Technical Theatre Audition Tips
Guidelines for Creating a Technical Theatre College Audition Video That Will Put Your Skills Front and Center
Technical Theatre Audition Requirements
Students interested in auditioning for college programs in technical theatre must:
- Upload three (3) portfolio samples as PDFs or JPG images.
- Upload a video discussing the samples provided to further illustrate skill and provide context,
- Upload a headshot and resume.
- Provide a written response (optional).
Helpful Tips
Choose Material That Highlights Your Abilities
- Choose three (3) strong samples of your work that are representative of your skills and chosen major.
- Each of your samples should be clear and of good quality – good production or process photos or easily readable PDF documents are acceptable.
- Since you're unable to share your whole portfolio, be especially thoughtful about which pieces you decide to share.
- Try to include samples that are recent, so college representatives can see your current capabilities.
- Choose samples that are relevant to the work you hope to be doing in your chosen major at college.
- Choose samples that are well-photographed or clearly readable. Though you will be able to expand on them in the video and/or written response, each sample should be able to speak for itself to a certain extent.
- Portfolio samples might include:
- Drafting images
- Design sketches
- Renderings (fully completed/colored)
- Pictures of works in progress
- Production photos
- Light plots
- Pages from journals, prompt books, or marketing materials
Video Preparation Tips
- Your video should feature you speaking about your work.
- The video must be between three and five (3-5) minutes in length.
- Consider addressing some of the following:
- Your work processes, challenges, and takeaways from the productions represented in your submissions.
- Additional details around the work you did that may not be communicated by the images and documents alone.
- Your working relationship with the production team and your philosophy on how to effectively serve the production in your particular role.
- Rehearse your full speech.
- Introduce yourself at the start of your video. It's the college representative's first impression of you. Include your same and area of focus.
- Transition to the body of the speech. The goal here is to provide additional context around the work samples you have submitted and your unique point of view as a technician/designer.
- Consider including additional images or close-ups of work in the video if it adds value to the presentation.
Filming Tips
- Find an effective filming location.
- The area should be quiet so you can be clearly heard.
- Film in front of a non-distracting background. If possible, choose a solid-color wall or consider hanging a sheet behind you.
- Make sure you are lit well enough to be clearly visible. Consider using natural light, if possible. Stand facing a window with the camera pointed at you or place a high-quality light source behind the camera.
- Dress neatly, and in a contrasting color from your background. No costumes are permitted.
- Shoot your video horizontally, not vertically.
- Try multiple takes and submit your strongest.
Consider Writing About Your Work to Provide More Context
- Written responses should not exceed one (1) page in length.
- Provide further context to the attached samples, including more about your work, processes, challenges, and takeaways from the featured productions.
- Elaborate more about your work generally, your work philosophy, why you're interested in your particular major, etc.
- Feel free to include links to your website or additional production photos, if desired.
Uploading Your Video
- Upload your video to an online viewing platform (YouTube, Vimeo, etc.).
- Use appropriate privacy settings so that the link will allow for open access to all representatives. (In YouTube, the Unlisted setting is recommended.) Try playing the video in an incognito window to test privacy settings.
- Watch your video both before and after uploading to ensure it's what you want to share. The beauty of a video audition is that you can always shoot another take before submitting! Don't waste that opportunity.
- Give your file a clear name. Consider something like FirstNameLastName_ITFAudition.