Unified Auditions: Your Most Pressing Questions Answered!

Written By Gigi Watson

If you’re a high school student seriously pursuing a BFA in Acting or Musical Theatre, you’ll probably have 20 or more colleges on your application list to increase your chances of getting into these selective programs. But with this necessary safety net comes an important question: how do you manage auditioning for all of these schools?

One way to make this easier on yourself is to attend the National Unified Auditions, where you can audition for many programs over just a couple of days. In this guide, we’ll answer some of the most common questions students have about Unifieds. Let’s begin with a quick overview of what these auditions entail.

What are Unified Auditions?

The terms “Unified Auditions” and “Unifieds” are both shorthand for the National Unified Auditions. At these events, representatives from many college, university, and conservatory theatre programs come to one location for two to four days so prospective students can audition and interview for one school after another.

Which schools participate in Unifieds?

As of September 2024, these colleges and universities are official participants in the National Unified Auditions:

Not all of these schools send representatives to all three National Unified Auditions, so check each college’s website and keep this in mind as you decide which event to attend.

Additionally, at each Unifieds location, there are additional programs (separate from the official Unifieds schools listed above) that host auditions since they know that being there with the official Unifieds schools makes your life easier as an applicant! The easiest way to identify which schools do this is to visit the list of audition dates and locations on each program’s website.

Where are Unified Auditions held?

You can pick from three locations for National Unified Auditions: New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles. Most students only attend one of the three, so here is a quick overview of each one to help you choose:

  • New York City (late January): The biggest benefit here is the location—if you think you want to live and work in New York after graduation, this is a great opportunity to go! You’ll get to audition in the same buildings where Broadway casts rehearse, and you can take some time during your trip to see a show or two and get a better feel for the city.

  • Chicago (early February): Chicago is the place to go if your main goal for attending Unifieds is to fit in as many auditions as possible. More program representatives attend Chicago Unified Auditions than any other location, and auditions last four days instead of two.

  • Los Angeles (mid February): LA is the smallest of the three Unified Auditions, which is a disadvantage if you want to audition for a lot of programs. But, it’s slightly more relaxed than New York or Chicago, so it may be the right choice for you if you thrive in that kind of environment or if you’re looking to end up on the West Coast during or after college.

While there are other consortium-style college auditions in other cities that use “Unifieds” or “Unified Auditions” in their name, these are the only three official National Unified Audition locations.

Should I attend Unifieds?

The short answer to this question is, it depends. The first thing you need to think about is how many colleges on your application list attend the National Unified Auditions or host auditions in coordination with one of the three Unifieds events. If only a few of the programs on your application list will be there, you might be better off auditioning for each school individually. But, if you’re interested in many audition-based BFA Musical Theatre or Acting  programs, attending Unifieds will likely  be a good way to consolidate your audition schedule and save some time and money.

That being said , even students who fall into the second category should know that Unifieds isn’t necessarily right for everyone. Let’s look at a few more pros and cons to help you decide!

Pros

  • It saves money and time. This one is a no-brainer—it’s a lot cheaper and quicker to travel to just one city for a few days to knock out your auditions instead of auditioning individually at many different colleges over the course of multiple months!

  • You can make helpful connections. You’ll get to meet acting and musical theatre faculty and admissions representatives from all over the country, plus a bunch of other students who have similar goals to you.

  • Some schools offer walk-in auditions. If you have some “maybes” that didn’t make your first-round application list or you want to add schools to your list after receiving some prescreen rejections, walk-ins are a great opportunity to take advantage of. (Just double-check to make sure the programs you’re considering offer walk-ins since not all schools allow them, and only do them for colleges you’d actually want to attend!)

Cons

  • The competition is fierce. The downside of bringing together talented, ambitious, and excited theatre students for several days of back-to-back auditions is that the atmosphere can get intense, especially at New York and Chicago Unifieds. 

