MUSICAL THEATRE
Musical Theatre Department students master storytelling in three different disciplines: voice, dance, and acting.
Musical Theatre students are taught by professional, working artists. In addition to the department’s permanent faculty, students also benefit from working with a rotating roster of guest artists from Chicago’s most reputable and innovative professional theaters. These artists prioritize their students’ education while simultaneously developing their own personal projects.
YOUR MUSICAL THEATRE TEACHERS
YOUR MUSICAL THEATRE CLASSES
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Acting
Acting class focuses on storytelling skills through both contemporary and period styles, with a semester dedicated to each. Emphasis is on ensemble work and elements like movement, voice, and text, using works by playwrights such as Tennessee Williams, Oscar Wilde, and Anton Chekhov. Courses progress from "Introduction to Acting" for freshmen to "Advanced Acting" for upper-level students.
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Voice
Private voice lessons guide students in developing technique, practice skills, and repertoire for auditions and performances. Lessons cover both classical and musical theatre pieces. Voice Repertoire allows students to practice performing in front of peers, applying vocal and acting techniques. In Ensemble students work on group singing. Music Theory is taught both as a standalone subject and integrated into daily singing.
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Dance
Musical Theatre students study dance within the Dance Department for Jazz and Modern, and with department faculty teaching ballet and Musical Theatre Dance Repertoire class, where students learn classic works by choreographers like Jerome Robbins and Bob Fosse.
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Musical Theatre Studio
Musical Theatre Studio is the core of the curriculum, where students integrate skills from acting, dance, and voice on performing material in the historical context of the art form. Courses progress from "Musical Theatre Studio 1" for freshmen to "Senior Studies" for seniors, which synthesize these elements.
MUSICal theatre AUDITION
We are thrilled you are auditioning for The Chicago Academy for the Arts. Please remember: our number one goal is for you to be successful. That means that when you have questions, please ask them!
You can email Department Chair Andy Robinson at any time for more clarification.
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Applicants must create an Online Application to submit their preliminary audition.
Student Introduction Video (3 - 5 minutes)
• Name, grade, and current school.
• Why are you applying to The Chicago Academy for the Arts?
• Brief explanation of your previous artistic experience. Tell us who you are. What kind of artist are you? Tell us briefly about your life and when you first became interested in Musical Theatre. What have been your favorite experiences in theatre? What else do you like to do? We are open to what you want to share with us that distinguishes you as an artist and as a person.
Resume with Headshot
• List of your performance experience and training in PDF format
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Applicants who pass their preliminary audition are invited to attend a live audition.
Song Requirements
• Applicants must prepare two songs from the musical theatre canon; one should be up-tempo and one should be a ballad. If you have studied classical voice, an aria or an art song will also be accepted.
You will sing 32 bars (or about a minute) of each song, or the verse and chorus.
Ideally, the songs should not be rock or high-belt songs (please avoid “Don’t Rain on My Parade”). Consider songs by the following: Rodgers and Hammerstein, Lerner and Loewe, Comden and Green, Jerry Herman, Frank Loesser, Mary Rodgers, Duke Ellington, the Gershwins, Eubie Blake, Harold Arlen, Stephen Sondheim, and the Disney canon.The Academy will provide you with an accompanist during your live audition and you will be responsible for supplying them with sheet music that is in the correct key. We recommend musicnotes.com as a place to find sheet music that is appropriate for your audition.
Acting Requirements
• Applicants should prepare and memorize one monologue. Proper preparation means an understanding of the piece, the play it is from, as well as fully memorizing the material.
We recommend you choose a monologue from the list we have selected here.
If at all possible, read the entire play. Plays for each of these pieces are readily found for purchase online or at your local public library.Dance Requirements
• There will be a brief dance portion during your live audition. No previous dance experience is necessary. Please dress in athletic attire that is comfortable and easy to move in. Applicants are encouraged to wear jazz shoes; however, the audition can be done barefoot as well.
