Musical Theatre Auditions

A prescreen and audition are required for admission to the Musical Theatre (BFA) program.

Requirements

  • Submit the appropriate application: First-time students | Transfer students
  • You must complete the prescreen process before you are eligible to sign up for an audition. Prescreens are due by December 15.
  • Create your account using Acceptd. Fee: $25.
    • You may qualify for a fee waiver. Acceptd grants up to 5 fee waivers with supporting information. View the Acceptd fee waiver guidelines.
    • If you have further questions about the fee, contact Favor Chujor, at nchujor6@naz.edu to request a coupon code — considered on a case-by-case basis.
  • All musical theatre majors who pass their prescreen will schedule their audition through the same Acceptd account.
  • Auditions are required before applicant notification, as Nazareth accepts students directly to our programs. You will not hear from Nazareth until after a prescreen or audition has been completed. 

Nazareth University follows the Musical Theatre Common Prescreen (MTCP) guidelines. For the 2024/25 Audition Cycle, MTCP has posted a list of helpful hints. We strongly encourage you to take advantage of these resources, which have been thoughtfully and intentionally crafted by the expertise of multiple programs nationwide to support the excellence of the audition and for your benefit. View the MTCP Audition Resources & Tips for Applicants (below the participating institutions and requirements).

Prescreen Submission

Each piece should be filmed/uploaded as a separate piece of media. No continuous videos. You are encouraged to use standard technology/recording devices that are available to you (i.e. smartphones, tablets, etc.).

Upload all prescreen videos to Nazareth’s Acceptd account: 

https://nazarethuniversity.getacceptd.com

After submission, you will be notified of our faculty decisions. Those who pass their Prescreen will be invited to sign up for an audition through your Acceptd account.

Slate

  • Record one introduction "slate" video stating your name. If you would like to include your pronouns, state them as well. Please speak loudly (project your voice) and clearly (articulate), directly at the camera.

    • This is an opportunity for the auditors to get a sense of your personality and learn the pronunciation of your name.

  • There is no need to slate your individual performance videos & pieces. Instead, clearly label each video with your name and the title of the piece you are performing (see more details below).

(Updated November 2024 - if you have already recorded a slate with your name in each video based on previously written requirements, that is still acceptable.)

Songs

Prepare 2 contrasting pieces:

  • Style: One song should be a ballad (where the piece has longer, sustained vocal lines) and one song should be an uptempo (where the vocal line moves at a conversational pace) so as to contrast style.
  • Timing: Each song file should be 60–90 seconds. (This time limit includes the slate at the beginning of the piece and is strictly adhered to; please do not upload media files longer than 90 seconds.)
  • You must sing to live or recorded accompaniment. No "a cappella" singing.
  • One of the two songs (your choice) should be filmed in a full frame shot to see your full range of expression, and the other one in a close-up shot (top of the head to the chest should be visible in the frame).
    • OPTION A: One song written before 1970 (musical theater, Golden Age, pop, hip-hop, folk, rock, rap, soul, country, punk, etc.). One song written after 1970 (musical theater, pop, hip-hop, folk, rock, rap, soul, country, punk, etc.). This song should contrast the style of the first selection.
    • OPTION B:  One musical theater song from any time period.  One song of your choice from any time period and in any style that best suits you (musical theater, pop, hip-hop, folk, rock, rap, soul, country, punk, etc.). This song should contrast the style of the first selection.

Monologues

  • Monologues cannot be from musicals.
  • Each monologue file should be 60–90 seconds in length. This time limit includes the slate at the beginning of the piece and is strictly adhered to; please do not upload media files longer than 90 seconds.
    • One monologue from a published (or written by a professional writer) play. A professional writer is someone whose plays have been produced, but may not have been professionally published.
    • We recommend a waist up frame so we can see your face and hear you clearly.

Dance

  • Framing: All dance media should be filmed in a "full frame" shot taking care to keep all of you in the frame at all times. This time limit includes the slate at the beginning of the piece and is strictly adhered to; please do not upload media files longer than 60 seconds
  • Style: Regardless of which style of dance you execute, the choreography and the movement should be connected to the music where the applicant is dancing with a sense of purpose.
  • All choreography must be performed to music; please no "a cappella" dance media.
  • You do not need to slate in any dance media.
  • Show us your best version of dancing or moving. Please include at least one turn, one jump and one kick (or other suitable rotation, elevation, and extension that works for your body).
    • 30–60 seconds of dance in whatever dance discipline you feel most confident. This may include, but is not limited to jazz, ballet, tap, modern, hip hop, lyrical, contemporary, or dance styles beyond American and Euro-western styles.
    • Please do not submit "barre work." Instead, submit it with the optional "Ballet Submission."
    • Please use steps, movement, and physical vocabulary that you are familiar with and can execute well. To the best of your ability, move your body fully. Please include at least one turn, one jump and one kick (or other suitable rotation, elevation, and extension that works for your body).
    • Dance media can be self-choreographed, but must be a solo video of you. This can include a show, competition, or other performance so long as you are clearly featured on your own.
    • All choreography must be performed to music; please no a cappella dance media.
  • Ballet (optional)
    • Ballet media should be no more than 60 seconds.
    • Execute a brief series of plié, tendu and grande battement; and also pirouette en déhors (to both sides), and grand jeté across the floor.

