Please share your BFA Acting audition experiences (on campus and at unified auditions) here!
Thanks for starting! We will be in NY, Chicago, and Ohio Unifieds, and some on campus.
We will also be in NY and Chicago and some on campus. 
We will be in Chicago and some on campus too.
My D has had two on campus Acting auditions so far.
At U of Evansville, the process was fairly quick and non-stressful, due to the way it was scheduled â they only have a few people there at any one time, and you get an exact time slot, so there were only 2 other students who were there and waiting with their parents. Everyone we encountered was warm, welcoming, and friendly. Audition itself took place in a theater if I remember correctly, and D did her two monos and her 16 bar song. Brief conversation/interview afterwards where they asked her a couple of questions and she got to ask some as well. After that was over, a student gave us a personal tour of the theater facilities. Thumbs up for a very smooth and stress free audition day by Evansville!
At Hartt, it was more of a standard on-campus audition where there is a large group of people called at once. My D was auditioning for both MT and Acting, so her experience will be a little different from those who are just auditioning for Acting. There was a movement call for straight acting and a dance call for MT, and at the sign-up desk they told her she would just be doing the dance call, since the two took place at the same time. While the students were in their dance or movement call, the parents were taken into a black box studio for an information session by the head of the Theatre department, which also included a couple of students, an alumnus who handles prep for senior showcase, and two other administrators who handle admissions and financial aid, if memory serves. Lots of good info given here. After the movement/dance calls, the students had their individual audition sessions. Parents waited in a long hallway near, but not directly next to, the audition rooms, where there were plenty of chair/desks available. As a heads up, some students (like my D) had individual audition times that almost immediately followed the dance/movement calls, so be prepared for that possibility (we were, and it went fine). In the Acting audition room, my D performed her 2 pieces and then was asked to pull up a chair and have a chat with the audition panel (canât remember how many she said were present, but the panel included the head of the theater department, as well as at least 2 others). She said it was a nice conversation where she had plenty of time to ask questions and discuss the pieces she performed, as well as her specific interests in theatre, and she felt that the auditors were warm, genuine, and truly interested in what she had to say. Once students are finished with their individual auditions, they are free to leave. We felt the audition was well-run and, although the dance call ran long and was challenging (but still fun), it was another very good experience.
As an added bonus, my D has already received audition results from both of these schools; however, she doesnât want me to post any of her results until after the audition season is over. Later in the season my D will audition at NYC unifieds, UMich on campus, Chicago unifieds, and CMU on campus. Iâm happy to post her audition experiences so people can get a sense of what to expect â we have gotten so much valuable info from CC that we are more than happy to pay it forward. My D also said she wants to come on CC herself after auditions are over and decisions are made to write her own post about what her journey was like and where she plans to matriculate.
Thanks so much for all that info!
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appreciated all the info⊠my D did have an on campus at Baldwin Wallace, but I didnât go along and it was back in Nov. so donât remember much of what I heard about the day - except believe it was a comfortable atmosphere. They had movement, a tour, an opportunity to ask questions. They were called in to audition in small groups. MT was in a separate building (if they even had them on same day? think they did) BW did respond back with results on time with when they said they would. ⊠And, same on our end regarding results, not sharing as yet but will try to be helpful as am able⊠hope folks understand⊠thanks!
Emerson BFA Theatre & Performance â Early Action On campus audition in November. There are two time slots for auditions 9am or 2pm. Three hour audition time slot (we were done in two hours)
Arrive 30 minutes prior. Kids on the 2nd floor and parents on the 4th floor
Parents â are in the 4th floor âGuest Waiting Roomâ â where a current MT sophomore student (her class is 15 total) âbabysatâ us. At about 3pm the Head of Admissions came up and explained the Audition process of what was going on downstairs. This was super helpful. Then he opened it up to Q&A. The few notes that I took were:
- MT - about 1100 apply and they send out about 60 acceptance letters, canât remember expected class size
- Theatre & Performance BFA and Theatre Education & Performance BFAâs â about 850 apply total and they send out about 200 acceptance letters combined with class size of 75 combined
Audition Process:
- Check in again and have photo taken
- Both acting and MT kids hang out and chat together
- Group information session, then brief Q&A
- MT kids go off change clothes for the dance part of their audition
- Acting kids when ready volunteer in groups of 3-4 are brought to wait outside the individual audition rooms.
- Once in the audition room there is one interviewer
- Perform first monologue
- Interviewer can say âthank youâ and you are done. Or ask you to perform your second monologue.
- After second monologue my child was then asked a few questions
- Thank you â and that was the end of audition process
University of Michigan on campus BFA Acting audition:
The audition was on a Friday and took most of the day.
