FAQ | PUAuditions LLC

PUAuditions (PUA) was founded by a number of caring musical theatre parents who wanted to help future musical theatre students and their families by simplifying and demystifying the audition process. There are a number of advantages to participating in PUA, including:

· A Supportive Environment – The founders of PUA are dedicated to offering a safe and supportive atmosphere to help you do your best work. BTDT (been there/done that) parents are available to answer your questions, PUA alumni return to escort you to your audition room, and audition coaches help you prepare in the green room before your audition.

· Early Feedback – Since PUA takes place in October – very early in the audition season – the response you receive from college programs can help you prepare for the rest of the process. Whether you gain confidence from multiple callbacks or a desire to make adjustments for better results moving forward, this early feedback sets you up for success.

· Introductions to Emerging Programs – Many of our attendees report that they learned about a program they hadn’t previously considered, and based on their connection with the faculty members at PUA, that program ultimately became their perfect fit.

· Prescreen Passes – Many of the schools participating in PUA treat our auditions as live prescreens. Rather than submitting individual prescreens (and prescreen fees) to each of these schools, you’ll submit your prescreen videos to PUA and then perform live for the schools in a consortium setting. You’ll save time, money, and effort, while giving the schools a chance to see your recordings and your live performance.

· Early Offers – Some of the schools participating in PUA treat our auditions as final offers, which means you could start the audition season with a solid offer (or more than one offer) in hand.

· Application Waivers – Nearly all PUA schools offer participants an application waiver of some sort, eliminating or reducing the cost of your application to those schools. In addition, if you learn at PUA that a particular school is not a good fit for you, there is no need to spend money on an application to that school, further reducing your total audition expense. The waiver is their "ticket" to participate or they must provide a scholarship for an attendee.

· Master Classes – You’ll have the chance to attend master classes with faculty members from many PUA schools, giving you insight into their teaching style. And, you'll have a chance to show them what you can do, outside of the audition room!

· Connections & Community – You’ll meet other students that are embarking on the same audition journey that you’re preparing to take, and your family members will meet other PUA families. After bonding at PUA, you’ll be able to encourage each other throughout the season and take comfort when you see friendly faces at an on-campus or Unifieds audition.

The in-person auditions for PUA 2026 are scheduled for Friday, October 9, to Monday, October 12, at Pittsburgh CLO Academy of Musical Theatre (130 CLO Academy Way) in Pittsburgh. Audition slots begin at 8 am on Friday, October 9th. There is a welcome party for students at the Even Hotel on Friday evening. Auditions are all day Saturday (along with masterclasses), Dance calls take place on Saturday and In-Person, One-on-One Callbacks are on Sunday/Monday. On Sunday the Junior Mock Auditions will take place along with Junior-Specific Master Classes.

Virtual PUAuditions take place on Friday, October 16, to Sunday, October 18. You will receive the Dance Choreography via video and have a week to self-tape and send in through the Acceptd portal. All virtual auditions will take place via Audition Room on the Acceptd platform.

The Tech & Design Portfolio Reviews will take place virtually on Saturday, October 24th via Audition Room on the Acceptd platform.

At PUA, we hold auditions for programs recruiting in Musical Theatre and Acting. We also hold portfolio reviews for schools recruiting for their Tech & Design (Technical Theatre) programs.

A student can audition for one, two or three of these disciplines.

To see the complete list of schools, you can go to the "Schools Attending" tab on the website. Each school is listed and there is a checkmark indicating what disciplines they are recruiting for. If it states undecided in the discipline box, that means that the school is commiitted to attending PUA, but they have not yet confirmed what disciplines will be recruiting students.

Prior to the event (we aim for early August when the Common App opens), all registered PUA students willl receive a spreadsheet that details the waiver codes for each school. We aim to disseminate the spreadsheet in early August. The sheet will posted on a password protected page on our website under the "Resources" tab. You will click on the tab for "Waiver Codes" and then input the password to access the information. The password will be emailed to all registered students when the sheet becomes available.

The spreadsheet will detail the code, how it should be used, next steps, etc. Some are codes upfront, some are special links for a no-fee application, and some are a code upon callback. Each school handles this in a different manner, but we try to compile and communicate the information to the PUA students in a streamlined mannner.

Registered students will receive the sheet, along with a complete resource booklet, as we approach the event.

PLEASE NOTE: These codes are SPECIFIC TO PUA and are PROPIETARY information. They SHOULD NOT BE SHARED with non-PUA students because schools track the students who use them and they will know if a non-PUA student uses the code. Giving them to a non-PUA student for use will jeopardize the agreement we have with our participating schools and will jeopardize our ability to obtain these valuabe codes in the future.

