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Expectations and Requirements

Each emphasis has its own requirements. Find your emphasis below and then navigate to your year classification.

Acting Student Jury Requirements by Classification:


Note: Each year, the faculty will seek evidence of student growth. The expectation is that you are working consistently to improve your craft and your ability to communicate your work effectively. Therefore, by graduation Acting students should have:

  • Resume
  • Headshot (semi-professional)
  • Cover letter
  • Elevator pitch/logline
  • Two self-tapes
  • 8 repertoire categories (memorized and well rehearsed monologues)
    • 4 contemporary from plays written between 2000-current
    • 2 comedic
    • 2 dramatic
    • 1 from plays written between 1950-1999
    • 1 from a play written from 1850-1949
    • 1 from a Shakespearean play
    • 1 from non-Shakespearian heighten language play
  • All freshman will have the same monologue requirements. Each year after, students will present two contrasting monologues selected from the remaining monologue categories listed above.
  • This repertoire is cumulative. As you add two new pieces each year, you are expected to maintain pieces you’ve previously presented. If you choose to drop a piece you must replace it with another fulfilling the same requirement.
  • Faculty will review each student’s cumulative repertoire annually to ensure progress toward graduation requirements.
First-Year Acting Students
  • Resumé
  • Headshot
  • Mock Audition
  • Slate (Name, age, title of plays and playwright your monologues are from)
    • One 60-90sec Dramatic monologue (2000-present)
    • One 60-90sec Comedic monologue (2000-present)
    • Monologues could be from Acting 1 and/or what was used for season auditions.
Second-Year Acting Students:
  • Resumé
  • Headshot
  • Cover letter
  • Mock Audition: Prior requirements, plus the following:
    • Two 60–90 second monologues from remaining repertoire categories.
Third-Year Acting Students:
  • Resumé
  • Headshot
  • Cover letter
  • Self-Tape
    • One 60–90 second monologue from remaining repertoire categories.
  • Mock Audition: Prior requirements, plus the following:
    • One 2–3 minute monologue from remaining repertoire categories.
Fourth-Year + Acting Students:
  • Resumé
  • Headshot
  • Cover letter
  • Elevator pitch/Actor’s Logline
  • Self-Tape:
    • One 60–90 second monologue from remaining repertoire categories.
    • One 2-3 minute monologue from remaining repertoire categories.
  • Mock Audition: Prior requirement, plus the following:
    • Both monologues from self tape
    • Mock interview with Performance faculty
    • Longer duration mock job/graduate school interview
    • More specific and technical questions about your coursework, process, etc.

After freshman year, during your mock audition, faculty may select monologues from a student’s cumulative repertoire, assign an on-site cold read with a reader, or distribute sides shortly before juries to assess professional-level preparation, adaptability, and readiness for the field.

 

Design and Technology Student Jury Requirements by Classification:


Note: Each year, the faculty will seek evidence of student growth. The expectation is that you are working consistently to improve your craft and your ability to communicate your work effectively.


First-Year Design and Technology Students:
  • Resumé
  • Mock interview with all theatre faculty
  • Portfolio: 3-4 slide portfolio with images from shows/courses you participated in at A-State. Your portfolio might include:
    • 20th-century stage makeup application with schematic/research/etc. (and/or other appropriate applications)
    • POD drawing samples and design project excerpt
    • Stagecraft project           
    • Production work (sample ASM paperwork, production photos from crew, etc.)
Second-Year Design and Technology Students:
  • Resumé
  • Mock interview with Design and Technology theatre faculty
  • Portfolio: Prior requirement, plus the following:
    • Additional coursework - Costume construction projects, scene painting examples, etc.
    • Production work (Theatre Lab projects, production photos, sample paperwork, assistant to the designer work, etc.)
Third-Year Design and Technology Students:
  • Resumé
  • Cover letter
  • Mock interview with Design and Technology theatre faculty
    • Longer duration mock job/graduate school interview
    • More specific and technical questions about your coursework, process, etc.
  • Portfolio: Prior requirements, plus the following:
    • Professional formatting
    • Concept statement(s)
    • Additional coursework and production work
    • The portfolio may begin to take on a specific focus (e.g., lighting design, stage management).
Fourth-Year + Design and Technology Students:
  • Resumé
  • Cover letter
  • Mock interview with Design and Technology theatre faculty
    • Longer duration mock job/graduate school interview
    • More specific and technical questions about your coursework, process, etc.
  • Portfolio: Prior requirements, plus the following:
    • Additional coursework and production work
    • Specificity emerges; student may have more than one portfolio or portfolio sections specific to their interest(s)

 

Generalist Student Jury Requirements by Classification:


Note: Each year, the faculty will seek evidence of student growth. The expectation is that you are working consistently to improve your craft and your ability to communicate your work effectively. 