8:00 am check in - lobby of the theatre building. People were arriving before 8 and waiting in the lobby until they opened check-in at the main desk (they called for people to check in at around 7:55 am.) There was a table with coffee, tea, fruit, snacks and water and also theatre department booklets, etc. At check in each person was given a folder with a specific audition schedule, some books of information, etc.
8:15 am They led kids and parents to a classroom where we sat at desks, were welcomed and watched a video about the program- mostly candid interviews with acting students about their experience in the program.
8:30 am Some current students took the auditioning kids on a tour of the theatre school building and answered questions while the director of the acting program spoke with parents. He was super helpful, took lots of questions and made sure everyone got the information they needed.
9:30 am The students returned and basically swapped with parents. They told us that we could feel free to go if weâd like but that we could also go on a tour of the building. I took the tour. Itâs a really nice building with plenty of rehearsal space, a huge workshop for set building and a very cool costume shop. Students answered questions along the way and shared openly about their experiences. Everyone seemed to feel supported, challenged and happy.
During this same time period the students were meeting with the director of the acting program.
10:30 am Parents and Kids reconnected briefly- the kids had a 15 minute break to change and get ready for a movement/acting/improv workshop with two professors who teach those classes.
10:45 am - 12 pm Movement/Acting/Improv class
Parents were invited to stay around the theatre building (there were lots of places to sit and the hospitality table) or we were free to leave. The building next to the theatre is a student union with a cafeteria, cafe, bookstore, etc. and lots of couches, seating and lounge areas. I spent some time in the theatre building and then wandered next door, got some coffee and hung out while I waited for my kid to be finished with the movement class.
12 pm Break before their individual audition and interview time slot.
My kidâs group was scheduled for 1:30 pm, the second group. People could either go next door for lunch, hang around the building or use the rehearsal rooms in the basement that the school made available for auditioning kids to rehearse their monologues. At this point there was a lot of energy- kids were changing from movement clothes into audition clothes, singing, chatting with each other, showing each other their headshots, etc.
The audition time groups were posted on the inside of the door to the room where auditions were taking place. Once they started calling groups you couldnât see the lists anymore, since the door was closed, but before each groupâs time the director would come out and call each kidâs name in that group, tell them the order theyâd be called, remind them to remember the name of the person right before them, then call the next person.
My kid was in the 1:30 pm audition group. At 1:30 the director came out, called each name in the group and made sure that person was in the hallway outside the audition room, told them all the order and then took the first person in. The auditions were quick- the director greeted each kid and walked them in. There was a full panel of auditors- my kid couldnât remember how many, but at least 5 or 6. They came in, did their two monologues, had a brief âinterviewâ conversation and then they were done. Once this was finished they were free to go.
Interesting things I learned:
You can double major here as a BFA Acting student, but not in two theatre school majors.
Second semester junior year they donât schedule required theatre school classes nor are you required to perform in order to enable study abroad or double majoring or whatever else you need some flexibility to accomplish.
Frosh live on campus in two dorms very close to the theatre building (on the North Campus) with their own dining halls. Upperclass theatre students can live on campus, but many move off campus and live in houses together in nearby Kerrytown. There is a free bus that takes students all around and between campuses (and stops near Kerrytown)- the bus is reliable and comes every 5 minutes.
First semester frosh do not perform- to allow them to settle in- but after that they are required to audition every semester and accept the parts theyâre given (except for second semester junior year). They can petition to take a semester off from the performance requirement but it will only be granted if there is something theyâd not be able to do otherwise.
There are 4/5 main stage university productions directed by faculty or visiting faculty, and an unbelievable number of student productions spread over several studios and student organizations. They are guaranteed to be cast in at least 2 university productions a year but can perform in as many student productions as they can handle. Students collaborate on those productions and can take on roles outside of their field of study- ex: an acting BFA could direct a show, thereâs definitely Acting/MT crossover.
They offer merit scholarships based on talent and those can be 4 year/renewable. There are also opportunities for earning additional scholarships year by year based on your work and achievement that can be added to the original award. There are no cuts, but they evaluate after sophomore year to assess progress/ascertain commitment.
All in all, it was a really great day. Well organized, people were super friendly, lots of good information. I took a lot of notes in the talk with the director and on the tour, so if anyone has any specific questions I can try to answer them.
@LamaDrama and @TenaciousC , awesome detailsâŠthank you so much!
