Life beats down and crushes our souls and theatre reminds us that we have one. ~ Sanford Meisner
The BFA in Performance is a two-year degree that builds on foundational courses offered in the BA and offers studio acting, voice, and movement training with professional actors, as well as opportunities to participate in a wide variety of production experiences. The student auditions for the BFA in the spring of their sophomore year, and begin this rigorous course of study in the fall of their junior year. Students engage in scene study, text analysis, voice, speech, dialects, mask work, makeup, on-camera training, and audition workshops with working professional actors and producers. The degree will serve undergraduate actors seeking graduate school placement and professional employment.
The BFA in Music Theatre is a four-year degree track that offers practical, pre-professional skills in acting, dancing, and singing for the student whose ambition is to be a professional actor and musical theatre artist. In the first two years of the program, students study voice in private sessions, music theory and skills, piano, speech, music theatre acting, ballet, jazz, and tap. Both the Performance and Music Theatre degree tracks combine a liberal arts education with applied skills in performance that will serve the undergraduate actor seeking graduate school placement or professional employment.
All members of our acting faculty are professional actors with years of experience in the industry as well as terminal degrees in their field.
Special Opportunities
BFA Performance and BFA Music Theatre students can take advantage of a host of opportunities in addition to the regular curriculum. The department typically hosts several professional guest artists every year who offer workshops and performances. Recent teaching artists and workshop leaders have included Christine Ebersole (SNL, Tony Award for Grey Gardens, 42nd Street); Susan Blackwell, Michael O’Neill (West Wing, Grey’s Anatomy), Judith Blazer (Titanic, Sweeney Todd, Company, 45 Seconds from Broadway), Jonathan Freeman (Jafar in Aladdin, Mary Poppins, The Little Mermaid, She Loves Me – Tony nomination), and Ashley Crowe (Heroes, The Minority Report). Department productions are registered with the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, and exceptional students from every show are nominated for the Kennedy Center’s prestigious Irene Ryan Award. The department encourages all performance students to audition for professional summer theatre work through SETC (Southeastern Theatre Conference) and other audition venues and supports students in finding placement in professional internships.
Curriculum and Requirements
- A minimum of 120 credit hours of course work must be completed to receive the BFA degree.
- All BFA Performance/Music Theatre students are expected to audition for all main stage season productions.
- Student progress in and commitment to the program is monitored carefully by faculty through reviews and evaluations every semester.
- Continuation in the program is dependent on continued progress in the mastery of performance skills, professional behavior towards all collaborators, and a strong academic record.
- See an overview of the BFA Performance curriculum on AU Bulletin.
- See an overview of the BFA Music Theatre curriculum on AU Bulletin.
Admission Process
Students interested in the BFA in Performance enter the program as BA students and may apply for acceptance by audition in the spring of their sophomore year. Students aspiring to the BFA Music Theatre program typically audition in the fall of their senior year in high school during the department’s annual scholarship auditions.
Musical Theatre Auditions
Auburn University Theatre hosts scholarship and music theatre auditions for incoming freshman on campus. A preliminary application must be submitted to be considered for scholarship or admission to the music theatre program, please visit https://app.getacceptd.com/auburntheatre for all information about current auditions and deadlines. All prospective students must register through the AUSOM portal at http://auburn.edu/scholarship/ausom.
Please note that Auburn University Theatre and Dance Department is part of the 2024-2025 Musical Theater Common Prescreen Criteria and these are our requirements:
- Song Requirements: Option B - One musical theater song from any time period. One song of your choice from any time period and in any style that best suits you (musical theatre, pop, hip-hop, folk, rock, rap, soul, country, punk, etc.). This song should contrast the style of the first selection.
- Monologue Requirements: Option A - One monologue from a published (or written by a professional writer) play. A professional writer is someone whose plays have been produced, but may not have been professionally published.
- Dance Requirements: 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).
- Ballet Requirements: Option B - Ballet optional.