Please do not submit your application for admission to Otterbein University until you have completed the pre-screening process. If you have applied already, as part of the Common Application for example, do not be concerned. But if you have not yet applied, wait until you have been invited to audition.

All applicants for the BFA Acting degree program are required to submit a pre-screening video in order to be invited to an audition on campus or at one of the National Unified Audition sites.

Candidates for the BFA degree in Acting must complete an audition to be considered for admission into the Department of Theatre and Dance. Auditions and interviews take place between November and February, and offers of admission are made by March. Students who do not audition by February 21st must defer consideration of admission to the following year.

Pre-Screening for BFA Acting Candidates

In the pre-screening process, you will record short audition videos and upload them to Acceptd. You will immediately be notified that we have received your materials. All notifications are done via message on Acceptd (please check settings to ensure you receive notification). 

Please include videos uploaded to Acceptd for each of the following criteria (please note that YouTube links will not be reviewed):

1. Upload an introduction. Please say your name clearly, the city you’re from, and the pieces that you’re going to do. For monologues, we only need the name of the play and the author.
2. Upload two monologues (separate clips), one contemporary, and one classical, taken from plays of your choice (see guidelines for specific information). A Shakespeare selection is encouraged but not required. Your total audition time is three minutes.  One monologue can be short and one can be longer, but together the monologue clips should not exceed three minutes.
3. Upload a resume. Be sure to include activities, leadership, and special skills pertaining to theatre.
4. Upload a photograph. We prefer a headshot, but if you don’t have one, upload any close-up of yourself.
5. Dance Minor Audition (Optional): Demonstrate your technique in ballet and jazz/contemporary. If your level of training is basic, please include a demonstration of your ability to move freely through space and any basic skills you would like to share. If your training is more advanced please demonstrate the following: Jazz- turns, jumps, isolations and floor work, Ballet – pirouettes, grand jete’/ grand allegro, sustained developpe’/arabesque, petit allegro and any additional vocabulary you wish to share. Do not include any barre work, musical theatre stock combinations or videos of performances. You are also welcome to include additional demonstrations of tap. Make a single clip not exceeding two minutes to show all techniques.
6.  Special Skills Submission (Optional): Submit a video of voice, instrument, composition, etc.  What do you want to share with us outside the monologues?

If you have questions about the guidelines or the audition process, please email theatre@otterbein.edu.

Deadlines & Decisions For Pre-Screening

We will begin accepting pre-screenings on September 1^st, 2025. Set up an account and submit your pre-screening materials via Acceptd.

Pre-screens are viewed as they are received. There are a limited number of spaces available for on-campus and unified auditions, so it is recommended that you pre-screen early to secure the audition date of your choice. We recommend submitting your pre-screen at least 30 days prior to your preferred audition date.

December 1, 2025 is the final date to submit a pre-screen for the 2025-26 school year.  Late pre-screens will not be processed.

Application for BFA Acting Candidates

If you are invited to audition in person, you will receive instructions from our Audition Team about scheduling.  We hold auditions on campus and at the National Unified Auditions in New York, Chicago, and LA. Unified slots are reserved for those students outside the state of Ohio. Ohio residents must audition on campus.

Our on-campus audition dates for 2025-2026 are:

• Saturday, January 17, 2026
• Saturday, February 21, 2026

Students should still submit pre-screen to Otterbein University by the December 1, 2025 deadline.

Our National Unified Audition dates are:

• New York: Saturday, January 24, 2026 & Sunday, January 25, 2026
• Chicago: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday February 2-4, 2026
• Los Angeles: Saturday, February 7, 2026 & Sunday, February 8, 2026

On campus auditions usually run from 8am – 5pm and students should plan to be on campus for the entire day. If you schedule your audition at one of the Unified sites, you will select a specific 10 minute audition time. Candidates receive equal consideration whether they audition on campus or off-campus.

If you are invited to audition in person, you will need to apply for admission to Otterbein University. Please do not apply for admission until you have been invited to audition. Once you have passed the pre-screen process you should immediately complete your admission application to the university.

Any questions about the admission process, including financial aid, should be directed to the Office of Admission at uotterb@otterbein.edu or at 614-823-1500.