These terms represent how each school participating in PUA treats your audition. Each school participating has their own audition and acceptance procedures.

Live Prescreen: Refers to you performing your prescreen materials live, on stage, to the schools in attendance at PUA. Rather than submitting individual prescreen videos (and individual prescreen fees) to each of these schools, you will perform your materials live, on a stage, where you are most comfortable and at home, to the schools in a consortium setting. You will save time, money, and effort, while giving the schools a chance to see your live performance versus a video recording. For the Virtual event, your audition is performed LIVE, in real time, from where you are at and watched in real time from where the faculty is at.

Final Audition: The schools that indicate “Final Audition” will treat your performance as your final audition for that school. A final audition could still result in an on campus callback or a virtual callback after PUA if the faculty needs to see more. The final audition could result in an offer from that school in the room, at the callback or at a later time.

Hybrid: Schools that indicate “Hybrid” treat your audition at PUA as a combination of the above two terms, depending on the student and the audition. They might treat your audition as a final audition, which could result in a callback at PUA and a possible offer. However, they could also treat is as a live prescreen and call you back after PUA has concluded. If a hybrid school makes it a live prescreen, it means they think you might be a good fit. It does not mean they passed on making it a final audition because they don’t like you. There are several reasons they could go this route, some of which could be they want to invite you to campus for a visit to see if it is a mutual fit, they want other faculty to review your audition, or they might ask for a virtual or live (on campus or at a national unified event) callback at a later date to see progression of talent. The faculty reserves the right to treat each candidate differently in the decision making process.

No need to worry! All schools/programs view all students, regardless if the student is auditioning in-person or virtually. What this refers to is how the program is watching the auditions. Some schools will be in-person in Pittsburgh and some schools will be watching the auditions virtually back at their home base. The in-person auditions in Pittsburgh are recorded on video for the schools that do not travel to PUA in-person. Also, all of the schools watch all of the students who participate on our virtual weekend. So, be assured that each and every school will watch your audition!

Some of the callbacks occur at PUA on Sunday and Monday. However, due to time constraints, the schools cannot callback everyone they are interested in at PUA. Therefore, you will receive callbacks in the days and weeks following PUA. Most of your callbacks will occur after PUA has concluded and you have returned home.

Also, please keep in mind that some programs use PUA as a final audition, and they only reach out to students with audition status at one time, after ALL of their auditions have concluded. Therefore, you might not hear from some programs until February or March.

It's natural to be nervous! And, they not alone in being nervous! All students will have nerves before their first auditions because it's new and unknown. No matter where or when your student's first audition is, they will be nervous and worried that something might not go as planned. The truth is, every audition has stakes and there should be a part of them that is a little bit nervous, because there is skin in the game. That bit of nerves, is going to be something they will have to deal with from here on out in this industry.

Having a little bit of nerves means your student cares. And, that caring will help in preparation of their audition. That preparation will be the polish on the package.

However, you will learn that by coming to PUA, we have added some air bags, safety nets, emergency landing strips, all over the place to help your student! In fact, we have resource guides equivalent to “Auditioning 101." We know it’s early and it can be daunting and a bit scary, but we also know what we can do to set your student up for success.

We have the agreements in place for schools to allow for reauditioning . . . we have "mulligan spots" for a do-over if there is a “botch” situation. . . we have open communication with the schools so that they understand our platform and they have to agree with it in order to participate in PUA. Schools agree to this because THEY want to see YOUR STUDENT. THEY want to invest in YOUR STUDENT EARLY. They want to get to know the artist…not just see the media.

Coming to PUA is about dipping your toe into the auditioning water, with floaties on and a bunch of life guards in the water with you. Come with an open mind and an open heart and you will realize how much fun this process can be!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Why should I attend PUAuditions?

Where and when does PUA take place?

Do I need to be a high school Senior to attend PUA?

What disciplines are the schools auditioning/recruiting for at PUA?

Is PUA associated with New York, Chicago, or Los Angeles National Unified Auditions?

Is it true all PUA registered students will get appliction waiver codes?

What colleges, universities and programs are participating in PUA?

What does "Hybrid", "Live Prescreen", and "Final Audition" mean next to each school's name?

What does it mean when it says "Attending In-Person/Watching All Candidates" or "Attending Virtually/Watching All Candidates" next to a school?

Do all of the callbacks happen at PUA?

Should I be worried about auditioning for schools at PUA because it is early in the audition season?