Today we’d like to introduce you to Ruby Wolter.
Hi Ruby, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Hi there — my name is Ruby, and I am a college student getting my BFA in musical theatre at the University of Utah. A Nashville native, the performing arts have always been a huge part of my life. I grew up in a family of musicians, and was drawn to musical theatre from a very young age. Starting my freshman year of high school, I knew that I wanted to pursue theatre in college and professionally.
The musical theatre college audition/application process is unlike anything else. High school seniors apply academically and artistically to anywhere from 10-35 musical theatre BFA programs in hopes of having just a few options by the end of the process. I personally applied and auditioned for 30 schools. While I enjoyed the process, it resulted in multiple missed days of school, hundreds of dollars in application fees, flights, and hotel stays, and an overall feeling of stress.
When I finally landed on the University of Utah to pursue my BFA in musical theatre, I decided that I would help others through their college audition process, in hopes of making it as streamlined and easy as possible. There are lots of musical theatre college coaching companies on the internet, but none of them were students who were fresh out of the process — so, I decided to fill that gap.
I started my account, @audition.tips during the fall of 2023, and have never looked back. The account started simply as a place for high school students to come ask questions, find community, and have access to affordable resources and coaching. I posted consistently for about 8 months to around 500 followers, but starting in May of 2024, my account started rapidly gaining followers. By the end of that summer, I was up to a community of 20k, and a year later, 35k, which is where I am now!
I have learned so much over the last 2 years, and am grateful for every second of it. About a year into my content creation journey, I started getting lots of DMs asking for private coachings. I’ve never claimed to be a teacher or an expert by any means– just someone who went through the process and is willing to share what she learned. What I soon learned is that that is what actually made my account so appealing to my followers: the willingness to just be there to help someone figure it out. I’ve been coaching ever since!
I make a point to be very active in the college audition scene every year. I stay up to date on application information, audition dates, and any other important changes. I love to interview current students going through the process as well. After prepping a lot of students for the 2024-25 audition season, I felt that it was time to put my thoughts and advice into one place, which is what led me to write my book this past summer.
My book, “The Audition Chronicles: A Comprehensive Guide to the College Audition Process” is the book I desperately needed when I was applying to college musical theatre and performing arts programs. After three years of deep research, private coaching, and personally auditioning for 30 colleges, I poured everything I learned into this guide to save readers time, stress, and tears. Applying to college is already hard—but the audition process for performing arts programs takes it to a whole new level. From prescreens and travel-heavy schedules to extra essays, missed school, and high academic expectations on top of it all, this journey can feel overwhelming and isolating. This book is a one-stop-shop for surviving (and thriving in) the college audition process. Whether you’re wondering how to prepare, what to expect, or just need reassurance that you’re not alone—The Audition Chronicles is here to guide you every step of the way.
I released the book just 2 months ago, and am so happy to see reviews of it already helping so many high school students as they head into this next audition season.
The release of my book inspired me to launch a merch line to continue to unify my online community. Both the book and merch are available at my website rubywolter.com
Through my Instagram account, I have also found another avenue of work in collaborating with brands via User Generated Content and in-feed sponsored content. This side hustle has become more and more of a full time job and I love every second of it. Creating Ads and content for my favorite brands has been the perfect job that allows me to utilize my creative side in an outlet outside of the performing arts.
As I enter my 3rd year in the U’s Musical Theatre Program, I am so excited to be back in classes, doing what I love. I am so grateful for everything my program has taught me, and for how supportive they have been of my passions that stray outside of my major.
I plan to continue to run the @audition.tips community well into my professional career. I get such personal fulfillment from being a resource to high school students and their parents – a resource that I never had.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My biggest struggle has always been not caring what other people think! Its hard to put yourself out there daily on social media, but pushing myself out of my comfort zone is what has gotten me where I am today! When I need inspiration, I remind myself that my content has helped other people do what they love each day, just like me!
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
First and foremost, I am a musical theatre performer. I am at my happiest singing and tap dancing on a stage to a golden age tune. This fall I am very excited to be playing Vivienne Kensington in Legally Blonde the Musical at the University of Utah. While most of my summer was dedicated to choreographing and writing my book, I also got to make my debut singing and tap dancing at New York City’s 54 Below.
I love posting my performance videos on social media as well as a means to inspire others to put themselves out there. If you can perform on a stage for thousands of people, you can post that same performance online for thousands of people. You never know when the “right person” will see your work! The internet is a gift, in that way.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
My family is my biggest group of supporters! They encourage me to pursue my passions and always lean on my faith as the most important part of my life — they keep me grounded!
In high school, it was my dance teacher, Stephanie Hamilton, that made me feel like a career in the performing arts was something that I could do! I was “late” to the dance side of musical theatre, starting my training in 8th grade. Ms. Hammy was the one who pushed me to learn as much as I could in 5 years. She is the reason I felt prepped for the dance side of college auditions.
I am also, incredibly grateful to my program head at the U, Erin Speer and to my voice teachers, David and Shalee Schmidt for really pushing me to make the most out of my education in the musical theatre program.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://rubywolter.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/audition.tips/