University admission decisions are made at the same time as BFA offers. BFA students must adhere to University timelines for scholarship consideration. Students who audition, but do not submit an application for admission, will not be considered for the BFA program.

Please do not submit your application for admission to Otterbein University until you have completed the pre-screening process. If you have applied already, as part of the Common Application for example, do not be concerned. But if you have not yet applied, wait until you have been invited to audition.

All applicants for the BFA in Musical Theatre and Musical Theatre/Dance Minor are required to submit a pre-screening video in order to be invited to an audition on campus or at one of the National Unified Audition sites.

Candidates for the BFA degree in Musical Theatre or Musical Theatre with a Dance Concentration must complete an audition to be considered for admission into the Department of Theatre and Dance. Auditions and interviews take place between November and February, and offers of admission are made by March. Students who do not audition by February 21, 2026  must defer consideration of admission to the following year.

Pre-Screening for BFA Musical Theatre Applicants

In the pre-screening process, you will record short audition videos and upload them to Acceptd. You will immediately be notified that we have received your materials.  All notifications are made via message on Acceptd (please check settings to ensure that you are properly notified).

Otterbein University is a participant in the Musical Theater Common Pre Screen for the 2025-2026 cycle.

SONG: Please visit https://getacceptd.com/musical-theater-common-prescreen and follow the guidelines for Option A.

MONOLOGUE: Please visit https://getacceptd.com/musical-theater-common-prescreen and follow the guidelines for Option B

DANCE: Please visit https://getacceptd.com/musical-theater-common-prescreen and follow the guidelines for Option A.

• All choreography must be performed to music; please no “a cappella” dance media.

BALLET: Please visit https://getacceptd.com/musical-theater-common-prescreen and follow the guidelines for Option A.

• Ballet Media should be no more than 30 seconds.

Please note: All Musical Theatre applicants are required submit a dance pre-screen video.  It is optional for BFA ACT and should only be submitted if you wish to be considered for a Dance Minor talent award.

If you have questions about the guidelines or the audition process, please email theatre@otterbein.edu.

Deadlines & Decisions For Pre-Screening

We will begin accepting pre-screenings on September 1, 2025. Set up an account and submit your pre-screening materials via Acceptd.

Pre-screens are viewed as they are received. There are a limited number of spaces available for both on-campus and unified auditions, so it is recommended that you pre-screen early to secure the audition date of your choice. We recommend submitting your pre-screen at least 30 days prior to your preferred audition date.

December 1, 2025 is the final date to submit a pre-screen for the 2025-26 school year.  Late pre-screens may not be processed.

Application for BFA Musical Theatre Candidates

If you are invited to audition in person, you will receive instructions from our Audition Team about scheduling. We hold auditions on campus and at the National Unified Auditions in New York and Chicago. Unified slots are reserved for those students outside the state of Ohio. Ohio residents must audition on campus.

Our on-campus audition dates for 2025-26 are:

• Saturday, January 17, 2026
• Saturday, February 21, 2026

Students should still submit pre-screen to Otterbein University by the December 1, 2025 deadline.

Our National Unified Audition dates are:

• New York: Saturday, January 24, 2026 and Sunday, January 25, 2026
• Chicago: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday February 2-4, 2026
• Los Angeles: Saturday, February 7, 2026 and Sunday, February 8, 2026

On campus auditions usually run from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and students should plan to be on campus the entire day. If you schedule your audition at one of the Unified sites, you will select a specific 10 minute audition time. Candidates receive equal consideration whether they audition on campus or off campus.

If you are invited to audition in person, you will need to apply for admission to Otterbein University. Please do not apply for admission until you have been invited to audition. Once you have passed the pre-screen process you should immediately complete your admission application to the university.

Any questions about the admission process, including financial aid, should be directed to the Office of Admission at uotterb@otterbein.edu or at 614-823-1500.

University admission decisions are made at the same time as BFA offers. BFA students must apply for university admission for scholarship consideration. Students are encouraged to speak with Admissions about deadlines. Deadlines listed here are for the audition portion. Students who audition, but do not submit an application for admission, will not be considered for the BFA program.

Students interested in the BA Theatre program should submit your application for academic admission to Otterbein University. Acceptance to the university will signify acceptance into the BA Theatre program. 

