Performance groups reject hundreds in auditions

Auditions for performing arts groups are always competitive, but the heads of a cappella, dance and theater groups said that this was an especially tough year for freshmen.

Shere Khan was one of the most selective groups, admitting only one new member out of the 130 students who auditioned. Roaring 20 accepted four out of 120 auditioners. None of the five a cappella groups that spoke to The Daily Princetonian accepted more than seven new singers.

Quipfire president Willie Myers ’11 said the improvisational comedy group accepted three new members and rejected 90. Triangle Club brought on 13 new cast members out of 61 students hoping to join, Triangle president Clayton Raithel ’12 said. He added that, including veteran members, who all successfully re-auditioned, twice as many students auditioned as last year.

Though some dance troupes have slightly higher acceptance rates than a cappella or theater groups, they are still very competitive, said Alexis Branagan ’11, president of Princeton University Ballet.

“The auditions themselves are very self-selecting,” she explained. “You wouldn’t go to a ballet audition without having trained in ballet.”

Several students said that the competitiveness of the audition process surprised them.

“I caught a glimpse of the sign-up sheets at the activities fair, and there were multiple pages of names,” said Spencer Caton ’14, who was accepted into Old Nassoul.

“At the first audition, I didn’t know how many people were auditioning,” David Drew ’14 said. “At callbacks, it was more intimidating.” Drew is a new member of Quipfire.

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The officers of performing arts groups said that students auditioning this year were especially well qualified.

Shere Khan president Jack Marzulli ’12 explained that the auditioners from the Class of 2014 were the most talented he’s seen.

“The admissions office selects it,” Myers said. “The year that graduated last year had a lot of theater people, but the year below me doesn’t have very much at all. Maybe it’s just the way the class is made out that they have a lot of theatrical talent.”

Branagan noted that it seemed like the number of dancers at the University has increased since her freshman year.

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“There is a lot of artistic talent on campus, which you wouldn’t necessarily expect at an Ivy League school,” she said.

Making the cut

Given the plethora of talented students in auditions, some group officers wondered whether groups are as open to inexperienced prospective members as they advertise.

“The phrase ‘no experience necessary’ is thrown around a lot, even from groups where experience is a de facto requirement,” Sympoh president Hoang Tran ’12 said. “The last thing that starry-eyed freshmen need are rejections due to false advertisement.”

Though the majority of successful auditioners have prior experience, there are exceptions.

“We had a guy from Korea who never sang before, but had a beautiful, untrained voice,” said Hannah Wilson ’11, the music director of Roaring 20. “If he had been in an American school system, he would have been snapped up right away and encouraged to pursue singing, but he never had that experience.”

For other types of performing arts, experience plays less of a role.

“Virtually no one comes to Princeton with much breakdancing experience,” Tran said.

Student groups also have to consider how prospective members will mesh with the group’s current membership and style.

“We believe that if we love your voice, you will get in regardless of what part your voice is,” Wilson said, though she acknowledged that “sometimes, practically it doesn’t work out that way.”

“There are a lot of really excellent singers who don’t excel in a Shere Khan audition, not because they aren’t talented, but because they don’t necessarily blend in with the group or sing in the particular style for which we are looking,” Marzulli explained in an e-mail.

Phoebe Rusch ’13 was rejected when she tried out for the Katzenjammers as a freshman, but she made the group when she auditioned again this fall.

“My freshman year they only took boys,” she said. “It really depends on how many people they need for each voice part.”

The basis for judgment

Auditions are structured to provide insight into hopefuls’ skill and fit. In first-round a cappella auditions, auditioners are evaluated on standard skills, like note identification, pitch matching, singing volume and solo performances.

“At the Old Nassoul audition, they played a chord and you were asked to name the notes played,” Caton said. He was able to answer correctly.

“They told me afterwards that no one was really supposed to be able to get that, but musical experience helped a lot,” he added.

Students who auditioned for Quipfire were evaluated on natural comedic ability in improv games, while the Princeton University Ballet taught a class, going over technique and choreography from last year.

Though one preliminary audition lasts just 10 to 15 minutes, the total process takes much longer for the students running auditions. Wilson said Roaring 20 hosted auditions for at least six hours a day over a period of four days.

Callback auditions allow more time to assess how applicants would mesh with a group and give prospective members the chance to perform with current ensemble members.

“We do the games with them, which is either more comforting, or more terrifying,” Myers said.

Several directors emphasized that auditions are intended to be fun and give prospective members the chance to get to know their group.

Passed over, moving on

Looking back a year later, Rusch said that her initial rejection was difficult. “It was hard to find out that I wasn’t going to be able to be part of something I really wanted to be involved in,” she said.

Yet several freshmen who recently tried out said that the experience as a whole was enjoyable.

“I tried not to let it get to my head and just do my thing,” said Charmaine Lee ’14, Shere Khan’s only new member. “They were really good about offering advice and encouraging people to audition in the spring as well, so it wasn’t the be-all end-all.”

“You were a member of the group for a night,” Justin Perez ’14 said. He had callback auditions at Roaring 20 and Shere Khan. “Even though I didn’t get in, I had a really great time.”