@TenaciousC , your account is particularly timely for my DâŠshe auditions on campus at UMich soon. Did they give you any idea of how many apply, how many offers they make, and/or the class size theyâre shooting for? Also, were the MT and Acting kids and/or parents mixed together for any parts of the day? My D has a friend auditioning for MT on the same day sheâs auditioning for acting and we were just wondering whether they would end up seeing each other or not.
Again, thanks to you bothâŠthis thread is so helpful! Iâll have more audition day experiences to write about after next weekend.
@muttsandMT Iâm so glad my post was helpful! Iâll try to answer your specific questions.
U Michigan Acting BFA
Class size/Admissions:
Yes, the director gave very specific information about this and will answer questions candidly.
âthey will accept 28-30 kids targeting a yield of 20 (he said about 2/3 accept offers)
âthey will maintain a small waitlist and if youâre on it and Michigan is your top choice (ie- you will definitely accept an offer off the waitlist) then you should contact him and let him know
âI donât remember hearing how many they invite to audition, but everyone who applies is not necessarily invited to audition, so youâve made it through a sort of pre-screen already (I want to say I read somewhere they will invite/audition around 400? I donât remember where I read that though)
And he described the rest of the admissions process in detail as well.
âthey carefully review applicants to choose those they invite to audition, looking at the whole file (they know that applicants also have to pass academic admissions so they look at that initially)
âthey invite students to audition on campus (1/10 was 1st) and at unified auditions
âFeb 9th theyâre done auditioning students
âduring auditions they call people in groups, then at the end of each group they discuss all the people theyâve seen
âafter 2/9 they get together and discuss notes made during auditions, then they all (especially director) look closely at every aspect of the application- essay, film you uploaded, academic record, recommendations, etc. and decide who theyâll accept (director said âIâve already looked closely at quite a few of themâ)
âthey forward their list to the UM admissions
âif UM admissions has an issue with anyoneâs academics, the department can advocate for them if they really want that student- he said they can successfully advocate for students who are âon the edgeâ
âthey will reach out with acceptances at the end of February
Acting/MT: At check-in they were calling Acting and Directing students to separate lines, and I donât remember any MT people being there, but by the time we got out of our meeting/tour there were definitely MT people all over the place. You all understand when I say you can tell the MT kids from the Acting kids, yes? Sitting in the hallway I felt as if I were front row at fashion week- some amazing ensembles. Alas, actors are not so dramatically clad. Bottom line, I bet youâll be able to hang out with your MT friends while you wait for kids in the afternoon. They are all in the same building and the atmosphere was pretty relaxed and friendly. Kids were sitting together all around the hallways- even the ones who had just met in movement class.
Iâd also add in terms of logistics, there isnât much parking around the theatre building so we took a lyft from our hotel (stayed at the Residence Inn 3535 Green Court in Ann Arbor, was quiet, beds super comfortable and free breakfast bar that was decent.) There are other parking lots around for a small fee, but it was easy to lyft so thatâs what we did. If you drive, thereâs a circular driveway in front of the theatre building to drop off and a free bus system that you could take back to the theatre.
Hope it all goes well and BAL to your daughter!
Azusa Pacific BFA Acting â On Campus audition
- Arrive and check in with student rep. about 30 min. prior to your time slot
- Student Rep takes you to audition room (Head of Dept. and one other teacher)
- Perform 2 contrasting monologues and then an optional 16 bars of a song (which my child did)
- Extra â was then was asked to re-perform 2nd monologue sitting down
- Brief Q&A
- End of audition â total time about 15 min. in length
We then toured the campus
DD auditioned and accepted at George Mason & VCU. George Mason, she went into classroom with 3 instructors, there for 10 minutes. I sat outside and wiated. VCU, they had a general info session before auditions. Luckily, My DD was first in one of three groups so I just waited about 15 minutes. Other parents had to wait two plus hours.
Will be at NYC Unifieds for Depaul Friday, Carnegie Saturday, Fordham Sunday. Going to UNCSA the following Sunday.
@TenaciousC , wow! Thank you so much for the detailed info!!! . And yesâŠI know what you mean about the difference between Acting and MT kids. My D does both, but finds she fits in better with the Acting crowdâŠshe is pretty reserved and introverted, and most of the MT kids she knows, while extremely friendly and kind, are also pretty extroverted.
I just looked it up, and we booked the same hotel you stayed atâŠso itâs nice to know we can expect a good stay with comfy beds. And thank you so much for the heads up on parkingâŠIâm driving (weâre flying in and rented a car), so itâs nice that I now know this because parking is exactly the kind of thing that stresses me out!
Iâll pay your kindness forward by continuing to provide descriptions of my Dâs audition experiences.
BAL to your student too!