Any questions about the admission process, including financial aid, should be directed to the Office of Admission at uotterb@otterbein.edu (mailto:uotterb@otterbein.edu) or at 614-823-1500.

Financial Aid

Talent Awards are available for accepted BA Theatre students based on an interview with the Director of the BA Program and/or the Chair of the Department of Theatre & Dance.  These awards are in addition to any other scholarships or awards given by the University. 

Admission Decisions

University admission are made on a rolling basis. 

Please submit your application for academic admission to Otterbein University. Then create your profile for online scheduling at Acceptd and upload the following:

• Your resume (See a sample resume HERE)
• Headshot or photo (Photo needs to be recent and does not need to be professionally done)
• Submit 3-4 samples of your strongest work. Art work, photographs, sound clips, and video are all acceptable.  Stage managers may submit up to five pages of a prompt script (scanned into a single document).

After we receive your profile, you will be granted access to schedule your interview & portfolio review. BFA Theatre Design & Technology students interview on campus. On campus interviews take place during one of our scheduled dates or during individually scheduled appointments.

Scheduling a campus visit in tandem with your interview allows you to sit in on classes.

If you have questions, please contact the Theatre Department at theatre@otterbein.edu.

Interview & Portfolio Review

Portfolio reviews are required for all BFA Design & Technology applicants.  Interview specifics are located on the Acceptd website.

Please submit your Acceptd profile at least 30 days prior to your desired portfolio review date.  Please note that students are given access to online scheduling on a first-come, first-served basis and earlier submissions will have a wider selection of available dates.

What is the interview like?

Your interview visit will begin with a conversation with a member of the faculty where you’ll get an overview of Otterbein’s program and have a chance to ask questions.  The actual interview will be a two-way conversation between you and the entire BFA Design & Technology faculty and teaching staff.  We all want to get to know you and we want you to get to know all of us. We want to hear about your past experiences and future goals, in an effort to determine if you and Otterbein are a good fit for each other.

Do I have enough experience?

Though many of our students have had the benefit of coming from excellent arts high schools, students of varying levels of experience have been granted admission to the program.  Any student who possess the qualities that make good theatre professionals: strong work ethic, passion, dedication, open-mindedness, problem solving, and an eye for style can have success in Otterbein’s individualized programs. Otterbein has a great program for both experienced students and those just beginning their formal theatre education.

What Do I Need To Bring With Me?

• Resume: Students should bring 1-5 copies of their resume outlining their experience in theatre and any other skills/experiences the student might find relevant.
• Portfolio: Whenever possible, we would like to see visual examples of the work students have done.  This can be in the form of drafting/drawings, photographs, or actual samples of small projects such as paint samples or costume accessories.

Admission Decisions

University admission decisions and BFA Design & Technology decisions are made on a rolling basis. Students must be accepted to both the university and the BFA program to enroll in Design & Technology coursework.

Transfer Students

The Department of Theatre and Dance will accept transfer students in the BFA Theatre Design & Technology program.

Potential transfer students should consult the Office of Adult, Transfer & Graduate Admission at 614-823-1500.

Acceptance to the dance minor and receipt of a talent award is by audition only. These auditions dates are scheduled for students who are not applying to the BFA in Acting or BFA in Musical Theatre programs.  Students who plan to pursue the Dance Minor with a BA Theatre or other non-Theatre major should attend one of the auditions dates listed below.

BFA program applicants who pass the pre-screen will be seen at auditions, scheduled in GetAcceptd, for BFA program candidates.

— All audition days are on Tuesday from 8 to 9:40am in the Battelle Dance Studio.

— Stella Kane, Director of Dance, will observe and then meet with the student following the audition.

— All auditionees should dress accordingly for a ballet class:

1. female presenting students should wear a leotard, tights, ballet slippers, ballet skirt is acceptable
2. male presenting students should wear tights, dance belt, fitted t-shirt and ballet slippers.

–The Advanced Ballet class is taught by a member of the dance faculty.  The instructor will receive advance notification of all scheduled dance minor auditions.

To schedule your audition, e-mail theatre@otterbein.edu.

2025-2026 Dance Minor Audition Dates