(First-year and Transfer applicants)
When you apply for admission to the BA in Theatre Education: Acting you must audition and submit a theatrical résumé to the Department of Performing Arts. You will be able to schedule your audition and upload your résumé using StageDoor once you have received your Emerson ID.
Students living outside the United States who may have difficulty auditioning in person should contact the Performing Arts Admission Coordinator at stagedoor@emerson.edu.
Transfer students who are admitted to the Theatre Education: Acting program are required to enroll in and complete the Summer Intensive Acting Training Sequence prior to beginning classes in September. The Summer Intensive takes place during the Summer II semester. Please direct questions about the Summer Intensive to Alfonso_Ragone@emerson.edu in Professional Studies & Special Programs at 617-824-8278.
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Audition |
Résumé |
Notes |
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Early Action |
Must choose an Early Action audition date |
Prior to your audition |
Early Action applicants who do not complete an Early Action audition will automatically be deferred to Regular Action. |
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Regular Action |
May choose an Early or Regular Action audition date |
Prior to your audition |
Regular Action applicants who do not complete an audition will not be admitted to Performing Arts. |
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Transfers |
May choose any of the offered audition dates |
Prior to your audition |
Transfer applicants may complete their audition at the Early Action, Regular Action, or Exclusive Transfer Audition Dates. |
All performing arts applicants must submit a theatrical résumé which may include, but is not limited to, your experience in:
The audition plays an important role in the admission decision. It gives us the opportunity to evaluate your talent and potential, and determine if you would be compatible with our program.
Please prepare a single two-to-three-minute monologue from a contemporary play. We are not assessing your performance for range or versatility, but rather, looking for honesty and a strong commitment to what you are doing. Choose something that is important to you and try to make us feel and understand what you are sharing with us. At the audition itself, you may be asked to work on this piece improvisationally, so be sure to have memorized your monologue through exploration rather than by rote.
Applicants that are required to complete an acting audition (BFA Acting, BA Theatre Studies: Acting, BA Theatre Education: Acting) book themselves into a two-hour audition period. Please arrive fifteen to twenty minutes prior to the audition start time. You will be directed to the check-in room where audition staff will confirm your arrival and take a photo of you. This photo will be the headshot associated with your record and audition and it will only be used internally at Emerson College for the audition process. We will not accept alternative headshot photographs in any form.
Anyone accompanying you to the audition will be directed to the Parent Waiting Room. On most audition days in Boston the Performing Arts Admission Coordinator will conduct an information session for parents in the Parent Waiting Room (exact time TBA).
The auditions will begin with a brief question and answer period with the audition’s faculty evaluators, after which applicants booked into the two-hour time period will be brought into the audition room(s) individually. As stated above, you may be asked to work on your piece in a manner that is different than how you prepared. Also, the evaluator might take an opportunity to ask you some questions about your understanding or interpretation of the piece, as well as a few questions about you yourself. Our goal is to understand who you are and how you work.
Once your monologue audition is complete you must check out with the audition staff in the check-in room. After that, you are free to leave. Although you might be finished early in the allotted time slot, please be prepared to stay for the full two hours.
The only major difference between an audition in Boston and another city is that parents and applicants share the same waiting room and that waiting room is staffed with an Admission Counselor.
We recommend that you select a contemporary monologue (written 1950-present); something you can easily relate to and is appropriate for your age. Generally speaking, these plays will be in the mode of realism, but this should not be considered an exclusive limitation. You may also opt for magical realism, absurdism, or expressionism; however, we caution you to be certain that the piece you select makes sense on its own. Should you be drawn to a 19th century European play, please consider a contemporary translation. We prefer that you avoid verse plays as the language often becomes more of a barrier than a window.
We do not recommend pieces from films or original material. If you choose your piece from a monologue book, please be aware that many other actors will also. As a result, your choice is likely to be overdone. Make sure you know the whole play from which you choose your monologue - we may wish to discuss the play with you.
Finally, remember we are most interested in seeing who you are in the audition. We want to see you reflected through the character you play and the piece you perform. Pick good material for yourself, prepare it, and do it well. We want to see skill and potential, so play to your strengths.
Audition Dates for Early Action Applicants:
Boston
The Emerson College Walker Building
120 Boylston Street
Boston, MA, 02116
Audition Dates for Regular Action Applicants:
Boston
The Emerson College Walker Building
120 Boylston Street
Boston, MA, 02116
Atlanta
Cobb County Center for Excellence in the Performing Arts at Pebblebrook High School
991 Old Alabama Road
Mableton, GA 30126
New York City
Chelsea Studios
151 West 26th Street
NY, NY, 10001
New York City
American Management Association - this location is the site of the National Unified Auditions
1601 Broadway
NY, NY, 10019
Chicago
The Palmer House Hilton - this location is the site of the National Unified Auditions
17 East Monroe Street
Chicago, IL, 60603
San Francisco
Hilton San Francisco
333 O'Farrell Street
San Francisco, CA, 94102
Los Angeles
The Westin LAX - this location is the site of the National Unified Auditions
5400 West Century Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA, 90045
Houston
HITS Theatre
311 W. 18th Street
Houston, TX, 77008
Exclusive Audition Date for Transfer Applicants:
Boston
The Emerson College Walker Building
120 Boylston Street
Boston, MA, 02116