Tips for College of the Arts Auditions

Have you ever thought about auditioning for a choral or orchestral ensemble in the School of Music and wanted to be extra prepared? Ever wanted to go out for a stage production with the Atlanta City Theatre in the School of Film, Media & Theatre, but you weren't sure what to expect? Maybe you're getting ready to submit your portfolio of work for review in the Ernest G. Welch School of Art & Design for the first time, and you'd like some extra pointers to prepare.

We have some top tips from faculty members to help you get ready for your next steps – check out what they have to say:

When auditioning for a stage production, whether it's your first time or you're a seasoned pro, it's always good to get back to basics in preparation for your chance at a role!

Give yourself plenty of time ahead of your audition to get prepared. You'll want to be ready to perform a short monologue without your lines – about 60 seconds should give the casting director a good idea of your skills. You should also prepare for the possibility of a "cold reading" or receiving lines when you arrive to demonstrate how well you can pick up and deliver new material.

Susan Reid, a professor from the School of Film Media & Theatre, recommends brushing up on your research in advance – know the show, and be familiar with the directors and producers you'll be working with.

This research will also help you prepare in other ways: if you're auditioning for a comedic role, prepare a comedic monologue from another show! That will give the directors a sense of the personality you bring to your characters. It will also give you clues about what you should wear to an interview – consider your character, but don't wear a "costume." Wear something comfortable, and it'll give you the confidence and flexibility you need to do your best.

If you think you need some extra help preparing for an audition, or want more experience in that area, Mary Emily Deal, a professor in FMT, recommends taking a THEA or ACT class to really hone your skills. These classes cover acting on multiple platforms and give you experience performing live, as well as in front of a camera.

There are several ensembles in the School of Music to be a part of, and many are open to students who are not music majors.

If you're auditioning for a choral ensemble, you'll want to start with the Prospective Singer Form. When you sign up here, you'll begin receiving information about when upcoming auditions will be happening.

For your audition, there are four main things to be ready for:

1. Vocalization - run through some basic vocal exercises to give the director a better sense of your vocal range and appropriate placement.
2. Echoing Exercises - the director will play a musical phrase on the piano and ask you to echo it back on a neutral syllable such as 'doo.'
3. Chord Exercises - the director will play a three-note chord and ask you to pick out the middle note of the chord and sing it back.
4. Sight-Reading - you'll be given a short phrase of sheet music to perform without hearing the music first - you can choose to sing this using solfege (do re mi), numbers, or a neutral syllable.

These tips will help you get audition-ready for the University Singers, Repertory Singers, Treble Chorus, and the Tenor-Bass Chorus.

If you're auditioning for a seat in the Symphonic Wind Ensemble, Wind Orchestra and University Orchestra, you'll find the process to be similar in many ways.

The audition consists of

1. Performing the musical excerpts that have been chosen ahead of time by the faculty.
2. A demonstration of scales on your preferred instrument
3. And a sight-reading component, similar to the choral audition

There is also a non-auditioned Concert Band that is open to any student with previous instrumental experience. Non-music majors who are interested in this ensemble may simply register for it as a class! For other opportunities, visit the ensembles page for more information.

For students in our Ernest G. Welch School of Art & Design, presenting your portfolio for examination as you apply for the B.F.A. program in your art area is a similar process as auditioning. You've got to do some preparation, present your work in the best light, and be ready to let your talents speak for themselves!

If you're getting ready for a portfolio review, here are some tips to make sure that you're prepared and ready.

You'll need a total of 10-15 representative images of the work in your portfolio. You should plan to include 1-3 images from your Foundation classes (if you have them available) and 2-4 images from each class in your art area.

It's best to use jpegs for capturing 2D work, mp3 files for audio, and mp4 files for video. When you're packaging them up, remember that the faculty member receiving them will be receiving many other students' images simultaneously, so be sure to include your first and last name in the file name to stay organized. Your professors will let you know what the best file-naming conventions are.

To help further contextualize your work, include a Word document list of all your submitted images with the title, media, dimensions and date of completion for each image.

You should also include your current artist statement in a word document, as well as a copy of your unofficial transcript.

All of these items, plus your completed B.F.A. Application to Discipline Form, should be packaged up in a folder labeled with your name, saved as a zip file and emailed to the appropriate faculty member.