Packing for Auditions!

Although college auditions look a little different this year with COVID still affecting things across the board, many colleges are still holding in-person auditions! Please use this helpful packing list to plan for the most stress-free trip as possible! We’ve even updated the list with some COVID-related items, to stay a la mode!

Here we go…

• Audition outfits. Please don’t over-dress for the occasion. Dress like you’re going on a first date. Many female-identifying students will show up with wrap dresses and character heels, and male-identifying students will show up with khakis and a polo or button down. Why would you want to blend in? Show your personality while looking like you put thought into your outfit.
• An extra audition outfit. Coffee spills. Puddles splash. Birds poop. You don’t plan for these things but they happen. Bring an extra.
• Audition book. This should be a clean binder with all of your audition cuts clearly marked. Extra copies of the full songs in the back in case you need to make any changes last minute (you shouldn’t have to.) Since you’re only bringing a few songs in this audition book, why not have two copies of each cut – one in sheet protectors and one hole-punched with no sheet protectors, so you can give the accompanist whatever they prefer. (You will hear varying opinions on this no matter who you ask. Putting the extra thought into accommodating both, however, is a nice touch.)
• Dance clothes.
• Dance shoes.
• Headshots. Bring twice as many as you need. Don’t keep them all in one place. Keep some in your luggage, some in your parents luggage and some in your audition book. If you lose a bag during your travels, you’ll have more on hand.
• Resumes. These should be 8×10” and stapled to the back of your headshots with the edges trimmed.
• Scissors
• Tape
• Stapler
• Three hole punch
• Highlighter
• Pen(s)
• Pencil(s)
• Breath mints (sugar free) – nothing that will discolor your teeth or tongue!
• Lozenges (sugar free) – nothing that will discolor your teeth or tongue!
• Straws – Don’t smudge your make-up.
• Make-up. Don’t over-do this. Look clean and natural, but still showing your personality and style.
• Hairspray. Even if you don’t normally wear hairspray.
• Emergen-C. A lot of students say it’s a good pick-me-up after a full day of auditions or travel when you need to keep going!
• Sewing kit with thread the color of your audition outfits.
• Band-aids
• Safety Pins
• Handheld mirror to keep in your bag to give yourself one last look before walking into the audition room. Don’t let the person behind the table be the one to tell you you have spinach between your teeth.
• Motrin, Tylenol, Anti-Inflammatories. I don’t recommend taking Claritin or anything that can further dry out your throat.
• A travel steamer/bedside humidifier. There are some great ones on Amazon that you can pack in your suitcase and that use a standard 16 oz water bottle. Most auditions are where it is cold and the heat is on. That means dry rooms.
• Reusable water bottle. We encourage you to stay away from caffeine on audition day.
• Your headphones! It’s a great way to tune out the chatter in audition waiting rooms and hallways. Focus on yourself, and not anyone else.
• A small notepad or journal to debrief after your audition. Write down the names of the people in the room and your thoughts on how it went.
• Thank you cards. We encourage you to send them while you’re still in the city you’re auditioning so it hits their desk before you they get back.
• Your own speaker with a charging cable. Avoid the awkwardness of trying to connect to the speaker they are providing if they do, by walking into the room with your speaker already connected to your phone so you’re ready to go! Remember to charge each night in your hotel room, and between auditions.
• An outfit to change into. Something warm and comfortable for between auditions. Bring a hoodie or sweater to throw over your audition clothes. It’s going to be cold. It just is. No, you won’t be fine. Plan ahead.
• Think of the travel between the hotel and audition site. Do you need snow boots or sneakers?
  Your audition schedule, written down, on a piece of paper, in your audition book. Quick reference.
• When you arrive in the city, get some water and fresh fruits and veggies for snacks during the audition day. It’s better than candy or chips, and will keep you going stronger.
• Your vaccination record or COVID Test Results.
• COVID TESTS. 
• Masks that you are comfortable singing in. Don’t bring anything too distracting, or with messaging or images on it.
• Hand Sanitizer. 
• A travel pack of lysol wipes. 

BONUS: Not a “packing” item, but something to consider. Upload a digital copy of your headshot, resume, pdfs of all your songs and cuts, the audio recordings of all your tracks, the text of all your monologues, the college essays you’ve written already, transcripts, and letters of recommendation that you already have to the cloud or google drive. You may lose your phone. You may lose your bag. You may lose your mind. You may have to submit an application for a school you do a walk in for. If you have everything uploaded into one Google Drive folder, you will be prepared.

Please use the comments below to share your thoughts on anything we may have missed here, or that you think could help others!