Musical Theatre BFA Portfolio and Audition Requirements
The BFA in Musical Theatre is an intensive program intended for those planning to pursue professional careers in live musical theatre, or in similar fields in the performing arts. The rigorous 76-credit curriculum includes courses in acting, musicianship, singing, dance, musical theatre performance, theatre history, and technical theatre. Admission to this program requires a portfolio and audition.
Portfolio requirements for the BFA Musical Theatre program
After submitting your application to Binghamton University, you will be able to upload a portfolio of materials via your application status checker for the musical theatre faculty to review. Your portfolio should include the following:
- A personal statement exploring why you are interested in pursuing a BFA in musical theatre at Binghamton University
- A theatre résumé
- A letter of recommendation that speaks to who you are as a performer. The recommendation should be from someone who knows you well as an artist, ideally a theatre teacher or director that you’ve worked with, and address your abilities, experience, talent, potential for growth, work habits, commitment, discipline, etc. Letters must be emailed directly from the recommender to portfolio@binghamton.edu.
- Videos of two songs
- Each video should be 60-90 seconds in length.
- Your two pieces should demonstrate a contrast in style, mood and/or character.
- At least one of these songs must be from the musical theatre canon. The other may be a musical theatre song, but also may be a different style of song from another time period and/or genre (pop, rock, hip-hop, rap, R&B, soul, folk, country, punk, etc.).
- Your videos should include accompaniment, but ensure that the accompaniment does not overpower your voice.
- Video of one monologue from a published play or written by a professional writer, 60-90 seconds in length
- Optional: One “wild card” video of anything you’d like. This is an opportunity to show your personality and to share your own uniqueness. Perhaps this involves sharing a special skill, an interesting story about yourself, a passionate speech, an instrument you play, etc.
Note: Binghamton is following the guidelines of the Musical Theatre Common Prescreen. The guidelines above align with Song Option C, Monologue Option A, and Dance & Ballet Options C (i.e., not required). Applicants are encouraged to read these guidelines for tips on how best to film, label, and format your material. Please also note that these materials must be submitted via your application status checker for your application to Binghamton’s musical theatre program, not via Accepted as the MTCP link above suggests.
Callbacks for the BFA Musical Theatre program
After you submit your portfolio materials, they will be reviewed by a committee of Binghamton’s musical theatre faculty. If they would like to see more of your work, you will be invited for a live (virtual or on-campus) audition during the spring semester. More information will be provided if you receive this invitation to campus.
