Office of Admissions Blog

by Sam Lilja, 3rd-year Actor

Because of the audition experiences I had with other schools, when I auditioned for the Drama Division in 2010, I fully expected to encounter a faculty that was stand-offish and egocentric. Much to my surprise and delight, however, I discovered something wildly different. From the minute I walked through the door in Chicago and was greeted with a warm smile by Kathy Hood, to my time in the room with Richard Feldman and Ralph Zito, to my final callback in New York with the entire faculty, I was treated like a member of the Juilliard family. The faculty and the students seemed to want me there, to have me spend the next several years of my life with them, and they all made me feel comfortable enough to relax and to do my best work. Being treated in that way was incredibly encouraging and made me realize that, should I be lucky enough to be accepted, Juilliard would be the perfect place for me to hone my craft and grow as an artist and, most importantly, as a person.

Every step of my journey at Juilliard has exhibited to me how seriously the sense of community is taken here. I have spent the past three years of my life with the same seventeen people, growing and struggling with them in a variety of ways. They are always there to support me, to celebrate my successes, and to lift me up when I’m down. I recently lost someone who was instrumental in my decision to be an actor, and the entire Drama Division reached out to me in my time of grief. The love they shared and the support they gave me revealed to me how much each and every person means to the program. My family is now eighty-odd people strong, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

As students, we are privileged to have the opportunity to help facilitate the audition process at the school. I remember how nervous I was on the day of my audition and how Kathy and Richard and Ralph helped me do the best I could do that day. When the option to work auditions is presented, I jump at the chance to be able to do what they and the rest of the Juilliard community did for me: provide an environment for the courageous ones who audition to do their best work. It is important to me to pass that love and support on, to welcome each and every possible new member of my family, and to help them do their best work. I wouldn’t be where I am today if that hadn’t been done for me.

by Caeli Smith, 3rd-year Violinist

It’s comforting and empowering to know that there are people and programs at Juilliard standing by to help us become successful and well-rounded artists. Whether you’re a musician, actor, or dancer, once you arrive at Juilliard, you will discover that there are many different offices and programs outside of your department designed to support you, your education, and career.

One of my favorites is the Office of Career Services, where they help you out with everything from cover letters and resumes, to editing videos and recordings for auditions. Not only that, they’ll also hook you up with gigs for a that much-needed extra cash. Of course, Career Services is also a great place to find practical, real-world career advice. At Career Services, they make you feel supported as a student in a different way than your department teachers do. It’s comforting to know that there are people who are concerned with the business-end of your career – you know, the complicated bureaucratic stuff that we sensitive artists don’t always like to deal with! Career Services helps guide us through practical situations and prepares us for life after Juilliard.

Another office I love to visit is Educational Outreach. Let me just say it: this department is incredible. Educational Outreach offers numerous fellowships to students, to help us share our art through performances and teaching, all over the entire NYC metropolitan area. I am currently thrilled to be a recipient three of the fellowships, and to have the opportunity to teach and perform for New Yorkers of all ages. Aside from being an antidote to those soul-crushing hours toiling alone in the practice room, these fellowship opportunities provide us with teaching experience, resume boosters, and the extra cash needed fund our fabulous NYC lifestyle (AKA, that tiny little apartment in Astoria).

Also – take your blinders off! When students first arrive at Juilliard, they’re totally and understandably focused on and excited about all the great work ahead of them. It’s tempting to be narrow-minded and sink all your energy into classwork and practicing. Be sure to open your eyes. Be mindful all of the incredible artists around you, in so many disciplines. Take advantage of all the other divisions’ performances. Collaborate with them in performance and teaching. When you are at Juilliard you’re at the epicenter of the performing arts world. Music, dance, theater: it’s all here. Take advantage of the art being made by your peers outside your discipline. Their art will inform yours, and you will be stronger and better for it.

by Yuga Cohler, 2nd-year M.M. – Orchestral Conducting

1. Many of the restaurants and shops in the Lincoln Center area offer discounts for Juilliard students, so be sure to ask about it before you order anything. This advice is especially important for older-looking graduate students eating in the Juilliard/SAB Cafe. They might mistake you for faculty and charge you the full price.

