#58: Dear Julie… Film Prescreens “Early”?!?
Wednesday 9/18/24
DEAR JULIE: I keep hearing to get my prescreens done early but what does that mean? My first prescreen deadline isn’t until 12/1.
OH GREAT QUESTION. So, I recommend people getting their prescreens uploaded by 11/1 when possible. This is 1 month prior to most people’s first deadline as 12/1 is pretty popular. I can only think of 1 school that has a November prescreen deadline so as long as Rider is not on your list, uploading by 11/1 works!
Let’s talk about WHY this is critical.
Deadlines are just that. Deadline. It’s the final date they will accept. It’s not the FIRST DATE!
So, a really important thing to note and why people may say “get them done early” is because audition dates fill up. The process in most schools (not all) is that as prescreens come in they pass you or do not pass you on a rolling basis. If you submit on 10/29 and someone else submits on 11/19, by the time they hear, there may not be any slots left!
I see this every year. It’s like taking a knife to the heart!
Now, I do NOT recommend sending unrehearsed or rushed videos. You need to practice and hopefully get some feedback from a professional. If you haven’t even started, today is the day to turn that around.
In general, you will need (for musical theatre):
2 songs cut to under 90 seconds pre & post 1970 from the MT canon
2 monologues cut to under 90 seconds post 1950 & late 1800s/early 1900s
1 choreographed dance under 60 seconds (no tap)
1 ballet video of you executed the moves listed on the common prescreen
1 wildcard video but most are optional
Potentially:
Boston Conservatory has an addition video called an “intro video” where you state your name, pronouns if you choose to share them, and why you want to go to BoCo
University of Michigan - 3 video response prompts (see their website)
Most people will have to film about 5-7 videos and some may require reshoots if a school has updated their specified shot size.
You’ve got this and even though you do have time, you don’t really. Get moving TODAY.
Dreams Don’t Die
Julie