School of Performing and Visual Arts
School of Performing and Visual Arts
The School of Performing and Visual Arts welcomes all applicants interested in our programs to showcase their talents via an audition and/or a portfolio review.
Step 1: | Apply to Southern Miss |
Step 2: | Submit Audition and/or Portfolio Requirements. See guidelines below for Art and Design, Dance, and Theatre. |
Program | Requirements | Events for Prospective Students |
---|---|---|
Art and Design |
USM Application and portfolio reviews (portfolios encouraged as part of the admissions and scholarship awarding process) |
|
Dance |
USM Application and online auditions |
|
Theatre |
Emphasis in Design and Technology: USM Application (Portfolio review) Acting: USM Application and audition:
For Scholarships: USM Video Audition at Curtain Up. |
Apply to the University. For acceptance into the Art and Design programs, apply to the University.
Submit your digital portfolio review. Portfolios are encouraged as part of the admissions and scholarship awarding process.
PORTFOLIO
The USM Art and Design program encourages a portfolio review as part of the admissions and scholarship awarding process. Typically, portfolio reviews are mostly conducted in-person during the Art and Design recruitment event, but due to our Covid-19 response, only digital portfolio reviews are being accepted.
Digital Portfolio: What do we look for in your a portfolio review submission? We look for both an interest in and commitment to art, as well as skills in drawing and painting from observation/imagination, a sense of color and design, and other creative abilities.
Here are some guidelines for submitting your digital portfolio:
Recommendation: You will need to submit the contact information of a reference. It can be a visual arts teacher or an employer. You will need their first name, last name, email, title/position, and organization.
Once you submit your application form online, your reference will receive an email on behalf of Southern Miss Art and Design with an online recommendation form for them to submit. Note: You will need to certify that you have permission from your reference to share their email address, so they can be contacted via email by USM to request the recommendation.
Essay: An essay titled “Why I Want to be an Art Major at Southern Miss?”
As a precaution in response to the COVID-19, our USM Dance program in the School of Performing and Visual Arts is currently only accepting online audition materials and video submissions, as an option for students.
To apply for acceptance into the undergraduate BFA program in dance at Southern Miss, you must apply to the University AND audition as part of the application process.
Apply to the University. To apply for acceptance into the undergraduate BFA program in dance at Southern Miss, you must apply to the University.
Submit the audition application form and your online video audition. Please see below to prepare the supporting materials required to audition online.
As a precaution in response to the COVID-19, our USM Dance program in the School of Performing and Visual Arts is currently only accepting online audition materials and video submissions, as an option for students.
Introduction: Let’s get to know you! Look at the camera and state the following information to begin your audition video:
Dance Performance: This section may include combinations from dance classes, a performed dance piece, improvised movement, etc. Movement can be in any dance style, a variety of dance styles, and be self or instructor choreographed (or a combination of both).
Length: Please note that the video should not exceed ten minutes in length.
Attire: Applicants must wear well-fitted dance attire where the body is fully visible; Your video must be taped in a theatre or dance studio with good lighting and the recording must be in focus; and incomplete or poor-quality videos may result in the student’s submission not being considered.
Deadline: All videos must be received no later stated University deadlines for undergraduate admissions.
Format: Your audition video may be submitted via video form by either uploading an MP4 file.
Thank you for following the instructions above. This will assist us in evaluating everyone on similar work and make the video audition close to what students are asked to do during the in‐person auditions. We can’t wait to review your submission!
START ONLINE AUDITION APPLICATION
Learn more about the Dance program
Submit the virtual audition application form. Please see below to prepare the supporting materials required to audition online.
Students with pre-prepared materials, including a portfolio or audition piece, will need to submit:
- A recorded 1-minute monologue (plus 16 bars of prepared song optional) or 3-minute presentation of portfolio with a brief introduction as described below. (YouTube links are the easiest for us to handle in large numbers).
- A headshot or high-resolution photo
- A resume
- Contact Information of a Reference, Drama Teacher (First Name, Last Name, Email, Title/Position, Organization)
- Once you submit your audition application form online, your reference will receive an email on behalf of Southern Miss Theatre with an online recommendation form for their submission.
- Note: You will need to certify that you have permission from your reference to share their email address, so they can be contacted via email by USM Theatre to request the recommendation.
Don’t have a portfolio or audition piece? You are not required to have those already in order to participate in scholarship review.
Some students come from areas that don’t have theatre programs at the high school level and some may have interests in areas of theatre that aren’t covered by those two options such as directing, producing, or stage management. In those cases, a strong work ethic and academic potential will be sufficient for the scholarship review. You will need to submit the following in order to participate in scholarship review:
START ONLINE AUDITION APPLICATION
As an alternative to submitting a virtual audition, the faculty will hold a live Zoom session to catch any new students who are unable to create a recorded presentation. You still send the other materials by October 19 and clearly state in the first sentence of the body of the email, “Zoom Audition Needed” and we will send a Zoom invitation with your appointment time. This is new to us, too. We want to make sure to see everyone who wishes to audition. Email%20us
Prepare a 1-minute monologue of your choice. Find about 40-50 seconds of text to allow room for time variation and transitions. Upload it to YouTube.
“Hi. I’m Jane Smith. This is Laura from The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams.” When you finish, thank the auditors and repeat your name. The intro and conclusion should be close to the camera. The monologue framing should include 2 inches above your head and ¾ or more of your body.
Learn more about the Theatre program