So this info will not help any 2024âs as itâs over for this year. We were at Ohio Unifieds yesterday held at Hillaird Darby HS near Columbus, and I am really giving info on it to help those in future years because I had difficulty finding much.
Itâs presented by Ohio Thespians, and I believe there may be similar groups in other states offering similar type events. I apologize because we really didnât know much about them, itâs not a part of my Dâs school. We learned of it because it was the audition location/date that worked best for OU.
There were around 20 or so schools there. It was a mix of BFA and BA, but my guess is more BAâs - many schools I had no clue about. The students began the day at 8:30am with movement and voice warm-ups, and then the MTâs had a dance call. After, they were called to audition in a lecture hall with all the college representatives (and I believe they went in alone). Once they were done with their audition they could leave for lunch. The parents drop off, or wait in the building somewhere (I dropped off) during morning. But then parents attend in the afternoon.
At a bit after 2pm they posted on accepted the âcall backâ lists were out. Near where the colleges were setup at tables (in library of the high school) each school had a separate paper with the names of who they would like to talk with that afternoon. All schools posted, except for Otterbein who considered this live prescreen and stated they would notify at a later date. Some of the schools called back a lot, and some very few.
Setup was like a college fair, with each school having tables and chairs for the parent/teen to sit and talk with them. The schools varied in next steps. Some gave the artistic yes for their BFA program on the spot, others encouraged you to apply to the school, or gave the green light to schedule an audition at Unifieds.
Below was the list of schools and think it varies a bit each year. I honestly donât know for sure if all those schools were there, but it was the list they had on acceptd. Bowling Green was there yet not on the acceptd list. I guess if you really cared about a certain school, it would be good to double check with the school itself.
We had time to go to 6 of the schools (the session runs 2:30-4) which was perfect because D made it to the ones she cared about.
My D had fun meeting the other teens that were auditioning, and it was good to get in another audition experience before going to Unifieds. All in all, for us it was worth going.
University of Mount Union
University of Akron
University of Evansville
The Ohio State University
AMDA
Ashland University
Ohio University
University of Findlay
Huntington University
Otterbein University
Ohio Northern University
Indiana University South Bend
Marietta College
University of Detroit Mercy
Niagara University
Purdue Fort Wayne
Fairmont State University
New York Conservatory for Dramatic Art
Heidelberg University
Rochester College
Wittenberg University
Austin Peay State University
Miami University
Thanks @sagezinnia - sounds like a good experience for you!
@yourmama99 thanks, and congratulations on the acceptances!
@muttsandMT Could you tell us when you receive the response from UHARTT and how (letter/email)? We auditioned back in December and waiting to hear from them. Thank you
Hi @2024parentbfa! We actually found my Dâs decision thanks to a parent on the MT board who posted that her D was checking her portal and a decision was thereâŠeven though there had been no email from Hartt. So I asked my D to check her portal, and sure enough â when she clicked on her application, the portal said that there had been a âstatus update.â There was a link to view the update, and there was a âletterâ in her portal that was dated 1/3/20 with her decision. We also received a snail mail version of her decision this past Friday. Interestingly, though, it only addressed MT and not Acting, even though my D auditioned for both. I have no idea whether we will eventually get a separate decision for Acting or not â I had thought perhaps not, that maybe it was an either-or decision, but now that Iâve learned that you havenât received your childâs Acting decision yet, Iâm not so certain we wonât get a separate decision for Acting after all.
Hopefully that makes sense and is at least a little bit helpful!
Northeastern (Boston) BA Theatre with many different minor options (i.e. MT, playwriting, etc.)
Audition in November to âenhance your admissions profile & increase merit-based financial aid if acceptedâ.
Audition On-Campus (2 hours max depending on the time of your individual audition)
From website: Please prepare up to 3 minutes of material: one single monologue or
two contrasting monologues, whatever you think best showcases your abilities.
Your monologue selections should be no longer than a total of 3 minutes in length.
We recommend that you select contemporary monologues and only do a classic piece if that is your particular strength or interest.
- Email Department Rep and secure an audition Group and individual audition time.
Group A: 9:45am-12pm
We were in Group B with individual monologue audition at 12:30pm
Group B
- 11:15 am: Arrival â hangout with kids and parents, coffee and snacks
- 11:30am-12pm: General information about the program with Q&A Session
- At this point parents went into separate room and had a Q&A with four current Theatre students
- 12-12:15p: Group Warm-up
- 12:20-1:30p: Individual monologue presentations (2 auditors in room)
We were done at 12:45pm This was our second visit to the campus
Thank you, @muttsandMT ! It makes a lot of sense. Was the audition on campus in December?