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).
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.
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.)
Prepare 2 contrasting pieces:
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.
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.)
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.
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.
From Nicolette Hart, voice faculty member in musical theatre:
Come fly with us!
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!
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.