Theatre Auditions & Interviews

 

Thinking about applying for a Theatre Scholarship?

Excellent! Though an audition or interview is not required to study theatre at Muhlenberg, it is how you get considered for a Talent Scholarship. It's also a great way for us to get to know you, and for you to get to know the Theatre Program. A strong Talent Scholarship interview or audition can also improve your admissions profile — and you don't have to major in theatre to be considered for a Talent Scholarship.

Your Talent Scholarship meeting will always include an interview with a member or the theatre faculty, who will talk to you about your interests, ideas, and experience. If you have samples of your theatrical work or artwork, we'd love to take a look them. And if you're a performer, you can audition for us with a monologue and, if you'd like, a vocal selection. (Guidelines to prepare for all this can be found below.)

You have two options for your Talent Scholarship interview or audition: Attend a Theatre Open House event, or schedule an individual campus visit.

Theatre Open House events

If you're interested in Theatre at Muhlenberg, we encourage you to be our guest at the second of our two Theatre Open House events. During these dynamic on-campus experiences, you'll be able to take a workshop with our theatre faculty, interact with current theatre students, and tour the facilities. If you wish, you can also schedule a Talent Scholarship interview or audition.

High school juniors are welcome to attend the event without the audition/interview.

Remaining Open House date: Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024

These dates are scheduled one day after each of the Dance Open Houses. If you're interested in both Theatre & Dance, we encourage you to attend both!

Sign up here for an Open House event!

Open House / Audition Day Schedule

 

Individual Talent Scholarship Interviews & Auditions

If you can't attend one of our Open House events, we'd love to schedule an individual campus visit, during which you can attend a theatre class, tour the facilities, and sit down with a member of the faculty. You can also arrange a Talent Scholarship interview or audition if you wish. Auditions and interviews are conducted either in person or live over Zoom. 

Individual campus visits can currently be scheduled from Jan. 15 through Feb. 15, 2024. Be sure to complete your Talent Scholarship interview or audition by the due dates listed under "Timelines," below. Auditions and interviews must conclude on Feb. 15, 2024

Students interested in an in-person visit for acting, directing, or playwriting: Sign up here

Students interested in a Zoom meeting for acting, directing, or playwriting: Sign up here

Students interested in stage management, design, or technical theatre: Sign up here for a Talent Scholarship interview or portfolio review.

Please wait until your senior year to schedule a Talent Scholarship meeting — but younger students are welcome to come visit us! Details on the Campus Visit page.

Timelines

Early Decision 1:
   application deadline: Nov. 15
   best to audition before: Dec. 1
   admissions decision: mid-December

Early Action:
   application deadline: Dec. 1
   best to audition before: Dec. 15
   admissions decision: Feb. 1

Early Decision 2:
   application deadline: Feb. 1
   best to audition before: Feb. 1
   admissions decision: mid-February

Regular Decision:
   application deadline: Feb. 1
   best to audition before: Feb. 15
   admissions decisions: mid-March

These are the deadlines to have your Talent Scholarship interview or audition reflected in your initial financial aid offer; however, you may still be considered for a Talent Scholarship after you have been admitted, until Feb. 15.

For more information on admissions and timelines, visit the Admissions website.

Please note that a Talent Scholarship Interview with a member of the Theatre & Dance faculty does not take the place of an Admissions Interview. Students should also schedule an Admissions Interview with the Office of Admissions.

Transfer Student applicants are welcome to audition after Feb. 15. See the Transfer Student web portal for more information on timelines and processes.

Audition/Interview Requirements

All students interested in being considered for a Talent Scholarship in any area are welcome to submit up to two letters of recommendation from teachers or theatre professionals, attesting to the quality of your talent, leadership qualities, and work ethic. Letters are not required. Please ask your references to email letters directly to the Department, at [email protected].

 

For students interested in acting:

For the acting audition, prepare either …

• two contrasting monologues, memorized, totaling not more than four minutes in length. It is recommended that no accents be used, and you read the plays that the monologues are from. OR…
• one monologue and one song (32 bars), selected from the musical theatre repertoire. Students with classical voice training have the option to sing an additional 32-bar section of an art song or aria.

Students who plan to sing are required to bring recorded accompaniment. You can send us your vocal track ahead of time or bring it along and play it over a Bluetooth connection or headphone cable.

We encourage you to tell us about all your theatrical interests in your Talent Scholarship interview. If you are interested in pursuing any of the fields below in addition to performance, please let us know, and feel free to bring along samples and materials!

For students interested in directing or playwriting

Please send us your résumé and any portfolio materials that you'd like to share, including playwriting samples, prompt books, production photos, programs, etc. A portfolio isn't required — but we'd love to take a look at any materials you'd like to show us!

You may submit materials electronically, through the pre-audition/interview form, or just bring them along to your Talent Scholarship interview. Playwriting samples should be one or two excerpts, between 5-10 total pages.

You're welcome to perform an acting audition in addition to your interview. See above for acting audition information.

For students interested in stage management or design and technology

You're welcome to submit portfolio materials, but it's not necessary. If you do wish to share materials, feel free to include drawings from art classes, photos of work presented on stage, light plots, costume renderings, photos of creative art projects, or other materials that show visual artistic ability and imagination.

If you're interested in an acting audition or directing/playwriting interview in addition to your design and tech interview, please email [email protected] and let us know! 

If you have any questions about the audition/interview process, please don't hesitate to contact us at [email protected] for more information.