All State Theatre Auditions

All State Theatre auditions will take place on January 16-17 at MTSU in Murfreesboro, TN. There will be a college fair running during the auditions that both students and parents are encouraged to attend. There is no per school limit for auditions. Registration fee is $15 for all students to be paid at registration. Schools wishing to be invoiced for registration fees should contact admin@tnallstate.com. Students may audition in multiple categories, but will be required to pay a registration fee for each category. Students must fill out the online registration form found here:

Audition Schedule will be published in December. Auditions and Technical Interviews will be adjudicated by faculty from participating colleges. There is no per school limit for auditions.

Conference Information

February 21st, there will be a All-State Theater Conference and Distinction performances. More information to follow.

Callbacks

There will college callbacks for Juniors and Seniors at the end of each audition section (see schedule below). Callbacks will be posted digitally via QR code on the back of your audition number. The callbacks will not require additional performances but are typically visits to the colleges booths located on the second floor of the Student Union building. Freshmen & Sophomores are encouraged to attend the college fair during callback times, but will not receive callbacks. For college visits please see How to talk to colleges here: https://www.tnallstate.com/how-to-talk-to-colleges.

· Audition/Callback Tentative Schedule

Friday

3-5 pm Auditions

5-6 pm College Fair callbacks

7-9 pm Auditions

9-10 pm College Fair callbacks

Saturday

9-11 am Auditions

11 am-12 pm College Fair callbacks

1-5 pm Auditions

5-6 pm College Fair callbacks

Overflow times (depending on registrations)

7-9 pm Auditions

9-10 pm College Fair callbacks

Theatre Performance Auditions

Musical Theater

One Monologue and a section of a Musical Theatre Song totaling no more than 90 seconds. Accompanist will be provided, student should provide sheet music with cuts of the song marked. No tracked accompaniment or a cappella auditions will be allowed.

Acting

One Monologue from a contemporary play totaling no more than 1 min.

The Audition

Prepare your audition piece to fit the time limits allowed.

If time is called, stop, repeat your name and audition number, and exit the stage.
No props are allowed. A chair may be used and will be provided.

PLEASE DO NOT IDENTIFY YOUR SCHOOL DURING THE AUDITION EITHER VERBALLY OR WITH CLOTHING OR OTHER PERSONAL ITEMS.

The Audition Procedure

NOTE: Many people will be moving in and out of the audition and holding areas. We cannot be responsible for personal belongings, phones, tablets, music players, etc. Please leave these items with a friend while you are auditioning. If you must keep these items with you, please make certain they are TURNED OFF before entering the audition room.

Auditionees should report to the holding area near the audition room at least 30 minutes prior to their anticipated audition time. Auditionees who miss their time will be rescheduled at the END of the day.

Auditonees will be escorted into the audition room in flights of 10-20, the first auditionee taking the “on deck” chair. When signaled by the Timekeeper, they will proceed to the stage where they will state their name and audition number, and present his or her audition piece. After your monologue and/or song, you should repeat your name and number. Even if time is called, you should repeat your name and number before you exit the stage.

When the person before you moves onto the stage, you will move to the “on deck chair”

Audition Tips

• Audition with your strengths. If you are a strong comedic actor, choose a comedic monologue. If you are a strong character actor, choose an appropriate piece. If you are not a strong singer, it is better not to sing.

• Choose a character as near your age as possible and within your age range.

• Avoid unnecessary vulgarity. Adjudicators are rarely shocked, but they can be turned off. If your piece is selected for performance, we reserve the right to request that language or content be changed. If you choose not to change the material, you will still be recognized but not asked to perform.

• Memorize and rehearse your piece exactly as you intend to perform it INCLUDING YOUR NAME AND NUMBER. (Remember that your name and number at the beginning of your audition are a part of your time)

• If singing, get help picking a selection that shows your strengths, perhaps choose the end of a song or a climactic vocal passage.

Design/Tech Interviews

Students interested in Technical theatre (Design/Technical Only OR Performance & Design/Tech) will be required to complete the following interview process:

Each applicant MUST participate in an interview to determine his or her interests, commitment, habits, plans, ambitions, maturity, and general knowledge of theatre. Students will be asked about experiences and interest in all areas of Technical theatre ---including costuming, makeup, sound, lighting, scenery, properties, and all other aspects of stagecraft. The interview will be a formal presentation and last approximately five to six minutes. Students who wish to present aspects of their portfolio should limit the presentation to no more than four minutes to allow time for questions. For the interview, a technical resume and a digital technical portfolio are required and should be prepared to be viewed on a projection screen in the interview room Please make your resume the last slide of your Portfolio presentation and have hard copies avaialble. In evaluating applicants, a wide range of experiences and interests will be considered. Digital portfolio & resume should be submitted via form by January 5th. Please avoid non-local (cloud based) digital platforms such as Canva and Prezi since wifi can be undependable. We recommend using a PDF or PowerPoint file. If brining your own laptop, you will need an HDMI connection for the presentation.

Playwriting

Plays must be submitted by December 5th. You can upload your work at registration or use the link to modify your registration to upload at a later time..
All plays submitted must be the work of the student; No AI assisted submissions allowed. Work may have been completed at a previous time, but the student must be a 9th-12th grade student (public, private or home-schooled) in the state of TN at the time of submission.
Format: 12 pt. font, 1” margins, recognizable play formatting with stage directions in italics.
Include a title page at the beginning of the document with student name, title of play, character list and time/place of play. Do not list your school on the title page. Page limit is 10 pages, not including title page. Please number pages starting page 1 on the first page of the play.
No more than 6 characters allowed. Content must be suitable for performance in a high school theatre program.
Top-rated submissions may be posted on the TASTE website and/or the Tennessee Theatre Educators Association website. Publishing for the purposes of production may be a future possibility, subject to agreement by both playwright and TTEA. The play remains the intellectual property of the playwright. Top-rated submissions may also be used for a staged reading at the TASTE state conference.

Suggestions

Look closely at the adjudication rubric and make sure your play follows the items in the rubric.
Check mechanics such as spelling and grammar before submitting.
Keep a copy of your play!
Convert your submission to pdf format before uploading.