General Admission and Auditions

Enrollment into Harrison School for the Arts is by audition only.

The Lois Cowles Harrison Center for the Visual and Performing Arts is a nationally accredited, special-purpose school.  Founded in 1989, the school serves approximately 476 students in the ninth through twelfth grades.  Students audition or submit a portfolio for admission and take general education classes at Lakeland Senior High School.  Students consistently demonstrate high academic performance and are taught by a dedicated, multi-talented faculty, who are accomplished artists in their respective fields.

Applicants have varying backgrounds and differences in their arts areas.  These variances are understood and taken into consideration by all adjudicators; however, applicants are urged to request advice and help of an arts area teacher in preparing for an audition.

Audition Requirements for the specific departments can be found below:
Chorus - Dance - Film/Motion Picture Arts - Guitar - Jazz - Musical Theatre - Piano - Orchestra
Theatre - Technical Theatre - Visual Arts 

Application Packet due: January 10, 2013 by 3:00 p.m.

All materials, including the application, recommendations, resume and verification of academic progress must be returned to the office together in order for the applicant to be scheduled for an audition.  Recommendations should be returned in the envelope(s) provided.  Persons completing recommendations should seal the recommendation and sign over the backside of the envelope. Submitted applications become property of Harrison School for the Arts.

Audition Appointment Schedules Mailed:January 18, 2013

Students may audition for the departments listed below.

Audition Dates: 

If you have a conflict with one of the dates assigned for your department, write the date in the upper left hand corner that is a conflict.  If possible, we will try to schedule your audition on the other audition date(s).

             Status Letters Mailed:                   March 1, 2013

             New Student Parent Meeting:       March 14, 2012, 7:00 p.m.

             Return Signed Contract:               March 19,2013
The Harrison office will schedule auditions with each student given a specific date and time to report to their auditions.  Students may not audition for more than two (2) areas.  If a student is auditioning in more than one area, he/she must check both departments on the application form in order to have an audition time/date assigned.
Each department will review and select the students that will be considered for enrollment for the 2013 - 2014 school year.  Students auditioning will be notified by letter regarding his/her acceptance status.  Please do not call the office for this information.  Notification of status will be by letter only.  Students not accepted may audition again the following year.

There will be a required New Student/Parent Meeting on March 14 at 7:00 p.m. in the Harrison Theatre.  This meeting is for those students who have been accepted, as well as their parents/guardians.  The Harrison procedures, guidelines and contract will be reviewed at this time.  At the conclusion of the meeting, parents/guardians may submit the signed contract for their child to attend Harrison, or they can submit the signed contract to the Harrison office prior to 3:00 p.m. on TBA.  Contracts not received by TBAwill be invalid and a waiting list student will take that student's place in the department.

ADMISSIONS
Admission is based on recommendation, audition and interview.  Before a student can apply for audition, he/she must possess a 2.3 cumulative grade point average, have a good discipline record and submit two (2) letters of recommendations. (At least one recommendation must be from one of your current teachers. One recommendation must also speak to your artistic merit.)  Students are also expected to include a resume with the application packet.  Notification of auditions will be sent upon receiving the application packet, inclusive of the application, proof of academic standing, recommendations, and resume.  

The application packet must be returned to the Harrison office in its entirety in order for the applicant to be scheduled for an audition.

Application packet must include the following: signed application, personal resume with picture embedded or attached, two (2) letters of recommendation from teachers, latest report card (2.3 Cumulative GPA).

The Visual and Performing Arts Program is designed to provide specialized opportunities in instruction for students who have demonstrated exceptional talent, interest and dedication to the arts.  While receiving instruction within a particular arts discipline, students will also benefit from an academic curriculum that will meet district and state requirements for graduation and provide for Bright Futures options.

THE PROGRAM
The Visual and Performing Arts Program is a district-wide effort to identify students and to develop their talent/skills through a four-year artistic curriculum.  Countywide bus transportation is provided for qualified students.  The program is fully accredited, and has its own arts instructors, curriculum, and Advisory Board.

THE DISCIPLINES
The Visual and Performing Arts Program has arts programs in the areas of Visual Arts, Dance, Music (Orchestra, Piano, Vocal, Guitar, and Jazz Band), Theatre, Theatre Tech, Musical Theatre, and Motion Picture Arts.  Curriculum in each discipline is constructed to embrace the training of all students inclined towards the arts, whether their particular interests are performance, supportive, or visual art.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
1.  Students eligible for the program will have successfully completed the eighth grade and will     demonstrate competency and/or artistic potential in the specific visual and performing arts.  Although students may audition in any two areas in which they possess talent, once accepted, students are limited to one (1) area of specialization for scheduling purposes.
2.    Students and parents will be required to sign a contract which indicates they have a clear understanding of their responsibilities and are willing to make a commitment to the program.  The commitment is for each term that the student is enrolled in the arts program.
3.    Student's progress will be reviewed on a nine-week basis to determine eligibility for continued participation in the Visual and Performing Arts Program.
4.    New students entering Polk County Schools for the first time need to have the following paperwork to enroll:
      A.    Copy of birth certificate
      B.    Shot records updated on blue card from the Health Department
      C.    Physical within the last year
      D.    Social Security Card

(ALL AUDITIONS ARE CLOSED TO OBSERVERS)