2. This having been said, there is a tragic dearth of affordable yet savory places to eat near Juilliard. If you came to Juilliard thinking that you would be in the epicenter of culinary delight, you were dead wrong. Assuming you are on a budget, your best bets are the following: Empire Szechuan Kyoto on 69^th and Columbus (as the name suggests, an amalgam of affordable Asian food), Chipotle on 72^nd and Broadway (an all-time favorite), and the food cart on 66^th between Broadway and Columbus (not the one directly outside of Juilliard). For the last of these, I recommend that you order the combo platter with plenty of hot sauce and the ever-mysterious “white sauce.”

3. Juilliard students can attend most, if not all, Juilliard events for free if they get their tickets early enough. Take advantage of this privilege, not only in your discipline but also in the other two.

4. But it’s also okay not to go to every single event going on around the school.

5. Famous people come to Juilliard all the time; in fact, if you go here, in all likelihood you study with one. I once saw Newman from “Seinfeld” in the cafeteria and almost freaked out. Make sure you are aware of this surreal reality before coming here so that your reactions are not inappropriately jejune when you encounter a celebrity.

6. Perhaps the only expensive place to eat near Juilliard worth checking out is Magnolia Bakery. Their banana pudding is unbelievable.

by Kerry Warren, 4th-year actor

At Juilliard it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the pressure to give your best performance. As a drama student, I remember looking at the strenuous class schedule every week and wondering how I would save my energy for rehearsal at the end of the day. I was always rehearsing for something in the Drama Division, be it Shakespeare, Chekov, or a Lorraine Hansberry scene. Yet as the weeks went on during my first year I kept having the urge to collaborate with people outside the drama halls. I became curious as I watched a ballet class on my way to Liberal Arts. I would stop on the fourth floor and listen to a musician practice their scales.

This curiosity led me to a dancer who introduced me to the Black Student Union and the Martin Luther King Celebration. I still marvel how first year I performed choreography by a fourth-year dancer and then sang in a choir led by a Jazz Trumpet student. Year after year I find students creating their own work from dance solos, reenactments of speeches, or honoring the black composers who rarely get recognition.

This year I decided to perform a speech by Coretta Scott King. After participating in the celebration for the past three years, I noticed that the woman behind this great man had never been recognized on stage. I was determined to honor her during the celebration in hopes that a curiosity for her story would emerge. I remember going over a certain line in the speech, “My husband arrived somewhere to his strength and inspiration from the love of all people who shared his dream, that I too now come hoping you might strengthen me for the lonely road ahead.” This idea of sharing a dream I related to, and when I read those words, I could not help but apply that metaphor to the meaning of Juilliard’s MLK celebration.

Every student at Juilliard has the dream to be a master at their trade. And I would also say that during their time in school each student has felt lonely in the struggles of conservatory life. This loneliness, I have found to dissipate when I reached out to fellow students. The MLK celebration created an opportunity for me to share and collaborate with different divisions. Which can be refreshing in between hectic semesters at school. It was a chance for me to create as an individual and be a part of a community of different artists. I got to perform pieces that I was passionate about and without the pressure of impressing faculty. Even the Sunday dress rehearsal had its perks. Laurie Carter, VP and General Counsel/Executive Director of Jazz Studies, gets the best fried chicken this side of New York and there are always left overs. Who doesn’t enjoy good food and the company of new people after a dress rehearsal?

Then something special happened after the performance this January. An alumni pulled me aside and thanked me for my work. He was a part of the first Martin Luther King Celebration, and was proud to see it in it’s 25th revival. I felt connected to something bigger at that moment. I was also a part of a tradition and a remembrance, that many before me and after me will continue. I always felt it important to honor my history and to pay homage to those that paved the way, and I believe that’s the main reason why I participate in MLK. However, that alumni reminded me that I also perform to keep that narrative alive. I mean, I chose to be an actor because I want to tell incredible stories, to work with extraordinary artists, and to make an impact with my art. Through MLK I think all the above is possible.

by DJ Pimm, Admissions Recruitment & Technology Coordinator

It’s interesting – before coming to work for the School, I didn’t know much more about Juilliard than its word-of-mouth reputation. Like many other people, I regarded Juilliard as one of the world’s greatest performing arts schools, and really didn’t know why. The name JUILLIARD has a powerful connotation, and is a name to which many young artists aspire.

