VCUarts continues to review applications until all spots are filled. Transfer applicants who submit complete applications by the deadline will receive a decision by: December 1, 2022, for Spring 2023 semester May 1, 2023, for Fall 2023 semester
Application steps
All of these requirements are submitted online through the VCUarts SlideRoom website. Requirements are listed by major in the table below with the appropriate SlideRoom link.
Complete your callback session. Select your preferred date as part of the requirements in SlideRoom. Callbacks take place at the W.E Singleton Center for the Performing Arts, located at 922 Park Ave, Richmond, VA. The department will send more information in advance of your callback date.
Friday, November 11, 2022, 1-6 p.m.
Friday, December 2, 2022, 1-6 p.m.
Friday, January 20, 2023, 1-6 p.m.
Friday, January 27, 2023, 1-6 p.m.
Friday, February 3, 2023, 1-6 p.m.
Friday, March 24, 2023, 1-6 p.m.
The department will add a callback date for transfer applicants after the March 15th application deadline. Please check this page for updates.
Applicants can expect to:
Interview with faculty in their area of interest.
Present their portfolio or appropriate audition pieces (details dependent on intended major).
Tour theatre facilities.
Talk with current students.
All students participate in a group general info and Q+A session.
Performers participate in group warm-ups.
Parents are encouraged to attend, too. We continue with a parent Q+A session after applicants head off to auditions/interviews.
Maintain a positive attitude, dress professionally yet comfortably and, most importantly—have fun!
Prepare two contrasting (one comedic and one dramatic) one-minute monologues from published play scripts. Choose something in an appropriate age range that does not contain a dialect. Introduce the audition pieces by only the play’s author, title and the character’s name (background on the scene or plot is not necessary).
Record your audition in one sitting. In other words, we would like you to introduce the pieces and then perform them one after the other. No editing. It is recommended to capture your full body from head to toe.
We find that the following playwrights are generally overdone or are more difficult for high school seniors to deliver successfully: Mamet, O’Neill, Pinter, Shakespeare, Shepard and Williams.
You may substitute one of the monologues with a 16-bar song that suits your age, personality, and voice. Select a portion of the song that best showcases your ability and finishes the acting beat; avoid choosing 16 bars that end abruptly or mid-thought. Introduce the song title, author, and character name, just like the monologues.
Submit 12 to 16 images that show your promise as a theatre student. Present your strongest work and demonstrate your potential to develop a diverse set of skills and ideas. We prefer to see a diverse range of 2D and 3D media. This can include photographs of productions you have worked on, pieces you have built such as props or costumes as well as other works of 2D and 3D art.
Images may be submitted in the following formats: .JPEG, .PNG, .GIF, .TIF, .TIFF, .BMP, .TGA
Videos may be submitted in the following formats: .M4V, .MOV, .MP4, .WMV, .FLV, .ASF, .MPEG, .MPG, .MKV
Your paperwork should demonstrate your organizational and management skills and might include things like prompt book pages, blocking notes, call sheets, rehearsal notes, communications, etc. to help demonstrate your stage management process.
