Acting BFA Artistic Review Requirements

Apply to Emerson College. You may only apply for Fall admission and you may only apply to one Emerson program. Select BFA Acting as your major.

Within two to three business days after receiving your application, the Office of Undergraduate Admission will send you an email with the subject line “We’ve Received Your Application. Here’s What’s Next.” This email will contain your Emerson Admission ID Number, as well as your Username and PIN for the Emerson Application Portal.

You must submit your Emerson Admission ID Number as a part of your Artistic Application in Acceptd in the next step below. This connects the two applications so submitting the wrong ID will create processing delays. Although transcripts and recommendations are due by the application deadline, they are not a requirement for receiving an Emerson Admission ID Number.

As soon as you have your Emerson Admission ID Number you are ready to submit an Artistic Application and schedule an audition.

1. Log in or create an Acceptd account (if you already have an account do not create a new one), complete the form and upload the following:
   1. Resume & Headshot: a one-page theatrical resume and headshot/selfie.
2.  Pay the non-refundable Artistic Application fee of $30

Questions about Artistic Applications or Artistic Reviews? Email the Department of Performing Arts at pa_artisticreview@emerson.edu!

Once you have submitted your Artistic Application, you must schedule your audition in Acceptd by navigating to Schedule > My Timeslots > Select Timeslot. You should prepare the following:

• Monologue: Please prepare two 1 to 3 minute contrasting monologues from two contemporary plays (1950–present). You may not be required to perform both monologues at the audition, but be prepared to do so.
• Choose pieces that are important to you; we are looking for honesty and a strong commitment to what you are doing. At the audition itself, you may be asked to work on your pieces improvisationally, so be sure to have memorized your monologues through exploration rather than by rote.
• We recommend monologues that are age-appropriate (generally within 5-10 years of your actual age) and that feel authentic to your lived experience. Active monologues are often better for auditions, rather than pieces that are a story or remembrance. An active monologue takes place in real time, focuses on what you want, and puts you in direct communication with an imaginary scene partner. Additionally, it can be helpful to avoid monologues that rely on extreme emotions as it can be hard to believably justify those responses in a short piece.

Emerson offers three different types of auditions:

• In-person auditions in Boston are scheduled in a 3-hour block, which includes an information session/Q & A with Performing Arts Faculty & Staff and a flexible “volunteering” system to determine the audition order.
• In-person auditions outside of Boston begin with a brief information session/Q & A with Performing Arts Faculty before individually scheduled audition time slots.
• Virtual auditions are conducted through Acceptd’s AuditionRoom platform and begin with a brief information session/Q&A with Performing Arts Faculty and Staff before individually scheduled audition time slots.

While these three types of auditions offer different timings, the modality and location of the audition will have no bearing whatsoever on your admission decision.