Now, with my Admissions hat on, it’s my job to know the ins and outs of Juilliard’s one-of-a-kind education. I come to work every day and join a community that works tirelessly to create as many experiences for its highly ambitious students as possible. It is Juilliard’s mission to provide the highest caliber of artistic education so that students may reach their fullest potential as artists, leaders, and global citizens.

I take a step back every day and wonder what it is that a prospective Juilliard student should learn about the School. Since September, we’ve been talking to our applicants all about the process for admission – and believe me, we’ll keep doing it – but what about the Juilliard experience? What happens once you actually become a student here that gives Juilliard such a notable name? What kind of life can you expect as a Juilliard student? What does it mean to be an artist, leader and global citizen, and how does this education prepare you?

We’ve made it our goal to answer these questions right here on the Admissions Blog. For the next seven weeks you’ll hear directly from current students about everything from student-produced performance activities and cross-division collaborations to professional development and community outreach programs. Over the next two weeks we’ll commence this theme with two topics: On Stage at Juilliard and Things I Didn’t Know About Juilliard.

Enjoy!

by Garth Johnson, 4th-year dancer

The date was February 6th, 2009 – a very special day in my memory. It had almost seemed as if it would never come, but then it arrived: The Juilliard Audition Day. Waking at the wee hour of 6:30 am, I rose with complete thrill to bring on the day. Bundled in excitement and yet feeling a calm ease, I began to eat breakfast in the company of the rising sun. But I didn’t feel too hungry; maybe it was the adrenaline. Gathering my things, I took a deep breath in and released it. I felt the chill in the air as I hopped into the car with my mother.

65 miles to go and I would be at the studio, getting my number, checking in, nervously warming up. Throughout the entire car ride I conversed with my mother about the possibilities the day could bring. As we drove south, getting closer and closer, I must have played the music for my solo 50 times.

30 miles away. I remember thinking a lot about questions the teachers might ask me, and how I would answer.

Who choreographed this solo?

I did.

What is the meaning of it?

It’s about letting go and feeling happy.

As I got creepily close to take-off, I thought of something. If you’ve ever heard the song “Ghost of Corporate Future” by Regina Spektor, you will know exactly what I am speaking of. A lyric from the song provided me with a great deal of courage that day:

“People are just people, they shouldn’t make ya nervous…cause people are just people. People are just people. People are just people like you.”

That quote stuck with me. And singing the song in my head made me feel silly and less scared. It was cold and wintery as I hustled and shuffled into the studio. I was 30 footsteps away from an audition that would forever hold sentiment in my being. Deep breath in, breath out. I released the air and watched my breath form into small clouds of vapor. My cold hands touched the metal handle to open the door of the studio. Wiping my boots on a black doormat, I was now 28 footsteps away from my audition.

Here we go, 10 steps later. I gather a number and notice that I’m number 18, which will be my age in a few months. This thought makes me smile. 8 more steps and I find myself approaching the studio, warming up and saying hello to a few familiar faces.

Ballet begins. I am amazed at what fun Mr. Poulin has teaching us. His ease and happiness bring a freeing energy, and I try my best. As the audition progresses, I just keep singing the song lyric in my head. People are just people, they shouldn’t make ya nervous.

The long day winds to a close, and I realize that I have made it to the end. At this point in the audition, I just feel a great deal of happiness, and the last portion of the audition is the interview section. Mr. Poulin interviews me, and I am delighted by the ease of our conversation. I realize that all the teachers want is to get to know you, which feels nice.

I remember the last thing I said to them.

Are there any last things you want to tell us?

I love ICE CREAM!

(So true, but now I am lactose intolerant and never get to eat it!)

