BFA Admission Process
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Performance Admissions Process

A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a specialized degree reflecting more extensive study of Theatre than one would experience in a Bachelor of Arts (BA). For this reason, faculty in the Department of Theatre conduct auditions as part of the admissions process.

All students interested in pursuing a BFA will be considered “pre-BFA” until they have successfully auditioned for the program.

For more information or to schedule an audition, please contact Christie Maturo (cmaturo@ccsu.edu) and Wesley Broulik (wesleybroulik@ccsu.edu).

You will present your material to at least two full-time, theatre performance focused faculty from CCSU.

 What to Prepare:

  1. Two contrasting pieces.

    1. The pieces must be from published/produced plays.

    2. They need to be committed to memory and performed without a script.
    3. Each monologue should be approximately one-minute in length for a total of two-minutes maximum for both pieces.
    4. One piece should be from a contemporary play (not film or TV) written within the last 20 years. Your character should be speaking to someone specific, not a group of people or the audience; just one person.
    5. The other piece should be from a Shakespeare play or a play that uses verse or heighted text.
  2. In addition, prepare 16-32 bars of something to sing acapella. We simply want to hear what you sound like singing; we are not necessarily looking for skilled singers.

After presenting the pieces, the faculty conducting the audition may ask you to:

  • Do the pieces again in a redirect with adjustments.
  • Do an exercise with one or both pieces.
  • Improvise and play a theatre game.
  • Answer questions about the pieces, your intentions for the BFA, and/or your future.

If you have a head shot/photo and a resume, please bring them. However, they are not required.

Admission Criteria

To successfully complete the audition requirement for admittance into the BFA Program, a student must attain “Yes”-es for at least five of following eight criteria:

  1. Did the applicant follow the audition instructions, especially in regards to material preparation?
  2. Was the material memorized and have the appearance of being prepared and worked on?
  3. Was the applicant able to appear (either the first time or with adjustment/direction) as if they were speaking to someone in their pieces?
  4. Was the applicant audible and able to be heard by auditors? (Audibility is irrelevant to the language spoken).
  5. Did it appear as if the applicant had a strong understanding of the material they prepared, demonstrated by choices made with the piece or by being able to answer questions about it?
  6. When given adjustments, was the applicant able to receive the feedback as a professional, “play,” and implement the notes, exercises, or adjustments given.
  7. Did the applicant appear to have an emotional connection to the material presented, either the first time or with direction?
  8. Was the applicant able to articulately answer questions regarding their intentions to enroll in a pre-professional, BFA program and why they intend to study theatre?

 

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