2026 In-Person Auditions: October 9th-12th @ Pittsburgh CLO Academy (130 CLO Academy Way) 
Friday/Saturday: Auditions & Masterclasses at CLO Academy 8am-7pm
Friday Night: Student Mixer at Even Hotel (425 Forbes Ave.); Parent Mixer at Wyndham Grand (600 Commonwealth Pl)
Saturday Morning/Afternoon/Night: Dance Call at CLO Academy
Sunday & Monday: Junior Experience/Mock Auditions  at CLO Academy; Q&A Sessions, Parent Masterclasses at Even Hotel
Sunday Callbacks: (8am-6PM) at Wyndham Grand Downtown, Faculty Panels & Parent Masterclasses at Even Hotel
Monday Callbacks: (8AM-3PM) at CLO Academy

2026 Virtual Auditions October 16th-18th Audition Room on Acceptd Portal
Friday & Saturday: Virtual LIVE Auditions 9am-7pm
Friday & Saturday: Virtual MasterClasses and Q&A Sessions
Sunday: Virtual LIVE Auditions 9am-12pm
Sunday: Callbacks, MTCA Informational Sessions, Q&A Sessions, Dance Call Self-Tape Due

2026 Virtual Auditions Tech & Design Portfolio Reviews October 24th Audition Room on Acceptd Portal
Saturday: Tech & Design Portfolio Reviews in Audition Room 9am-5pm, Virtual MasterClasses

** For a complete, hour-by-hour  listing of all classes & events, please visit the "Schedule" tab **
 

Musical Theatre Candidates:  You will be asked to perform TWO (2) CONTRASTING SONGS. Please . The total time of your pieces should not exceed THREE (3) minutes. Acting Candidates: You should prepare TWO (2) CONTRASTING MONOLOGUES monologues. The total time of your pieces should not exceed THREE (3) minutes. Musical Theatre Plus Acting Candidates: You will be asked to perform ONE (1) SONG and ONE (1) MONOLOGUE that contrasts in tone and/or theme to your song. The total time of your pieces should not exceed THREE (3) minutes. Important Notes For All Candidates: Please time your song and monologue(s) together before coming to PUA to ensure that they are THREE (3) minutes or less in total. We will be adhearing to THREE (3) minute slots per candidate in the room. Please be respectful of your fellow auditionees and ensure your audition package fits the time frame. Your audition will end when the timer hits THREE (3) minutes. You can perform the same materials from your artistic review materials that you uploaded to Acceptd, or you can use different material. We also recommend bringing your rep book, in case you are asked to sing an additional song at a callback (not in audition room, due to strict time constraints).

You will schedule your own audition time at PUA. Once all of your materials are submitted on Acceptd, they will be sent for review by our staff of industry professionals. The deadline to submit materials into Acceptd is 9/1/26 for guaranteed professional feedback or 10/1/26 if you are not taking advantage of the free, professional feedback. All materials must be submitted by 10/1/26. After your materials are reviewed, we will send you an email with instructions to schedule your PUA audition time. The available audition times will be shown on the “Schedule” tab on your Acceptd page. You can pick your preferred time. There are plenty of audition times for all students. All students MUST choose their audition time by October 3rd. If you do not schedule your time by that date, it will automatically be scheduled for you. This is critical because Team PUA needs time to prepare the audition materials for the event. If you need to change your time, you can do so by going back into Acceptd and changing it prior to October 3rd. No changes will be permitted after that date. This process is the same for all students - Juniors, Seniors, Tech & Design and Virtual MT/Acting Seniors.

At PUA, the most important thing is that your song and/or monologue package combined should be no longer than THREE (3) minutes. Less than 3 minutes is fine, as well. Please time your song and monologue pieces before coming to PUA to ensure that combined they are THREE (3) minutes or less in total. We will be adhearing to THREE (3) minute slots per candidate in the room. Please time your total audition package to ensure that it is no longer than THREE (3) minutes total for both your songs and your monologues. Your audition will end when the timer hits THREE (3) minutes.

Once you are on the stage at PUA, you will introduce yourself to the adjudicators by stating your name and your audition number. You will then present all of your pieces at one time. For songs, you state the name of the song and the musical it is from. For monologues, you state the name of the monologue, name of the play it is from and the author.For example: "Hello! My name is John Doe, #10 and today I will be performing "Tonight at Eight" from She Loves Me. My monologue is “Richard's Boast" from Richard III by William Shakespeare."

In the audition room, each candidate is alotted a 4 minute audition slot to perform their pieces. Your audition package should be no longer than 3 (THREE) minutes. Time begins at the first note of your song or the first word or beat of your monologue. Please be conscious of time when preparing your pieces to ensure that they are no longer than 3 minutes in length (shorter than 3 minutes is OK). Your audition time will stop when the timer hits 3 minutes.