What a great day. I realized that whatever came of it didn’t matter, because I tried so hard and showed them who I was. And because People are just people, they shouldn’t make ya nervous. The world is everlasting, it’s coming and it’s going.

by Sarah Adriance, Dance Division Administrative Director

For college dance programs everywhere, it’s audition season!

Every Juilliard dance audition starts with a welcome from Larry Rhodes, our artistic director, followed by a reminder from him that the purpose of the audition is to find a “good fit” for Juilliard, not to assess each dancer individually. This distinction is key!

We want everyone to feel they’ve shown their best so we can see if that “best” aligns with the mission of the school. The faculty is looking for dancers they feel have the best trainable potential, a combination of experience and natural gifts for dance with an open mind that allows the dancer to try new ways of working. All the elements that make a dancer – coordination, musicality, flexibility, alignment, strength – are only part of what it takes to someday become an artist.

We endeavor to make the audition a pleasant experience. Mr. Rhodes encourages the dancers to relax, breathe, and try to enjoy dancing. We hope, even if the outcome is not what you would have wished, that you enjoy the opportunity to dance. Your Juilliard audition will be one of many in the year, and one of many more in the course of your career.

In the next few weeks, you’ll hear from a few Juilliard dancers who’ve been there: the months of preparing their solo; the audition day with its highs and lows; and finally, waiting for the letter or phone call.

Best of luck to each of you! You’ve come this far; enjoy the process.

by Robert Aramayo, 2nd-year actor

Auditioning for Juilliard was, as many others say, nothing but a dream for the biggest part of my life, and being from the north of England with such problems as visas and financial aid, I didn’t ever really believe it was possible. I didn’t believe this even when I came for my first audition at the school, but I knew I had to give it a go. I went to the audition in New York with my mother and neither of us really knew what we were doing, where we were going, and what was going to happen. One thing that we did know was to make sure that there was another reason for coming to New York other than auditioning for Juilliard because, as you can imagine, all that money on a plane ticket for one day is very frightening. In the morning my mum got breakfast and waited downstairs for me. Little did we both know that she would wait there until 10pm!!

After the process of getting checked in, feeling completely isolated and scared being the only English person, we were escorted into a room where Richard Feldman led a talk. This talk gave me tremendous ease and made me feel ready for the day to come. He told us, “Today you get to share your work, how exciting is that!” I now looked at this process very differently. I left that room not only filled with confidence, but with a support from everyone around me, and that feeling has never left me to this day.

I felt very intimidated, not only by these people who had very different backgrounds to myself, but also this idea of “getting ready” – warming up rituals, dances, stretches. I saw it all, and if I had allowed it to, it could have made me feel very unprepared. But I didn’t allow this to affect me and I did what I needed for my audition. When it came to the time of auditioning, I walked in to see Moni Yakim seated in front of me. I did my pieces and we worked for a little bit. When it came to giving me changes and alterations for my monologues, I felt as if there was no space in the room for nerves or fear of the direction Moni was giving me. Obviously, when I walked out of the room I had the initial response that it was all over. I might as well have gone home there and then because if he changed my monologues that meant he didn’t like them, and if he didn’t like them then that must mean he didn’t like me. A thought I am sure went through a lot of heads that day, and in every audition.

I was astounded then to learn that I had been called back!!!! I was so happy I didn’t know what to do with myself, but also, Kathy Hood made it quite clear that there was a long day ahead. This was certainly true. We went through many different activities with many of the teachers, and in the end we finished with an interview with Jim and Kathy. The interview was very fun and lighthearted, and I was so relieved to leave the building, collect my mum, and go for a drink!

by Julia Warren, 1st-year actor

After rehearsing monologues tirelessly the night before in my hotel room, it was time for me to face the long-awaited and most anticipated event of my life: THE JUILLIARD AUDITION. I had checked and rechecked my audition checklist. I had nursed and rehearsed my monologues and songs. I had carefully selected what I felt was the perfect audition outfit, set my alarm so that I could wake up in enough time to run through all of my material and get some grub. Since my mom and I were totally unfamiliar with the city and being hyper-vigilant about everything, we planned to walk from our hotel to the school. Twenty-three blocks later we discovered that was probably not the ideal choice in transportation but quite possibly the best way to soak in the city while venting some of our nervousness.

