Illinois Theatre Fest | Audition/Presentation Information

Audition/Presentation Information

Will be emailed out the week of December 18th.

List of colleges and universities participating in College Auditions/Presentations (PDF): Will be posted by December 22

Eligibility is limited to Juniors or Seniors who plan to enter college in the school year 24–25 or 25–26 to study theatre. Juniors are strongly encouraged to apply. As in the past, all Illinois college and university theatre departments have been invited to participate in this program, as well as other theatre departments from outside of Illinois. The goal is to give students an opportunity to audition/present for college representatives while refining and enriching their auditioning/presenting skills.

In-Person Auditions / Technical Interviews will be held Friday, January 12, 2024.

Warm-up rooms will be available on Friday, January 12 to help prepare student actors. To help make the process as user-friendly as possible, we will discuss audition/presentation information during this meeting.

STUDENTS: While it would be great to give EVERY student a chance to experience this process, please remember that spaces are limited and the time for our college representatives to see these talented students is at a premium. Please register ONLY if you are seriously considering a career in the theatre. The Illinois High School Theatre Festival reserves the right to limit the number of students a school may have based on overall numbers and available time slots.

Audition/Presentation Requirements

Auditions must not exceed two minutes, including introductions and transitions. Auditions will be timed. Students should prepare…
- A single monologue, or
- Two short contrasting monologues, or
- A short monologue and 16 bars of a song. An accompanist will be provided. Please bring appropriately marked sheet music in your key.
Technical Interviews will be scheduled simultaneously with the performance auditions. Presentations are for any student wishing to pursue technical theatre, technical design (costume, sound, set, lighting, etc.), directing, or stage management. Students will…
- Display their work (i.e. portfolios, pictures, displays) to a rotating group of 6-8 college/university representatives
- Give a 5-7 minute presentation at each group
- Answer questions from the college/university representatives
All student auditionees/presenters must be registered with their school (except All-State cast and crew members) for the Festival.
Each auditionee/presenter must pay a non-refundable $35 audition/presentation fee. This will be collected when filling out the online college auditions registration form.
NOTE REGARDING CALLBACKS: Students must use their own email during registration, NOT the sponsor's email. After auditions and presentations, students will receive emails regarding colleges and universities who wish to speak to them further. It is the student’s responsibility to visit each college representative on the exhibit floor.

TIPS FOR COLLEGE AUDITIONS (PDF) – PLEASE READ!

Audition/Presentation Process

Before a student can register for auditions/presentations, their school must be fully registered for the Festival.
- PLEASE NOTE: A complete school registration includes submitting the following: online school registration form, full payment, Principal Acknowledgment Form, a Medical/Media Release Form for each student and sponsor, and the student/sponsor final list.
Once their school registration has been completed, the sponsor will be sent an email with a link to the College Audition Application.
The sponsor will provide auditioning/presenting student(s) with this link.
The student must complete the College Auditions Application and submit payment online by November 13, 2023. Late applications will NOT be accepted.
You also need to submit the Audition Resume Form and/or the Technical Interview Resume Form. The link to these forms can be found in your confirmation email after submitting the College Audition Application. This needs to be submitted by November 13, 2023.

REMINDERS

We will format your data for the colleges (everyone's résumé will have the same format; you will not be able to upload your own PDF or Word doc). View a sample résumé to see how your information will be formatted: ACTOR | TECHNICIAN
Once you submit the Audition Form / Presentation Form, you cannot make changes. You can submit more than one and we will use the last submission we receive. Please Note: If you submit more than one, it is not updating your previous one. Please ONLY submit these forms ONE TIME in order to ensure we are providing the correct files to each college/university representative.
There is a cap on the number of auditionees/presenters. Sponsors, please limit your auditionees/presenters to those who are serious about studying theatre at the college level. Impress upon the students that their application constitutes a commitment to the Festival and the college representatives present at the auditions/presentations.
Once we hit capacity for both audition slots and technical interview slots, we will remove the option and/or close the College Audition Application link.

NOTE: All-State Company Members planning to audition/present must contact the All-State Producers at allstateproducers@ihstf.org for the College Audition Application information.

If you have any questions concerning auditions/presentations, please contact the Associate Directors for Auditions: