song choice.
• Characterization–Distinct? Consistent with
libretto? Believable? Compelling?
Audition Process
Approximately 1,000 students each year
audition at IC for a freshman class of around
35. That’s a 3.5% acceptance rate.
IC’s Acting and Musical Theatre programs are
among the top 10 in the country, so the
acceptance rates at some other colleges and
universities may be higher.
What Should You Wear?
• An audition is a job interview.
• Clothes in light colors rather than black.
• Clothes that are complementary,
comfortable, and that enable free
movement.
• Clothes appropriate to your characters.
• A dress or skirt and shoes with a heel, if
you’re a woman.
• Nothing distracting.
Select the right pieces
• Sing songs from musicals (not pop, not jazz,
not even songs from musical films).
• Songs that are not overly used at auditions.
• At Ithaca College: 16 bars of a ballad and 32
bars of an up-tempo song with clear.
beginnings and endings and that contain your
best notes. Ask your vocal coach to help.
• Songs sung by characters appropriate to your
age, vocal, and emotional range.
Any Questions?
Use the chat box at the bottom right
to ask a question
or to share your experience.
Prepare the Piece
• Read the libretto
several times to
understand context.
• Rehearse with a vocal
coach.
• Clearly mark music for
the accompanist.
Enlist the Accompanist
The top 10 programs provide an accompanist,
who will participate in the admission decision.
Greet the accompanist.
Introduce yourself (first and last name).
Don’t snap fingers to convey tempo.
Go over your markings.
Only sing the number of bars allowed / Show
you can follow directions.
• Prepare music so it will sit securely on the
piano and not require pages to be turned.
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Benefit of Summer College course
Summer College for
High School Students
Introduction to
Musical Theater
Performance
(3 credits,
transferable to
accredited colleges)
July 4-22, 2016
3-week, residential
Benefit of Summer College course
• Chance to experience what a BFA program is
like.
• Close interaction with peers with same
interests.
• Lets students see how competitive they are.
• Residential college experience.
• Audition and performance experience.
• Transferable credits.
• Make lifelong friends.
Q&A
Contact Information:
Arno Selco:
[email protected]
Summer College for High
School Students
www.ithaca.edu/summercol
lege/
607-274-3143
[email protected]