I kind of forgot—it’s that time of year. No, I’m not talking about the holiday season. A friend of mine recently asked me to chat with her granddaughter about some upcoming college auditions. She’s applying to at least five programs. I’ve had colleagues over the years who’ve coached high school seniors in preperation for these auditions—for big bucks, in some cases. But I thought I’d dole out some free advice to any of you that are planning on going through the tedious college audition rounds next month. Here are my thoughts:

OVER-PREPARE,   because whatever you think you’re doing, it’s probably not enough for some of the really competitive programs—Carnegie Mellon, NYU, Julliard, La Jolla. Have you read—recently—every play in full from which you lifted those monologues? Really? If a panel member turns to you after your two-minute snippet of glory and says, “How do you think the events of Part I’s last scene effect the first few lines here?” Or, “That was great, now, do the monologue again as if you were Falstaff.” Know how your pieces fit into the greater world of theatre. Know something about the playwrights—read another one or two of their plays. Find out how the New York Times or other publications reviewed the play.

SHOW THAT YOU LOVE THEATRE.   Can’t really stress this one enough. If you went to audition at Julliard for banjo performance, and the auditioner turned to you and asked who your favorite banjo players were, you’d better know some. It’s odd when someone stands before a panel and asks to be one of a select few to study intensively, and then, in conversation, strangely it seems like the student doesn’t know much about theatre at all, or worse, is not that interested.

LOOK PROFESSIONAL.   This does not mean wearing formal clothes. It means appearing according to your brand. Oh, don’t have a brand? You need to figure that out. Theatre programs choose students to fill needs within their repertory of actors. This constantly shifting pool of students must accommodate every casting need for every production. They need performers who can cover the various types: character actors, performers who can handle classical text, who play instruments, pretty people, physical comedians, etc… and they need diversity among those types.

CHOOSE WISELY, YOUR MATERIAL.   Select the works that make you look best. Try to avoid repetitive songs, songs outside of the musical theatre or show-pop genre. Don’t sing operatic music unless you are auditioning for a classical voice program. Fine, have it as an option. And yes, have many, many options. It looks bizarre that someone who wants to sing for a living would only know two songs. Professional actors often have an entire binder of choices. And when choosing a monologue, your default should be the great playwrights, the ones that you connect with. The ones who write characters that you would like to play, like O’Neill, Richard Greenberg, David Auburn, Kenneth Lonergan, Albee—the people auditioning you are well versed, and they’d probably like to work with students who have good taste in theatre and are already knowledgeable about iconic playwrights.

DO YOUR RESEARCH.   Is this program looking for someone like you? You have no idea, right? Wrong. Go to their department web page, google last season’s productions. Any seniors graduating who are a similar type? Oh, look here. This guy is a senior and he’s 6’4 with red hair and freckles, kind of goofy. Oh, hey, he just played Starbuck in THE RAINMAKER this past fall. You could do a monologue as that character or similar, to align yourself with that soon-to-be-missing type. You could also gently-stalk that senior on social media, introduce yourself as someone who’s interested in the program, and find out what material he auditioned with. He knows the entire faculty by now and exactly what they respond well to.

CHEAT.   Not literally, but take advantage of every avenue. Do you know that some of the very same faculty members who hold these auditions, also do audition coaching for cash? Go see some of the shows put on by the various departments. Introduce yourself to faculty members and students afterward. Put your resume on good paper. Get a headshot taken by a real photographer who knows about lighting.

DON’T BE AFRAID.   It’s much easier said than done, and I don’t claim to have mastered it. But try to relax and just enjoy the performing. Smile at the auditioners and say a casual “hi”. Be nice to your accompaniest—your biggest ally in the room. Have your music transposed with clear cuts. And feel out the room. If someone snarls at your monologue choice, be prepared to say, “I also have Tennessee Williams, a Sarah Kane piece…” After all, if you’re calm and collected enough to observe THEM, it may help you decide whether or not YOU want to attend their program.