The process of applying to college can be daunting. It is new to most applicants and can just be stressful overall. For some students that is only the beginning. It is typical for schools to hold auditions for students interested in performing arts. It seems simple enough, but going through the process can be more difficult than it sounds.
Elizabeth LaRosa, a current senior with a passion for performing arts, describes her experience stating,
“It’s been a lot of preparation and hard work…”
It takes a lot of time to not only perfect ones auditioning materials, but to feel comfortable with it. In preparation to be judged it’s pretty reasonable to be even more critical of oneself.
LaRosa has also noticed the many downfalls that come with virtual auditions,
“The whole time I’m very nervous about my internet crashing.” states LaRosa
Wifi has never been more important with not only connecting to the internet, but with other people as well.
Auditions provide more than just the opportunity to audition. They are also times to interact with the staff as well as other hopeful students in line to showcase their talents.
“’I’ve had a lot of fun performing for schools around the country and seeing people who I could possibly be going to school with,” concludes LaRosa.
Another obstacle is simply the format of the audition. Before the remote approach the process can be different from other schools, but now it is even more difficult. One school could require a contemporary piece or two classical pieces with one in a different language. That has always been an obstacle to overcome, but it is now at the bottom of the pile under so many new requirements.
A lot of guidelines for the audition process are old dating all the way back to 2019 before the pandemic. There are then usually notes clarifying what that means for a remote audition, but there are still inconsistencies or lack of information that can lead to confusion.
The most popular audition format this year almost always includes a video call over zoom or any other equivalent platform. Like LaRosa has described, internet issues can make it difficult to perform live. One way some schools or auditioned programs have moved around this was to request pre recorded video of the auditionee. Although clever and the most logical solution, it does not supplement the live performance aspect. Yes, it is important to sound good, but a lot of auditions look at performance too through physicality and facial expressions.
Even though you cannot blame nervous mistakes on technological errors at a live in person audition, Video calls are no replacement for the real thing.
Masuk Free Press 