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 School of Theatre and Dance Audition Policy

All Theatre Performance BFAs, Theatre Education majors, students in advanced theatre techniques classes, and intended Theatre for Youth majors are REQUIRED to audition for main-stage and Theatre for Youth–Storybook Theatre productions.

Audition Form (PDF format)   Audition Form (MS Word)

Admission to the BFA Musical Theatre Degree is by audition only. The audition is typically scheduled for February or early March each year. Please check the Theatre and Dance website frequently for updated/current audition dates.

Admission to the Musical Theatre BFA program is competitive.  Therefore, we strongly encourage high school seniors to check in with this website regularly to obtain the BFA audition date announcement.  This information is posted by October of the fall semester for each current academic year. Once the date is posted, prospective students must schedule an audition appointment to be considered for the BFA program (see audition form link above).  At this audition selected incoming freshmen will secure "accepted" status into the BFA Musical Theatre program insuring a slot in our program.  However, all “accepted” BFA students must successfully pass a progress evaluation audition at the end of his/her freshmen year to continue in the program.

PLEASE NOTE: HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS and TRANSFER STUDENTS who are unable to attend the audition date as scheduled may submit a video (standard VHS format or DVD format) recording with 2 musical selections from Broadway shows and a one-minute acting monologue, plus a photo and resume in order to be considered for acceptance into the program. The recorded audition must be received by February 1 of the year the student wishes to enter the program. This is not the ideal situation for evaluating a candidate as recorded media tends to dull live performance presentation, but recorded auditions have proven to be a successful alternative for candidates with schedule conflicts on live audition date.  Contact the Musical Theatre Area Coordinator with questions or for further information.

The Audition Process
February 27, 2010-Musical Theatre BFA Program Auditions
Auditions for current high school seniors, transfer students or current ECU students seeking admission to the musical theatre BFA program for fall 2010 is scheduled for February 27, 2010. Auditions will be held at the Messick Theatre Center on the ECU main campus. Time and room location to be confirmed via audition application procedure as noted below.

Everyone who is auditioning may be asked to participate in a simple pitch matching and/or ear training test.  (You do not have to know how to read music to take the test).  For the prepared singing/acting portion, you are asked to sing 16-32 bars of two songs: 1) a ballad, and 2) an up-tempo selection.  Both selections of your choice must be from musicals.  We provide an accompanist, so you must bring sheet music for your song selections.  In addition to the singing, you will perform one monologue from a play that demonstrates your range/potential as an actor that lasts no more than 45 seconds.  Choose a piece (comic or serious) that is appropriate for your age and type. The total time allowed for this portion of the audition is 3 minutes.

What do we look for in our auditions? The Music Theatre BFA degree requires students to have skills in singing, dancing, and acting.  Faculty from the Music, and Theatre and Dance schools of the university come together at this audition to evaluate prospective students in these three areas.  At ECU we strive to train "triple threat" performers who are equally skilled in singing, dancing, and acting, while at the same time recognizing that not all prospective students excel equally in each area.  (NOTE: There is no dance component required at this audition).  We expect that students will excel in at least one of the three areas and show promise for advancement in the other two. More specifically, we look at the following:

• Is the auditioning student singing clearly and on pitch.  Is s/he making the effort to communicate with us?
• Is there a contrast in character and vocal quality between the songs?
• Diction: Are the lyrics of the songs clear and easily understood?
• Is the auditioning student singing AND acting the songs?
• Is the acting believable?  Has the prospective student created clear characters in the three pieces? Is the monologue well-prepared and an appropriate selection for the actor?
• Is the acted text easily understood? Does the actor understand the piece?
• Is the actor open to direction?

Letter of Recommendation
At least one letter of recommendation is required, two is even better.

Location
Auditions will be held in the Studio Theatre in the Messick Theatre Arts Center.  A way to find us is on Mapquest.com at 1001 E. 5th St., Greenville, NC 27858.  The Messick Theatre Arts Center is located where S. Eastern Street meets 5th Street.  We are also located on the ECU campus maps.

You are encouraged to navigate through the ECU School of Theatre and Dance home page, especially the “prospective students” link, to look up more info about us and our facilities.  If you have further inquiry for issues not addressed in our website contact the Musical Theatre Area Coordinator.

However, please do not contact the Musical Theatre Area Coordinator directly to schedule an audition appointment prior to the February 1, 2010 deadline.  Choose an audition form above to secure an audition appointment for the BFA Musical Theatre Audition. Print the PDF version of this form and return it in hard copy or download and fill out the Microsoft Word version and send via an e-mail attachment to the appropriate address noted at the bottom of the application