This article is featured in the 2025 Homecoming Special Issue.
It’s an attention economy; booths are adorned with large, colorful signs; upperclassmen offer candy and cookies. Rows of booths and the possibilities are endless. The Student Involvement Fair was the Class of 2029’s first look into some of Dartmouth’s extracurricular offerings.
The performing arts groups are at the center of this chaos: acapella, theatre, comedy, dance. Each fall, performance groups hold auditions to select new members, which involve multiple rounds of intensive decisions. For freshmen navigating the first few weeks of college, these auditions can be daunting.
Aidan Chapas ’29 is a new member of the sketch comedy group Can’t Sell Culture. For his audition, Champas prepared a monologue and impression of Donald Trump as Regina George, and he said that the audition was competitive.
The possibility of rejection is a source of stress for many auditioning. Roen Peralta ’29, who joined the Dartmouth College Wind Ensemble as an oboist, said that she was “really nervous” before her audition.
“It was my first in-person audition since ninth grade, so I didn’t really know what to expect,” Peralta said.
Despite the stressful nature of the audition process, prospective members said upperclassmen made them feel welcome. Kavya Chettur ’29, a new member of the Raaz dance group, echoed this sentiment.
“All the dancers were super supportive,” Chettur said. “They were just cheering us on the whole time.”
Dartmouth Subtleties member Madeline Shaer ’27 said she tried to create an encouraging space for prospective new members, despite the grueling schedule.
“I had a big goal of making every auditionee feel really comfortable in our space,” Shaer said. “I think the hard thing is that it is a very intense weekend.”
Students that end up joining performing arts groups often find themselves welcomed into tight-knit campus communities. Peralta said that her DCWE section often makes plans to hang out together.
“All of my section is upperclassmen, and they’re very into going to get oboe dinners,” Peralta said.
Chettur said that the members of Raaz are “all best friends,” who make an effort to carve out time for each other.
“We see each other around campus, and we’ll say hi,” she said. “We grab meals together. We’re planning bonding activities throughout the fall term to get together.”
For Chapas, the community that formed almost immediately was unexpected but welcome.
“It’s just a really good group of people, and I’ve really enjoyed being with them,” Chapas said. “It wasn’t one of my motivations going into it, but now it’s honestly a very big part of my Dartmouth experience.”
Shaer encouraged students who were rejected from arts groups to continue to audition.
“We know that it’s all really stressful and the auditions can be pretty cutthroat,” she said. “It’s really tough not getting into a group that you might have your heart set on, but it truly is never too late. We do have people that join our group later in their Dartmouth experience.”
Dartmouth Decibelles member Ellie Langdon ’27 emphasized the importance of embracing the unexpected.
“Sometimes the best things at Dartmouth are things that you had never planned on,” she said. “Keep looking for a community because there are so many ways to find it.”