  • You don’t get to see the colleges’ campuses. If you want to tour your top colleges before making your final decision—which you should do!—you’ll need to schedule those visits separately.

  • It isn’t the most affordable option. That title belongs to virtual auditions since there are zero travel costs involved, of course! (Pro tip: If you want to go virtual but still schedule back-to-back auditions for multiple programs over two days, check out Acceptd’s Virtual Walk-In Audition Weekend!)

How do I prepare for Unified Auditions?

Once you’ve weighed the pros and cons of Unifieds and decided you want to attend, your next step is to prepare!. You might just be thinking about practicing your material, but there are actually a lot of factors that go into getting ready for Unified Auditions, both logistically and in terms of your performance.

Logistics

To stay organized ahead of Unifieds, make sure to:

  • Research each program’s audition requirements so you know what they want to see from you during the audition, what you need to submit ahead of time for a regular audition, and where you can do walk-ins.

  • Check that your headshot and resume are up to date and bring some copies with you in case you need them (we recommend bringing two copies per school you plan to audition for).

  • Make travel arrangements at the right time—don’t book until you know that at least some of your prescreens have been passed and the trip will be worth your while, but don’t wait too long so you won’t have to scramble or pay last-minute fees. Consider booking a refundable hotel and waiting to schedule your flight until you feel sure you’re going.

  • Create a schedule of your audition days with notes about regularly scheduled audition times, when you might try for walk-ins, and downtime. Book and confirm the morning time slot of each audition day first before moving onto scheduling your midday and afternoon slots. (Your MCA Consultant can help you make the smartest, most strategic audition schedules for Unifieds and all of your other auditions!)

Performance

Arrive at Unified Auditions ready to showcase your best self by:

  • Mindfully choosing and rehearsing your audition materials. Adhere closely to each school’s requirements for monologues and songs, but work with your instructors and coaches to pick material that also suits you. Rehearse them until you can perform them in your sleep, and be prepared for dance or movement calls if programs require them.

  • Improving your mindset and confidence. Peak audition performance is only 10% physical—90% is mental! Practice mindfulness techniques like breathwork and visualization to get yourself in the right headspace before Unifieds. And don’t forget to pick out an audition outfit that makes you feel great about yourself!

  • Taking care of yourself. Unified Auditions are always stressful—which means it’s extra important to get enough sleep, eat nutritious foods, exercise, and not make yourself feel even more jittery by drinking too much caffeine. If you get sick or injured before Unifieds, consult a medical professional to decide if it’s okay for you to attend or if you need to stay home and recover (and definitely don’t go if you test positive for COVID-19 or have another contagious illness to keep everyone else healthy!).

  • Using the best resources available to you. My College Audition offers lots of opportunities to help out students preparing for Unified Auditions, as well as on-campus, virtual live, and digital video formats. These range from Virtual Mock Auditions where you can get real-time feedback on a practice run, to our Monthly Bootcamp Series designed to target key areas of audition technique and preparation, to Drop In Dance classes to prepare for your dance calls, to Music Tracks you can use for the schools that won’t have a live accompanist present.

(To that last point, don’t just take our word for it—check out our Testimonials page to hear from real students who have achieved their BFA dreams with support from MCA!)

Wrapping Up: Additional Resources on Unified Auditions

The tips in this guide should give you a solid starting point for deciding if you want to attend the National Unified Auditions, which one you should go to, and how to prepare. Remember that this process takes a village to succeed!  Don’t be afraid to rely on your support system—instructors, family, friends, and coaches—as you go, so you can showcase your skills and bring your authentic self to every college audition you attend, whatever the format and location may be.

For more information on getting ready for Unified Auditions, check out these resources:

Gigi Watson

MCA Director + Consultant
In addition to her work with My College Audition, Gigi is a Boston-based actor appearing regularly on the stages, screens and radios of New England and beyond. She holds a BFA in Musical Theatre from Emerson College.

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