Musical Theatre BFA Artistic Review Requirements

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:

• Resume and headshot (a one-page theatrical resume and headshot/selfie).
• Musical Theater Common Prescreen (MTCP): two songs (Option A), one monologue (Option A), one dance video (Option A), and Optional Wild Card. The MTCP Requirements are explained below and on the MTCP website, along with tips and resources.

Pay the non-refundable Artistic Application fee of $30

You will receive your prescreen results through the Acceptd messaging system within two weeks of submission. If you don’t receive a notification within two weeks, please contact us at pa_artisticreview@emerson.edu.

If you are not invited to audition for Musical Theatre, you may be invited to audition for BFA Acting. In that case, you will be sent instructions for changing your applications through your Acceptd Messages and will not need to pay another Artistic Application fee.

Musical Theater Common Prescreen

Emerson is a participant in the Musical Theater Common Prescreen (MTCP) for the 2026-2027 cycle (Songs, Monologue, Dance, and Optional Wild Card)

General Information and Tips

• Each piece should be filmed/uploaded as a separate piece of media. No continuous videos.
• Students are encouraged to use standard technology/recording devices available to them (i.e., smartphones, tablets, etc.)
• Solid-colored walls are ideal, but any background that does not steal the focus from your performance is desired.
• Take care that your space allows for adequate lighting. Having a lamp or window directly behind you will cast a shadow over your face. Keep the light source behind your recording device or to the side so your face is lit.
• When using pre-recorded music, place the music source (the speaker) closer to you than it is to the device on which you are recording. By keeping the accompaniment near you, your voice and music will reach the microphone on your device more evenly.
• Before filming, do a trial run to test both your audio & visual presentation. Watch your video back to ensure everything looks AND sounds okay.
• Ensure the camera portion of your device is at eye level. You can use a tripod built for a smartphone or tablet. If you do not have a tripod, consider using a stack of books on a desk or box. Film in “landscape” (horizontally).

Prescreen Introduction “SLATE” Video

• Record one introduction “slate” video stating your name. If you would like to include your pronouns, state them as well. Please speak loudly (project your voice) and clearly (articulate) directly at the camera. This gives auditors a sense of your personality and helps them learn the pronunciation of your name.
• There is no need to slate your individual performance videos & pieces. Instead, clearly label each video with your name and the title of the piece you are performing (see more details below).

Labeling Guidelines for All Videos

Label each video file with the piece you are performing, the show or playwright, and your first & last name.

• Title of Song – Musical/Show – Your First & Last Name
• Title of Play – Playwright – Your First & Last Name
• Slate – Your First & Last Name
• Wild Card – Your First & Last Name
• Dance – Your First & Last Name

Examples:

• Slate – Indina Menzel
• Your Daddy’s Son – Ragtime – Audra McDonald
• Much Ado About Nothing – William Shakespeare – Ramin Karimloo

Time Guidelines for All Performance Videos

All song, monologue, dance, ballet, and wild card videos are recommended to be between 60-90 seconds each.

Framing for Slates, Songs, and Monologues

• Camera framing is simply the placement and position of the actor in the shot. We recommend a waist up frame so we can see your face and hear you clearly.

Framing for Dance and Ballet

• We recommend a setup that allows us to see from the top of your head to the floor (including your feet).
• We want to see the whole body through the entire dance. When framing your dance selection, watch the video back before submitting to ensure you’ve stayed in frame and that the camera isn’t too far away to capture movement details.

Framing for Dance and Ballet Tip

• If it is helpful for you to see yourself, place a full-length mirror behind the filming device and remember that the camera is your audience.

Song Requirements (Emerson College requires MTCP Option A)

• One song written before 1970 (musical theater, Golden Age, pop, folk, rock, soul, country, etc.).
• One song written after 1970 (musical theater, pop, hip-hop, folk, rock, rap, soul, country, punk, etc.). This song should contrast the style of the first selection.

