If BFA programs aren't auditioning live, they need to allow self taped submissions

Earlier this week, the National Unified Auditions announced that they are canceling their live auditions that were slated to take place in Jan and Feb of 2021. By doing so, it eliminates a unique audition experience for thousands of high school students to be able to audition for up to 20-30 schools over a 48-72 hour period, thus increasing their chances to not only be admitted to some of the best performing arts schools in the country but also landing some much need scholarships.

Instead, many of those schools will be holding their own live auditions via virtual methods such as Zoom, Skype, and Google Meet. I’ve also spoken to educators from other schools who tell me they’re planning on holding live virtual auditions as well.

I think this is a mistake. There are too many variables when it comes to live auditions over these meeting services that could hinder a student’s audition. What colleges should be doing is letting students submit pre-recorded self-taped auditions. It not only removes tech glitches but also ensures that everyone gets a fair evaluation.

Earlier this year, I sat in on a live audition for a production held over Zoom. One by one, each candidate entered the virtual room where myself and other casting officials were waiting. Each candidate slated and then began their audition which consisted of a 32 bar cut of a song and a one minute monologue.

If I’m being honest, I would find it hard to believe that any of the casting officials were able to get a clear evaluation of 50% of the auditions that day. For starters, there were sound issues. Due to the mics being used on the candidate’s end, it would either pick up the accompaniment or not at all or it came in and out like waves. This also impacted about able to truly hear the singing as well.

The monologues were more or less fine except when the candidate didn’t have the best internet connection and would keep glitching in the middle. Sometimes there would be a delay between us and the candidate, so trying to ask them questions was often challenging.

It was after that audition session where I thought to myself, “Colleges shouldn’t even try to attempt this.”

I can only imagine the same would happen during a live virtual college audition. A talented candidate enters a Zoom chat and a tech issue, beyond their control, torpedoes their audition.

So that’s why colleges need to move to pre-recorded self-tape submissions for auditions this year. This way, it allows the student to prepare and submit their best work and the most accurate reflection of their talent and potential rather than on the quality of their internet signal. It would also level the playing field and wouldn’t give an unfair advantage to any student, because each student is taking the time to submit their best work, and it will be that work that will be adjudicated - just like a visual arts portfolio.

When it comes to plans like these, I always get great questions about how this might impact lower-income students. To be honest, I think this makes things a bit more fair for them. It eliminates a lot of the tech needs they would need for a Zoom audition(i.e. laptop, PC, strong internet) and instead could record a self-tape using a phone.

In my time working in college recruiting, I’ve seen many students submit work recorded on phones and it’s never a negative factor in adjudicating their work. In fact, I’ve spoken to plenty of educators who agree that it doesn’t matter if the audition is recorded on an iPhone or professional camera, they’re focused on you the student.

So I do hope that colleges will consider this and not make admission decisions over Zoom auditions, there’s too much riding on these auditions for students without having to worry about buffer issues or tech glitches.

Thankfully, there are a ton of theatre schools who have already taken this step, so it’s important to check each school’s audition updates on their websites. I plan on publishing a bunch of articles aimed at helping students prepare for college auditions in the COVID-19 world, so be on the lookout for that.