Sean Tagariello
College Bound Class of 2024 - The Juilliard School Class of 2028 - BM Vocal Performance
The college process is stressful for everybody, but prospective music/performance students have a lot more to face besides Common App and FAFSA. It can seem like a lot to deal with, but thankfully I had the help of the College Bound program at Rising Stars Performing Arts. I cannot express how deeply grateful I am for the level of preparedness I was able to achieve through the help of this program. I specifically appreciated the emphasis on quality when filming my prescreens. Everyone who was working with me wanted to make sure every minute detail was perfect to best represent me, and my work. From the warmth of the light, to the transparency of the backdrop, my mentors had two goals in mind for my prescreens: clean and efficient. This also couldn’t be achieved without the help and assistance of the faculty in cultivating my prescreen materials to represent me in the best way they possibly can. Each coaching I had, I felt like I was indisputably growing with these pieces. At Rising Stars, we like to say “always forward, never back.” And I feel that with the aid of this program, I’ve only been soaring forward!
My tips to anyone entering this process would be: believe in yourself, don’t get held back by your struggles, and remember that a school’s opinion is not a reflection of your talent. This process is not easy, everyone can admit that. But you need to have as much faith as you can throughout this process! In that audition room, you have that chance to show yourself doing what you love, why try and fit into a box or “expectation?” You’ll face a lot of struggles while working on your repertoire, but that’s ok! We all struggle and I personally believe that you can’t grow without struggling. It means that your body is learning! Respecting that time of growth is essential in a confident performance. Lastly, don’t think you’re doing this “for” these schools, this is all for you! Don’t try to force yourself to be what you think they “want”, because they should want YOU! And in the end if they feel that you would not have a genuine connection with their program, that is not a reflection on your talent or worth! The earth still turns, and as our president Joe likes to say, “you’ll still have your birthday!” To anyone about to enter this process, I send you ALL the best!
Jaime Lamb
College Bound Class of 2024 - Illinois Wesleyan University Class of 2028 - BFA Musical Theatre
My name is Jaime Lamb and I am a senior in high school, who just underwent the entire application process for pursuing a degree in musical theatre in college. I can certainly say that this has been one of the most stressful times of my life, but I don’t think I could have done it without the Rising Stars Performing Arts College Bound program and teachers. For starters, I have been doing musical theatre since I was in fifth grade, but I had never had formal dance training before. Naturally, this made me extremely stressed about the dance portion of my prescreen submissions. It also caused me anxiety for going to actual in-person dance auditions. Luckily, I found RSPA and was greeted with the most welcoming staff, Jess and Joe. Jess never made me feel bad or looked down upon for having no dance experience and used positive encouragement that pushed me to become the best dancer I could be in the short amount of time that I had to prepare for college auditions and filming prescreen videos. Furthermore, Jess helped me with my monologues and allowed me to grow as an actor. I strived through her monologue coaching and can say with certainty that I am a better, more confident actor now that I have had her guidance. The environment created and the guidance I received at RSPA is indispensable.
For anyone entering the college process, my biggest piece of advice is to realize that you are not alone in this process. At my school, none of my friends were trying to pursue a degree in the arts and I felt so alone and overwhelmed. However, through the College Bound Program, I met other amazing seniors who were going through the same process as me. I can now call those seniors my good friends, who I am so thankful I met! My other piece of advice is to understand that rejection is not the end! There are so many schools out there and there is one for everyone. Just because a school rejected you does not mean that you are not good enough to be in this field. You will always be good enough and rejection does not define you. You are capable of amazing things and this process and career process requires a lot of courage and belief in yourself. So, to anyone who is about to enter this process, you are not alone and I wish you the very best.
Nyelle Gogarty
College Bound Class of 2024 - Western Connecticut State University Class of 2028 - BFA Musical Theatre
My name is Nyelle Gogarty, and this year I applied for 15 programs. 8 for musical theatre and 7 for classical vocal performance. College Bound has helped me navigate not only the prescreen and audition experience but the college experience in general. As a first-generation student, I haven’t been able to just ask my parents for help applying, but college bound teachers Joe and Jess have taught me everything I need to know! Applying to college for performing arts is all about putting your best foot forward, so having high-quality prescreens with a great repertoire is a leg up. Joe and Jess help you with everything, whether it be what you should wear or how you should do your makeup. They put effort into the smallest details so that you have the best shot of getting into schools! If you are entering the college bound process, be proud of yourself! It is a huge step to decide to pursue the performing arts, and it’s very easy to get discouraged.
Stay confident in your abilities! I always get nervous before auditions, but I go in with the mindset that I am confident in the training that Joe and Jess have given me, no matter what.
Wear something you are comfortable with! Your audition day isn’t the opportunity to try a new pair of shoes you’ve never walked in.
Practice improving! You will improve the songs that aren’t musical theatre. I’ve been to auditions where we were dancing to rap music or rock music. Make sure you are prepared to dance to all genres of music!
Warm up beforehand! Even if it means waking up at 2 AM for an 8 AM audition. Even if that means warming up in a Whole Foods in Manhattan. Some schools will not give you any time to warm up.
Always follow up! Let the adjudicators know that you care!
Don’t read into everything! I had an audition where I'd been stopped, and I started to think that they had seen enough and didn't want me. But it was actually the opposite!
No matter where you are, treat people with kindness and respect! No one wants to work with negative people.
Network! Network! Network! You will meet a bunch of people who you will see again. If not in your next audition, then somewhere else down the line!
Veronica Bosco
College Bound Class of 2024 - Fordham University Class of 2028
Making decisions for your future can be stressful, especially as a teenager who is trying to find their place in the world. However, the College Bound process at Rising Stars helped make this process for a potential college education in music and performance much easier. As someone who was introduced to the idea of pursuing voice in the summer, it would have been easy for me to be overwhelmed by all the research and preparation that I would need to do for potential schools, my prescreen, and the audition process. But, I was given guidance by Rising Stars staff, especially the president, Joe, which prevented me from feeling as if I was too behind to pursue this. The lessons and coaching sessions that I was given in that short period of time made me feel very prepared and capable of being successful in this process. To go on, I was still given the same amount of support when talking about applying to some schools on an academic path. To make sure that I was still able to pursue music in some capacity, Joe and I spoke about a cappella groups and voice lessons offered at schools. As someone who was a new addition to Rising Stars just when the college process was starting, I felt welcomed and like my success was being rooted for, whether that be in a college for music or academics.
A tip that I would give to anyone entering the College Bound process is that you can control how hard you work, but not how people will react to your performance. In other words, work hard because that will be one of the most fulfilling parts of this process. Not only will you grow as a performer, but you will learn about yourself and mature as a result of all the hard work and dedication that you put into learning and perfecting new repertoire. If you focus on that and working up to your potential during this time, then you will be able to succeed. My last tip is to remind yourself during a setback that music and performance are things that make people happy. If you remember that, it will shine through any issue in your repertoire or challenge you are experiencing. Good luck to anyone who will experience this process!