Basking in the awe of finally being there, we walked into the Juilliard foyer, climbed the unforgettable staircase, and were immediately and enthusiastically welcomed by current students who were so inviting and, to my surprise, very interested in trying to get to know me right off the bat. After registering I was escorted to the 3^rd floor waiting room while my mom was invited to wait downstairs in the main lobby. This was the largest audition I had ever been to. Each candidate that entered the waiting room – ultimately 120, I think – added an additional butterfly to my stomach. I thought I might explode. I felt nervous/anxious energy spread throughout the waiting room as I tried to sit patiently. I listened to music to help me get/stay as calm as possible, under the circumstances. While waiting, I watched as others reviewed their monologues to themselves, talked with current students in the room, or kept to themselves.

Turned out I was to be one of the last ones to audition so I decided to take advantage of the extra time to check out one of the practice rooms they had told us about on the 4^th floor. I “signed out” a room with one of the current students and was able to practice my monologues a couple of times. I left the practice room feeling more confident than I did when I entered. When I left the room I ran into a random Juilliard Music student who encouraged me that “everything would be okay” and that I would “end up where I needed to be”. Wow!!  I loved that every single Juilliard student I came in contact with “somehow” offered genuine encouragement. How could they know? Maybe I was THAT nervous. I guess they each just sensed that I needed to hear that. I had heard that Juilliard was full of elitist know-it-alls but that was not my first impression, or my impression now. I felt at home – already – and I had already fallen in love with the school and I hadn’t even auditioned yet. Great.

My nerves were running high when I entered the audition. The audition room was all white with a chair positioned behind a red tape line to separate me from the faculty. I introduced myself to them and went right into my material. I stopped half-way through my first monologue. I didn’t forget my lines, but I wasn’t showing them who I was – I was so excited by the process that I realized I was leaving out the most important thing. I did not come all the way from Atlanta to not show them who I was. So, I started over. I went straight through my monologue for the second time, was asked to sing the song I had prepared, and the audition was over.

I knew that if I didn’t get called back it would not be the end of the world because I did my best and felt I gave an honest audition. So I started talking to people around me and even began beat boxing and free-styling with some of the other applicants. I was having a blast! Then finally………the callback list was posted. I took my time gathering my things as the others scrambled to see the list. My jaw dropped. I saw my name on the list and freaked out.

The sixteen applicants called back moved to the fourth floor to have pictures taken and find out the next phase of the audition. Kathy Hood, the Administrative Director for the Drama Division, told us that we would all re-audition for the entire faculty one-by-one. We were to do one monologue of their choosing from our initial audition and sing a song. Kathy assured us that the hardest part of the day was over and, while we waited for our turn, we needed to write a short essay and fill out some paper work. Thereafter, they provided us with lunch. This was the part of the audition where you couldn’t spend just three months preparing for. This was the part where you just needed to be yourself.

A majority of the audition consisted of waiting, getting to know current students, and doing whatever it took to keep your energy up because we would be staying at the school for the rest of the day. There were all types of people that were auditioning. I met a girl from Bulgaria, someone who had gotten their B.A. from Yale, and a guy who had traveled from Switzerland – Juilliard was the only arts school he had applied to in the U.S. I experienced all of those “firsts” within that audition day at Juilliard. I was smitten like a kitten for this school.

After each of the 16 auditioned, we did a group audition where select faculty members conducted various theatre exercises with us. We did improvisation, theatre games, etc. Then we sat in the lobby on the fourth floor and waited for the second round of “cuts”.