Students who choose to self-specialize (generalists) will have the opportunity to create a custom jury experience in collaboration with their faculty mentor. While this may combine aspects from jury requirements for Design/Technology students and Performance students, it may also include items not identified above. While the content of the jury is flexible, it must maintain the same rigor and purpose as the other emphases, and must be approved by a faculty member within the department. Examples of alternative jury styles are included below, but ultimately, should serve the student’s goals.

Example 1- A student who has done a little of everything
  • Fourth-Year students might have the following:
    • Resumé
    • Cover Letter
    • Headshot
    • 4 pieces from Acting requirements
    • 2 songs from MT requirements
    • Design/Technology portfolio
    • Mock audition OR mock interview
Example 2 - A student interested in being a teacher
  • Fourth Year students might have the following:
    • Resumé
    • Cover Letter
    • Elevator Pitch
    • 4 pieces from Acting requirements OR Design/Technology Portfolio
    • Mock audition OR mock interview as appropriate
    • 2 Lesson plans
    • 10 minute teaching demonstration
    •  
Other components might include but are not limited to:
  • Playwriting samples
  • Voice-acting reels
  • Choreography reels
  • Dramaturg materials
  • Directors concept/analysis

 

Musical Theatre Student Jury Requirements by Classification:


Note: Each year, the faculty will seek evidence of student growth. The expectation is that you are working consistently to improve your craft and your ability to communicate your work effectively. Therefore, by graduation Musical Theatre students should have:

  • Resumé
  • Headshot (semi-professional)
  • Cover letter
  • Elevator pitch/logline
  • Two self-tapes
  • Experience in a Mock Dance Call as well as preparing choreography from a video
  • 4 memorized and well rehearsed monologues from the acting emphasis categories
  • 8 songs, All songs should have a 16 (30sec ) and 32 (60sec) bar cut of each song. (Student should think about choice of songs that are good for you, but also for an audition accompanist.)
    • 2 Golden Age (1940-1970) (one uptempo, one ballad)
    • 2 contrasting contemporary (2000-present) (one uptempo, one ballad)
    • 1 mid/late Century (1970-2000) or Disney
    • 1 Sondheim
    • 1 Great American Song Book (1920-1950)
    • 1 specialty piece showing the student’s strengths (examples: pop/rock, country, jazz, Disney, opera)
  • This repertoire is cumulative. As you add new pieces each year, you are expected to maintain pieces you’ve previously presented. If you choose to drop a piece you must replace it with another fulfilling the same requirement.
First-Year Musical Theatre Students
  • Resumé
  • Headshot
  • Mock Audition
    • Slate (Name, age, title of show and composer/lyricist or playwright your pieces are from)
    • 1 Golden Age 1940-1970 (up-tempo or ballad)
    • 1 Mid/Late Century (1970-2000) or 1 Disney
    • One monologue from Acting Emphasis required rep
    • Mock Dance Call
Second-Year Musical Theatre Students:
  • Resumé
  • Headshot
  • Cover Letter
  • Mock Audition: Prior requirements, plus the following:
    • Contemporary 2000-present (up-tempo or ballad)
    • Golden Age (contrasting from freshman year)
    • One additional monologue from Acting Emphasis required rep
    • Mock Dance Call
Third-Year Musical Theatre Students:
  • Resumé
  • Headshot
  • Cover letter
  • Self Tape
  • One additional monologue from Acting Emphasis required rep
    • 1 Great American Songbook (1920-1950)
    • Mock Audition: Prior requirement, plus the following:
    • Sondheim
    • Mock Dance Call - choreography learned in advance from provided video
Fourth-Year + Musical Theatre Students:
  • Resumé
  • Headshot
  • Cover letter
  • Elevator pitch/Actor’s Logline
  • Self Tape
    • One additional monologue from Acting Emphasis required rep
    • 1 contemporary song 2000-present (contrasting from sophomore year)
    • Dance audition - choreography learned in advance from provided video
  • Mock Audition: Prior requirements, plus the following:
    • Specialty piece showing your strengths (examples: pop/rock, country, jazz, Disney, opera)
    • Mock interview with Performance faculty
    • Longer duration mock job/graduate school interview
    • More specific and technical questions about your coursework, process, etc.

After freshman year, during your mock audition, faculty may select monologues from a student’s cumulative repertoire, assign an on-site cold read with a reader, or distribute sides shortly before juries to assess professional-level preparation, adaptability, and readiness for the field.

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