MOUNT VERNON — The Mount Vernon City School District’s Performing and Visual Arts Magnet School has developed a creative way to hold its annual admission auditions for the coming school year. The school will host Zoom auditions in May. It will be the first time in the school’s five-year history that auditions will be held online.
Schools in the district – as well as across the country – have moved to digital learning while school buildings are closed during the governor’s stay-at-home orders because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, the Performing and Visual Arts Magnet has taken digital learning a step further – to digital auditions.
“The district is continuing to be a leader in providing digital learning opportunities for its students and online auditions are certainly an inspiring alternative,” Superintendent Dr. Kenneth R. Hamilton said. “We would prefer in-person auditions, of course, but our administrators and teachers have done an admirable job in adapting to the difficult environment that has been presented to us. This is not unusual in the performing arts industry as artists conduct virtual auditions on a regular basis.”
The school is reaching out to families with children who are currently in grades 5-8 in all schools in Mount Vernon who have a passion and talent in theatre, voice, dance, orchestra, band, technical theatre or visual arts. Enrollment for the school next year will include grades 6-12.
“With school buildings closed to slow the spread of COVID-19, our school needed to develop a way to still have auditions and select our students for the next school year,” said Dr. Evelyn Collins, the Principal of the Performing and Visual Arts Magnet. “Having auditions through Zoom was the answer.”
Families of interested students must submit a completed Zoom online audition request application by April 24. Families that have already submitted an earlier application must also complete and submit the Zoom Audition Request Form. Auditions will be conducted by appointment May 4-8 via Zoom. Parents and guardians of students will also be interviewed on those dates. An audition committee will then provide results to families by May 26.
“This has been a major adjustment for all of us,” Collins said. “However, we still wanted to give students the opportunity to share their passion for the arts and audition for our school.”
The school anticipates at least 450 students next fall. For more information, visit the registration tab on the school website.