After the faculty deliberated, Kathy announced that they would hold one-on-one interviews with some students but if you were not asked to do an interview it didn’t necessarily mean that you were out of the running to be chosen for the callback weekend. Five people were selected to be interviewed and I was one of them. I was interviewed by Jim Houghton, the head of the Drama Division, and Rebecca Guy, an acting teacher and project director. The interview gave me a chance to just talk to them. Though I’m pretty sure the faculty had a good idea of who I was through my audition, it was great to sit down and truly open up to them. The questions were as basic as “what do your parents do for a living” to “what’s your biggest fear.” I interviewed for about 20 minutes and then that was it. I was done.

I gathered my things, said my goodbyes to the remaining staff, and left with someone who was called back. Coincidentally, that person happened to be staying in the same hotel I was in and they knew how to ride the subway. When we walked outside we couldn’t believe that we had spent the entire day auditioning. By the time we reached our hotel we had gushed about how in love we both were with the school. I opened the door to my hotel room and my mom who had been patiently waiting to hear all the details. After filling her in over room service we laid down to get some rest for the next day of auditions with other schools. She told me that no matter the result, whether I got into Juilliard or not, she was proud of me. She had told me before my audition that the most important thing was that I showed them exactly who I was. She was right. I showed them exactly who I was. Now it was completely out of my hands. They had given me an experience that I would remember for the rest of my life and all I could do now is…wait.

by Jasmine Batchelor, 2nd-year actor

“When you want something with all your heart, that’s when you are closest to the Soul of the World. It’s always a positive force… All the Universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”
-Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

7 AM, Saturday, January 22, 2011: I am walking thirty-two blocks in thirty-seven degree weather to The Juilliard School from the NJ Transit corridor of Penn Station.  Being brand new to the city and its public transportation, coupled with the strange superstition of having to walk off any resident nerves, finds me sweating profusely beneath my winter coat; my backpack filled with my audition survival kit (a few snacks, a change of clothes, my head shots, a journal, wallet, etc.) growing heavier with each block. I’d woken up at five to leave Madison, New Jersey (Where I was working as an actor at the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey) and take the first steps on the road to what I considered, and Paulo Coelho calls, my “Personal Legend,” the road to my destiny, success; dream. In the cold and early of the morning, I remember how different my reality is than a mere eight months ago, and how, already, I am much more capable of listening to the Soul of the World than before.

Shortly before graduating college in June of 2010, a family fallout left me homeless and destitute. To the outside eye, I had everything going for me: I graduated magna cum laude and at the top of my acting class, I had been the star of several university productions and was the go-to actress for the school’s film department, I’d just performed professionally and begun my road to Equity, and my professors, peers, and visiting master teachers praised me, destined me for greatness and assured everyone that I was the actress to watch. They praised my work ethic and performance, and gave me confidential assurances that I was going to take the professional world by storm. The cruel truth was utterly contrary to this praise. Because of my family’s rift, I no longer had any financial or emotional support, which left me no room to travel to auditions during my senior year. I could hardly buy groceries. I barely drove because I couldn’t afford to put gas in my car. I missed school functions to work late shifts at Starbucks after class so I could keep a roof over my head. I missed the opportunities that my peers were using to start their careers immediately after college. The star student was becoming the girl who got left behind.

One afternoon at work, a friend came in to see me at work and it dawned on me – is this what I want my life to be? Do I want this to be my work? I made a plan then and there; the musical theatre seniors were taking a class trip to New York for their showcase, if allowed, I would go too. If they were going to meet agents and managers, I would be in the right place at the right time to meet them as well.

I scraped three hundred dollars together, bought a round trip ticket to New York, and ate very little for three weeks in order to join them for their showcase. I stayed with Monica, a generous friend in Brooklyn, who saw how frustrated I’d become with my life, and at the time, my trip. I spent my time in New York as the unofficial assistant to my fellow students – stirring their coffee, refilling their water bottles, safety pinning their gowns – I knew there was more that I was destined to do, but when I attempted to meet and greet agents, I was shot down by people of my own school. They had become competitive and selfish, telling me I’d “better stick to helping out.” I was devastated. One night, I stayed in Brooklyn and avoided the heartbreak of another round of agencies coming and going, and Monica, to my surprise, gave me an invite to a talkback at Juilliard for The Public’s recent production of, “The Neighbors.” After considering it, my depression turned it down. “No thanks,” I sighed. “I don’t feel like moving.” Monica looked at me fiercely, waved her hands in the air and said, “Honey! When you get an invitation to ANYTHING at Juilliard, you GO!” So, I went.

