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Auditions & Admission
Acceptance into the BFA Program is based on audition as well as a good academic record. Students will need to apply to and be accepted by the College of Liberal Arts. It is strongly suggested that you do so before your scheduled audition. Apply online or call 1.800.752.1000 to receive application materials in the mail.
Audition Requirements for Applicants
Throughout the audition process, we are looking for a particular kind of student: raw talent rather than slick polish. Passionate desire rather than “something fun to do”. Love of literature rather than dreams of fame and fortune. An appreciation of history. Curiosity. A sense of humor. A willingness to risk. A willingness to fail. We are seeking twenty actors who we believe will become artists of the American theatre and our future colleagues.
Seeing your work and meeting you for a short discussion is the best way to find these things out. To make your audition a much better experience for both of us, please follow the following guidelines. We ask that you prepare and present two pieces that do not to exceed 3 minutes total:
- Select them from written, produced plays. Please do not choose material from films, television, or original and/or self-written scripts.
- Rehearse them so that the total time does not exceed three minutes.
- At least one should be a portrayal of a character close to you in age, temperament, and emotional experience.
- Choose one from a play written over one hundred years ago. (Examples are Shakespeare, Moliere, Calderon, Ibsen, Shaw, Chekhov, and Wilde.)
- Choose one from a play written within the last one hundred years. (Examples are O’Neill, Odets, Lorca, Williams; Miller, Wilson, and other living playwrights.)
In addition, please prepare a third piece. Choose something from a role that others would probably never cast you as, but that you would love to play. We may or may not ask you to present this as well.
We will also be taking the time to have a short conversation with you.This is to give us, and you, a chance to ask questions and get to know each other a bit. It will be informal. There is nothing you can do to prepare for it but to be honest and completely yourself.
2009 Audition Tour
Each year in late January, program representatives embark on an audition tour throughout the United States, including New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Minneapolis. Check back beginning in September for 2009 audition dates.