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Theatre/Musical Theatre auditions will be held both in-person at the Katzen Arts Center on the AU campus, and virtually on Zoom. Please choose the option that works best for you. While it is always delightful to meet potential students in person—and it will give you a chance to get a real feel for the program, students, and campus—there is no disadvantage to doing your audition remotely. We take the same time and care with everyone who auditions. We really want to get to know you better… and offer you the opportunity to get to know us better, too!

• Fall 2024 Program Auditions for Performers: November 16, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. (online and in person)
• Spring 2025 Program Auditions for Performers: February 8 & 9, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. (online and in person)
• Spring 2025 Program Interviews for Theatre majors in Design and Production, Directing, Playwriting, and Theatre and Social Justice: February 4, 6-10 p.m. (online only)

Fall program auditions are intended for early action, early decision, and transfer students, as well as current AU students. Spring program auditions/interviews are intended for all other students planning to begin study at AU in Fall 2025, as well as current AU students. Please sign up for your program audition or interview on .* If you cannot be available for an in-person or live Zoom audition, you may submit a recorded video audition. Video auditions are also submitted on Slideroom and are due at least one week prior to the audition dates for live and zoom auditions. Please get in touch if you have questions.

Overview

We’re excited to meet you, and to have you meet us. There will usually be two AU professors at every audition/interview. These informal, collegial auditions/interviews are a great opportunity for us to meet each other, and to see if you and the AU Theatre/Musical Theatre Program might be the right match. Each auditioner or interviewee will have about 15 minutes total. After you present your materials, we’ll have some time to chat a bit, perhaps do some quick coaching or offer perspective on the work you presented, and allow you some time to ask a few questions, too.

• For intended Theatre Performance Majors, please prepare two brief contrasting monologues. The total time for both pieces should be about three minutes. The contrast may be comic/dramatic, classical/contemporary, or anything that feels contrasting to you.

• For intended Musical Theatre Performance Majors, please prepare one contemporary monologue, and two brief contrasting song cuts (no more than 32 bars each). The contrast can be comic/dramatic, up-tempo/ballad, or anything that offers real contrast in energy or style. If you are auditioning in person, an accompanist will be provided. If you are auditioning on Zoom, you’ll need an accompanist, or you’ll need to sing along to recorded accompaniment. The total time for all your pieces should be about five minutes or less.

• If you are a dancer… and you’d really like the opportunity to share with us a little of what you do, you are welcome to upload a video onto Slideroom of a dance piece of about one minute or less in length. This is NOT required.
• For those interested in Directing, Playwriting, Design, Dramaturgy, and Technical Theatre (all non-performance areas), please prepare to make a five-minute presentation about a production of your choice. Please talk about the production from the perspective of your area of primary interest. Feel free to present supporting materials from past productions you have worked on. Also, please share a resume of your theatrical experience on Slideroom.
• The spring program auditions and interviews are for incoming first-year non-transfers. Current AU students and transfer students are welcome to audition/interview fall or spring.

Guidelines for Performance Auditions

1. Please post your resume and headshot on Slideroom. If you do not have a theatrical resume, please write us a brief bio about your theatrical experience. If you do not have a professional headshot, that is perfectly fine. Share a picture that looks like you. Students enter this program with all levels of theatrical experience.
2. IMPORTANT: For all your monologues and songs, please choose material with which you strongly connect. Choose characters that are probably close to you in age and energy— that live easily within your own experience or imagination. Most importantly, choose something you love that you want to share with us! This is probably not the best place to show us that you can play an ancient witch/wizard, or an animal—unless that is what you most love, and then go for it!
3. Please allow yourself plenty of time to prepare your piece before you show it. The better prepared you are, the more fun you’ll have, and the more effective your audition will be. We do not expect you to be perfect. That is why you want to go to school to study! But know your material well. It will be better for everyone.
4. You do not need to be in costume for the pieces you are doing, or “dressed up” for us. Again, we want to get to know you. Wear what makes you comfortable and feels appropriate to you for this audition. That said, what you wear should allow you to perform the pieces you are doing in an effective manner.
5. Introduce your pieces by providing your name, the name of the play, and the playwright. You do not need to provide contextual information from the play to preface your work. If we have questions, we will ask you.
6. If you are singing in-person, an accompanist will be provided. Please make sure you bring sheet music that is clearly marked and in the correct key. If you are singing on Zoom, please make sure that your accompaniment can be heard clearly on our end, but that your voice is prominent in the audio balance. Please try it on zoom with someone else before your audition for us! We want to hear you clearly!
7. If you are auditioning on Zoom, please make sure you face the camera pretty much straight on, and that it is near eye level. (Often the camera is lower than it should be.) Place the person you are speaking to just to the left or right of the camera. We want to see you clearly. Play any audio off a separate speaker, one that is not connected to your video camera device.
8. Remember your time limit. To be respectful and mindful of the other students auditioning, we will need to adhere to the audition time allotments. You are allowed about three minutes for theatre, and about five minutes for musical theatre.
9. As part of your audition, one of the auditors may coach you on one of your audition pieces. This is an opportunity for you to get a little taste of the way we work. Please respond to the adjustments and direction as best you can, and feel free to ask questions if you don’t understand. We are on your team. We want you to succeed.

Sign Up

To sign up for an audition or interview slot, please fill out our online application at  and select your preferred audition/interview times within the application. Upon completion of your application, you will be contacted by the Theatre Program with an assigned time and other pertinent information (Note: it may take 1-2 weeks after your submission to receive this notification.). If you have any questions or difficulties, please email theatreauditions@american.edu.