It was at that talkback that I found what’d been missing. Here was a place where art brought people from all walks of life; every ethnicity, every political background, every economic status, every area of performance, every part of the world was represented in one building. It blew my mind. The space itself felt welcoming to all. After the talkback, the woman who’d invited Monica approached me with a question. “Have you ever considered applying to Juilliard?” “No,” I blushed. “That’s kind of impossible,” I laughed. She shook her head. “Come with me,” she said as she led me to the Office of Admissions. She gave me a few pamphlets and a calendar of events. “You’re too late to apply for this upcoming school year, but you should apply for fall of 2011. You sing?” “Yes,” I told her, my voice almost cracking. “Good. We need singers in the Drama Division. Look it over.” I smiled, thanked her, and went back to Monica’s apartment. Something had changed. The next morning I just knew – I was going to Juilliard.

8 AM of January 22, 2011: I am climbing the grand staircase of The Juilliard School. I’m about an hour early, but I am still greeted by two friendly drama students. After signing in with one of them, I am led upstairs to the third floor. There are smiling students everywhere; they wear name tags and welcome me to the place they call home. Somehow, this just feels right. Although somewhere in consciousness there is the recognition of the gravity of this moment – I’m at Juilliard, the number one performing arts college in the country – I am still caught in the tangible support and love given by all of these smiling faces and welcoming words. After being led through a group warm up by voice teacher Kate Wilson, we are given kind words by acting teacher and director, Richard Feldman. Both of these teachers, people, are so kind and openhearted, it’s almost impossible to feel nervous. We are led back to our communal room and given times to audition; until our individual audition we are given free rein to relax, utilize the plentiful practice space on the fourth floor, and talk to the current students made available for questions. This environment makes all the difference – they make it clear that we are welcome, we are valued, and we are here to be seen, not judged.

My audition is in studio 306. I am led by yet another friendly, easy going student to the hallway outside of the studio and introduced to the, now alum, Joaquina Kalukango (recently seen on Broadway in the revival of Godspell and off-Broadway in the Signature Theatre’s premier of Hurt Village) who makes me feel even more at home. We chat and laugh until it comes time to audition – it feels completely normal to be here. By the time I am called in I feel as if I, like her, own this space. These halls are mine, this studio is mine, and these walls are mine. These are to be my friends, my teachers, my dressing rooms; this is my destiny. I walk into 306, an oversized studio with beautiful overhead windows and two entrances, with a sense of ease and calm. The midday sunlight poured through the windows and spilled along the studio floor as if to welcome me. The Soul of the World had never spoken so clearly. “You are here.” I turn from these magnificent windows to see the smiling faces of Richard Feldman and Mina Yakin. “Hello, Jasmine,” smiles Richard. “Good morning!”
I instantly feel at ease. “Do you mind if I take off my shoes?” I ask, already removing one slipper.
Richard laughs. “Of course. This is your time, you do whatever makes you most comfortable.”

It was the best audition I’ve ever had.  I don’t say that to praise my piece selection, or to brag about auditioning in sweatpants instead of dressing up, I don’t say that to give myself a pat on the back at all – I say it because of the love and welcoming I was given. In the following eight hours, I met the entire faculty, including Drama Division Head, James Houghton, who is also the artistic director for The Signature Theatre. I got to know some pretty amazing people (Some of whom are in my group!) and go through an initial callback with them in front of that faculty, and then stayed for an interview with James Houghton and second-year acting teacher, Becky Guy.  Everyone I encountered that day received me with open hearts, open minds, and open ears. I left the building around 9 pm, physically exhausted but spiritually renewed – I’d just taken the first steps toward the rest of my life, and I felt it in every bone of my body. I was finally home.

9:30 PM, Saturday, January 22, 2011
Decided to take the 1 Train back to 34^th Street – it’s safer that way.  =)