URTA (University Resident Theatre Association)

New York , United States

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Registration for the 2024 URTA Auditions and Interviews will open September 5, 2023 at noon (12:00 pm, Eastern).

Graduate School recruiting at the 2024 URTAs will take place in the following disciplines/locations:

Graduate Acting:

Acting (CSU Fullerton): hybrid recruiting**, Jan. 13 – 14, 2024
Acting (Philadelphia): in-person recruiting, Jan. 19 – 21, 2024
Acting (Chicago): in-person recruiting, Jan. 27 – 30, 2024
Acting (Virtual): live-virtual recruiting, Feb. 4, 2024

**For the hybrid recruiting model in Acting (CSU Fullerton): candidates attend in-person at California State University, Fullerton to present their audition via live-stream video (technology set-up provided by URTA) to the recruiters who will be watching the auditions remotely. More details are available on the Acting (CSU Fullerton) application guidelines page.

Graduate Arts Leadership:

Arts Leadership (Virtual): live-virtual recruiting, Feb. 3, 2024

Graduate Design and Technology:

Design & Technology (Virtual): live-virtual recruiting, Jan. 17, 2024
Design & Technology (Chicago): in-person recruiting, Jan. 24 – 26, 2024

Graduate Directing:

Directing (Virtual): live-virtual recruiting, Feb. 2 – 3, 2024

Graduate Stage Management:

Stage Management (Virtual): live-virtual recruiting, Feb. 2 – 3, 2024

Candidates may only register to participate in one of the event locations for a discipline [ex- you cannot register for Design/Tech (Chicago) and Design/Tech (Virtual)].

Before beginning your application for the 2024 URTAs, please read all of the information below.

The URTA Auditions and Interviews--or, "the URTAs"--have been connecting prospective students with top graduate programs for over 50 years, and are the most accessible, cost-effective way for theatre artists to pursue graduate training. We’re delighted that you’re considering taking part in the URTAs! This year, we’re planning a hybrid event, with both in-person and live-virtual registration options for most disciplines.

At the URTAs, you have access to dozens of professional training programs in numerous disciplines. The programs vary widely in vision, approach, and curriculum. If you haven’t already begun researching graduate programs, the URTA Membership Directory is a great place to start. Be sure to contact schools directly for the most current information on their various programs and recruiting cycles.

The 2024 URTAs will take place from January 13 – February 4, 2024.

Visit URTA.com for event dates/details, the list of programs registered to recruit in each discipline/location, and further useful information. The list of programs registered to recruit at the 2024 URTAs will be updated on our website throughout the fall, please check back regularly for updates.

The URTAs provide prospective graduate candidates the opportunity to be seen by dozens of top programs in a single day. Actors participating in the in-person URTA auditions also have the opportunity to add a second day of Guest auditions (attended by non-member programs/institutions), which nearly doubles the number of programs the candidate can see.

The URTAs aren’t just auditions and interviews. You will also have access to a wide variety of free educational opportunities, like workshops and seminars, through the URTA Continuing Education program.

2024 URTA Auditions and Interviews - Registration Deadlines:

(All Disciplines) URTA Registration opens on Acceptd: September 5, 2023 (12:00 PM, Eastern)
(All Disciplines) Early-Bird Pricing ends: November 26, 2023 (11:59 PM, Eastern)
(All Disciplines): URTA Registration closes on Acceptd: January 1, 2024 (11:59 PM, Eastern)

Walk-In/Day-of Registration: Walk-in registrations are only accepted at the in-person Acting auditions in Philadelphia and Chicago, and the in-person Design/Tech interviews in Chicago, pending availability (space is limited). Candidates are strongly encouraged to register in advance on Acceptd to guarantee their space. There will be NO walk-ins/day-of registrations accepted at virtual or hybrid URTA events.

Please note: The URTAs are a full-day commitment. Please do not schedule other appointments or travel on the day you are scheduled for the URTAs. You will be given an opportunity to provide schedule conflicts within your registration on Acceptd - please be sure to indicate the date(s) you are unavailable to participate in the URTAs within your Acceptd application.

2024 URTA Auditions and Interviews - Registration Pricing:

The prices listed below are inclusive of all fees (Acceptd fees and Processing fees).

Early-Bird Registration: starting at $117 *Best Value! Register by Nov. 26
Full-Price Registration: starting at $127 *Full-Price begins Nov. 27
Guest Auditions (optional, add-on): $45+processing (Guest Auditions are an optional second day of acting auditions in Philadelphia & Chicago with programs that are not members of URTA).
Guest Auditions can be added within the Acting (Philadelphia) or Acting (Chicago) registration in Acceptd by selecting “Yes” when asked if you would like to add Guest Auditions to your registration. Please note: Guest Auditions require a second full-day available to participate, as they cannot take place on the same day as your URTA audition.

URTA Candidate Awards:

URTA Candidate Awards waive your registration fees for the URTAs. Awards are available to qualified candidates in all areas. Information on these awards and how to apply can be found at urta.com/awards.

Within their URTA application, candidates may opt to donate as little as $1 to the Pay-It-Forward fund, which supports Candidate Awards for candidates based on personal hardship and other considerations at next year's URTAs. All donations to the Pay-It-Forward fund are tax deductible and will be matched by Acceptd.

Policy on Changes and Cancellations:

Change Requests: Candidates are given the opportunity to provide schedule conflicts within the URTA application in order to avoid changes to their scheduled URTAs date. If a candidate should need to make a change to their scheduled URTAs date, requests should be made promptly in writing to theurtas@urta.com. While URTA makes best efforts to accommodate change requests, scheduling is based on availability, therefore not all requests can be accommodated. Any change requests received within 30 days of the start of the URTAs will incur a $10 change fee. For the 2024 URTAs, this date is December 14, 2023.

Cancellation Policy: All cancellation requests must be made in writing to URTA at theurtas@urta.com. Cancellations made more than 30 days prior to the start of the URTAs will be refunded 100% of the amount paid, minus a $32 cancellation fee. Cancellations made within 30 days of the start of the URTAs, or during the event (including no-shows) will not receive a refund. For the 2024 URTAs, 30 days prior occurs on December 14, 2023. All donations made to the Pay It Forward Candidate Award are non-refundable.

Additional Resources:

Please review the specific disciplines/program application pages here on Acceptd for further details. Additional resources to review include:

Ready to register?

On the left-hand side of your screen, use the dropdown menu under “start an application” to select the URTA application program that you would like to register for and get started!

For disciplines with multiple location options, please be sure to select location/event delivery type that meets your needs, and review all of the specific event details in the application Guidelines.

If you have additional questions about the URTAs, please email us at theurtas@urta.com.

For technical questions, please visit the Acceptd Help Desk.