Song Tips

• Some examples of contrasting songs are fast tempo vs slow tempo, sustained melodic singing vs speech-like singing, dramatic vs comedic, belt vs head/falsetto mix.
• Many accompaniment tracks are available on YouTube and other websites. If you do not have a way to work with a live accompanist or don’t have access to a recorded track of your music, consider using an app that will play the piano part for you. Harmony Helper is one such app that lets you take photos of your sheet music, upload them, and generate a piano track you can use.

Monologue Requirements (Emerson College requires MTCP Option A)

• One monologue from a published play or written by a professional writer. (A professional writer is someone whose plays have been produced, but may not have been professionally published.)

Monologue Tips

• It is recommended to choose monologues that are age-appropriate (generally within 5-10 years of your actual age) and that feel authentic to your culture, background, and lived experience.
• Active monologues are often better for auditions; an active monologue takes place in real time and focuses on what you want and puts you in direct communication with an imaginary scene partner. This is often more successful in an audition situation than pieces that tell a story or recount a memory. 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.

Dance Requirements (Emerson College requires MTCP Option A)

• Show us your best version of dancing or moving. Please include at least one turn, one jump and one kick (or other suitable rotation, elevation, and extension that works for your body).

Dance Tips

• Make sure you can execute all the choreography safely and well. It is to your advantage to choose steps and movement that highlight your strengths instead of your areas of improvement.
• You may use recent videos of you from a show or concert, but it must just be you in the frame.
• Dance sample should be in whatever dance discipline you feel most confident. This may include, but is not limited to jazz, ballet, tap, modern, hip hop, lyrical, contemporary, or dance styles beyond American and Euro-western styles.
• Dance media can be “self-choreographed”, but it must be a solo video of you. This can include a show, competition, or other performance so long as you are clearly featured on your own.
• Please use steps, movement, and physical vocabulary that you are familiar with and can execute well. Fully move your body to the best of your ability.
• To assist applicants with the dance prescreen, several institutions have provided resource videos for applicants who do not have access to a choreographed combo for the prescreen process. You may submit this choreography (or a combination of it) to any of the schools you are applying to that ask for a dance prescreen. The list will be updated on the MTCP website as more institutions share resources, so be sure to check back.

Optional Wild Card Video

Think about the wild card section as an opportunity to show your personality or share something about you. This media can be ANYTHING you want – a special skill, an interesting story about yourself, a passion speech, an instrument you play, etc. “What do you want us to know about you?”

Ideas that have been successful in the past

• Singing or playing an original composition/song/poem or choreographed dance
• Performing your own Saturday Night Live-styled skit where you create a comedic character
• Sharing a hobby or activity that means something to you
• Performing in a language other than English in which you are fluent
• Playing an instrument
• Making a “how-to” video on something you are good at: baking, calligraphy, gymnastics, etc.
• If you are a dancer and want to show us a different style you excel in: Tap, Hip Hop, Lyrical, Ballet, etc.

After you submit your Artistic Application, schedule your audition in Acceptd by going to Schedule > My Timeslots > Select Timeslot. You should prepare the following:

• Monologue: Please prepare two 1-3 minute contrasting monologues from two contemporary plays (1950-present), one of which must be comedic.
• Voice: Please prepare two roughly 1-minute contrasting vocal selections from published musicals, one pre-1970, the second post-1970.
• Music: At the audition, you will be asked to complete a brief musicianship exercise designed to evaluate your ability to match pitch, remember a short musical phrase, and sight-sing a simple melodic line.
• Dance: A dance call will be included as part of every in-person audition. For virtual auditions, we will use your prescreen dance videos.

Emerson offers three different types of auditions:

• In-person auditions in Boston are scheduled in a four-hour and fifteen-minute block, which begins with an information session, followed by a dance call, and then a flexible “volunteering” system to determine the audition order.
• In-person auditions outside of Boston begin with a brief information session before a group dance call, followed by 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. For virtual auditions, we will use your prescreen dance video.

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.