This month, the 1,175 members of the class of 2008 arrived at Princeton. They have all received their "Congratulations" letters, they are all finally at Princeton and now they have to prove themselves all over again. For freshmen, the first week on campus is not only about making friends, choosing classes and trying not to get lost. It also involves yet another round of acceptance or rejection. Our freshmen must prove that they can think, write and speak like Princeton students, while also demonstrating that they are skilled in the extracurriculars boasted about on their applications.
Last week, at Tiger Night and Tiger's Roar, freshmen got a sampling of all the performing arts activities they can do in addition to going to class, which all seems fun until the truth of open houses, auditions and callbacks sink in. The open house signs go up and suddenly the campus is abuzz with freshmen discussing the differences between the Tigerlilies and the Katzenjammers and wondering which group they will like and, more importantly, if that group will like them back.
This past weekend, the nights were full of freshman groups navigating their way between dozens of open houses, following the sometimes warring sign clusters leading them to the promise of new group identities.
Without fail, the open houses we attend are full of welcoming and nonjudgmental current members. The policy generally involves being greeted at the door, offered food and regularly checked up on during your open house visit. Though the members do admit that auditions can be stressful, they encourage everyone, regardless of experience, to sign up.
At the Triangle Club open house, president David Mesrobian '05 said that they "look for people with the obvious abilities of acting, singing and dancing, but I think a generally positive, can-do, ready-for-anything attitude is maybe the most important attribute." As a freshman, Mesrobian successfully auditioned for Triangle, despite having no previous performing experience.
Across the board, group representatives we interviewed said they do not officially require previous experience. Marisol Rose-Shapiro '07, director of the Princeton University Players' production of "Into the Woods," said she "consistently looks for . . . enthusiasm, charisma, a strong presence and a love of performance," before actual experience.
Even the dance and a cappella groups that display a high level of technical difficulty in their performances encourage those of all talent levels to try out. They draw in prospective members with a friendly atmosphere and liberal amounts of food, but there's already an undercurrent of judgment.
At the dance group Expressions open house, Jessica Lucas '08 said that although she thought, "everyone is really nice," she sensed it was "secretly competitive." Her friend Jessica Harrop '08 added that the members "make you think you'll get in," when that is not necessarily the case.
An Expressions member confirmed this when she said that although the group encourages inexperienced dancers to audition, the chances of their acceptance are extremely slim.
This seems to be the unspoken assumption at many of the open houses. The same faces pop up at different open houses and auditions, indicating that the freshmen know to keep their options open. Auditions themselves make the selectivity more obvious. Although most groups do not have specific quotas, the group is self-selecting. Prospective dancers must learn and perform routines, while students auditioning for a cappella groups go through a series of vocal tests.
Michael Pratt, Director of the Princeton University Orchestra, is upfront about the necessity of experience. Pratt looks for a high level of "technical accomplishment and...musical sophistication." He adds that most members "started their study in grade school."
The eagerness of freshmen to join performing arts groups has created increasing necessity for elimination. Although some organizations, such as the a cappella group The Fire Hazards, the French theatre company L'Atelier and the University Marching Band, still welcome all talent levels, others have found that the high levels of interest have made selectivity essential.
Naacho, the popular Indian dance group founded by graduates of the Class of 2001, held auditions for the first time this year. Naacho performer and business manager Ravi Shah '06 explained that Naacho "reluctantly switched to auditions because we couldn't accommodate the numbers." Although Shah said that the decision was not motivated by a desire to make Naacho more elite, he added, however, that they will "inevitably make decisions based on dancing ability."
While Princeton students are talented and no strangers to hard work and competition, the combination of starting classes, going to open houses, auditions and callbacks (hopefully) can be an overwhelming one that leaves a lasting first impression of campus life. The Class of 2008 is well aware that it needs to prove itself all over again.
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