Wild Card

  • The wildcard is optional, as we comply with the MTCP prescreen requirements. However, we would love to see a wildcard option if you are able to share one.
  • Submissions should be no more than 60 seconds, and applicants do not need to slate in this media.
  • Think about the wild card section as an opportunity to show your personality or share something about you. This media can be ANYTHING you want - a special skill, an interesting story about yourself, a passion speech, an instrument you play, etc. “What do you want us to know about you?” 

Audition Process

See tips: Prepare for your musical theatre audition »

Audition in three performance areas: vocal, dance, and acting components. Before your scheduled audition day, please submit these three portions to Acceptd following the prescreen requirements above.

On your audition day, please bring with you a headshot and resume. We recommend that the following pieces defer from your prescreen material.

Dance portion

You will be given a brief warm up and dance combination during your audition. Please bring appropriate dance attire. (If you're auditioning on campus, this will take place first in your day.)

Vocal portion

Sing two contrasting 60–90 second songs that demonstrate your ability to sing in tune with good quality and musical intelligence. Both songs should be memorized. At least one should be musical theatre, and the other can be a pop/contemporary song. Preferably, these pieces should be different from what was demonstrated in your prescreen.

Acting portion

Prepare one contemporary memorized monologue that's less than two minutes long. Select audition monologues that contain characters within five years of your current age.

For your scheduled audition date, you will receive confirmation emails prior, but will not receive the full schedule until you arrive on your audition day. Each audition starts with the dance portion, so you're free to come dressed appropriately. Auditions also will include a brief interview with our faculty.

Re-auditions
If you audition and are not admitted to your first-choice program in Musical Theatre, you may not audition again later for the same program.

Audition tips

From Nicolette Hart, voice faculty member in musical theatre:

  • Choose material that matters to you.
  • We are interested in you as the individual, human, and artist that you are at this present moment. Make sure your whole essence is coming into the room.
  • Your package should feel like a second skin. Avoid trying out new material, underdeveloped monologues, or something someone "told you to do."
  • Begin the audition with whatever feels the most comfy. This way you give yourself a minute to take in the space and be present with those of us in the room with you.
  • Feeling nervous? That's OK! Allow the nervousness to become positive energy. And then share it with us. Never come in the room trying to hide anything. We see you. And we want to see you!
  • Expect to begin with a group dance call, followed by individual song/monologue sessions, and a Q&A.
  • Remember, as with all auditions: We want you to do well. We are rooting for you! We want you to succeed!

Come fly with us!

Tips for dancers

    Dancers: This video (above) features four distinct dance styles, from Golden Age musical theater to commercial dance, all choreographed by Nazareth musical theater dance professor Jeff Shade. In addition to giving you an idea of the type of dance we do at Nazareth University, we would love for you to borrow the ideas from these videos in your prescreen dances. Notice the montage of unique tricks at the end of the video; if you see any that you can do, incorporate them into your dance as well!

    Questions?

    Richard Biever
    Richard Biever
    Program Director of Musical Theatre in Theatre & Dance
    585-389-2708
    rbiever8@naz.edu
    Arts Center 18
    Bio

    Education: American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York; bachelor’s in music education, Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University; MFA in directing for the musical theatre, Penn State University, working primarily with Broadway director Susan H. Schulman.

    Classes: Musical Theatre Performance, Directing for the Stage, American Musical Theatre History, Page to Stage, Senior Showcase, Mainstage Director

    Experience and expertise: Richard Biever has been creating theatre for most of his life. Starting at his hometown (Nappanee, Indiana) community theatre doing children’s shows, to several seasons of summer stock, to music directing national and international tours, to directing off-Broadway, regional, and his own theatre companies, Biever has been an actor, music director, composer, and director, sometimes wearing multiple hats. Richard starred in and music directed the national tour of Oil City Symphony, music directed the national and European tours of Little Shop of Horrors, and the European tour of West Side Story. He served as resident music director for Circa ‘21 Dinner Theatre in Rock Island, Ill., and for the Downtown Cabaret in Bridgeport, Conn., where he also directed Oil City Symphony. Directing credits include productions of Sunday in the Park with George, Chess, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Parade, Assassins, Camelot, My Fair Lady, and Matilda. He directed readings of new musicals, including Harmony, Kansas, and The Fox Sisters. Teaching has always been a part of his life, most recently as assistant professor of musical theatre and coordinator of the new musicals incubator program at Wichita State University. Before that, he taught graduate and undergraduate directing, musical theatre performance, and musical theatre history at Penn State University. In 2003, Richard and his wife, Heidi Biever, started a successful musical theatre school in State College, Penn., called Singing Onstage Studios.

    Nicolette Hart
    Nicolette Hart
    Assistant Professor in Professional Practice, Musical Theatre in Theatre & Dance
    585-389-2784
    nhart1@naz.edu
    Arts Center 18