If you are auditioning for Musical Theater plus Acting, we request that students perform their song first followed by their monologue. Musical Theatre Plus Acting students will perform: - 1 song that they feel showcases their voice best followed by - 1 monologue that contrasts in tone and/or theme from the song The total time of both the song and the monologue together should be THREE (3) minutes maximum. It is OK to be under 3 minutes, but your audition package CANNOT exceed 3 minutes. Please be sure to time your audition pieces together to ensure they do not exceed the allotted time. This does not apply to Musical Theatre Only or Acting Only students, who only have 2 songs or 2 monologues to perform.

Most students at PUA decide to pick their live audition material from the artistic review materials that they uploaded into Acceptd. However, this is not a requirement. If the student feels that they need to change material and they wish to audition with something different, that is perfectly fine. It is up to the student if they want to use the same selections as the media review materials or if if they want to audition with something different. However, please aware that this is for PUA only. A student's reqirements might be different at non-PUA schools. When auditioning for non-PUA schools, be sure to check the requirements to see if you are allowed to change out your materials.

You will audition for all PUA schools at one time in what is called a consortium-style audition. If you receive callbacks from any of the schools, you will have an opportunity to meet with those schools individually.

The dance call is an industry standard, in which you will learn a dance combination and then perform it in small groups. We offer our dance call two different ways for the in-person students and there will be both mover calls and dancer calls:We will offer a live, in-person mover and dancer calls at a few different dance call times, and you will have the opportunity to schedule your dance call prior to PUA. The dance call will take place in a dance studio, so jazz shoes or character shoes are fine to wear. Be sure to wear dance clothing that allows the faculty members to see and appreciate your movement and your lines. This year, we will also be offering the opportunity to do a video dancer or mover call, if you prefer, instead of the live dance call. It is your choice if you wish to take advantage of this opportunity or not, Via Acceptd Messenger, PUA will send out choreography and music tracks for both movers and dancers on or about October 2nd. You will have until October 17th to record your dance and return it (all instructions on returning the video will be in the message you receive with the dance choreography). You can choose to return in prior to the in-person PUA dates or after, but the hard deadline for returning it to us will be October 17th.Virtual candidates will get the recording of the dance call, as well as the music track. We will send the materials out via Acceptd Messenger and you will have a week to return your self tape back. You will download it to the portal like your other media. In the past, successful candidates have recorded dance calls in various places, such as their living rooms, basements, garages, dance studios, church or school auditoriums, and even outside on the patio or driveway! If you are a mover, please do the mover call as opposed to the dancer call. Schools want to see you at your best and want to see you executing the choreography well. It is to your advantage to choose the dance call choreography that you can execute best and highlight your strengths instead of areas that you need to grow in. Whether you're live or virtual, a dancer or a mover, the most important thing is don't stress! The instructors are looking for ability to pick up choreography and dance fit for their program.

Sorry! Parents are not permitted to watch any of the auditions. Parents are invited and encouraged to attend the information sessions and panels scheduled especially for them.

Students should come prepared with sheet music for their song cuts. Tracks are not permitted for auditions, but might be utilized for certain masterclasses. Please make sure your sheet music is double-sided, 3-hole-punched and sits in a binder. Please try to photo copy your music to minimize page turns. Also, no loose sheets or sheet protectors, please. Song cuts should be appropriately marked on your sheet music. For tips on how to mark your audition cut, CLICK HERE for an article from Backstage.

Students should choose monologues that are age-appropriate (generally within 5-10 years of your actual age) and that feel authentic to your culture, background, and lived experience. Active monologues are often better for auditions; an active monologue takes place in real time and focuses on what you want and puts you in direct communication with an imaginary scene partner. Your character should be speaking to someone specific and there should be high stakes involved. When you choose a piece that is relating to another character with a clear objective, it gives you the opportunity to connect with that non-present scene partner, and pursue an emotional arc versus a piece that narrates a past experience. Additionally, it can be helpful to avoid monologues that rely on extreme emotions as it can be hard to believably justify those responses in a short piece.

Yes. It is perfectly acceptable to trim your monologue to fit within the time limit of your audition. Just make sure that the monologue you end up with has a reasonable story arc and make sure that it doesn't feel like it is cut off abruptly. For some tips on how to trim a monologue, CLICK HERE for an article with advice.

The dance call is an industry standard, in which you will learn a dance combination and then perform it in small groups. We offer our dance call two different ways for the in-person students and there will be both mover calls and dancer calls:We will offer a live, in-person mover and dancer calls at a few different dance call times, and you will have the opportunity to schedule your dance call prior to PUA. The dance call will take place in a dance studio, so jazz shoes or character shoes are fine to wear. Be sure to wear dance clothing that allows the faculty members to see and appreciate your movement and your lines. This year, we will also be offering the opportunity to do a video dancer or mover call, if you prefer, instead of the live dance call. It is your choice if you wish to take advantage of this opportunity or not, If you wish to do the video dance call, simply do not select a Dance Call Audition Time. There is no need to notify the PUA team of your choice. If we see that you did not select a Dance Call time, we will automatically assume you will be sending in a video. Via Acceptd Messenger, PUA will send out choreography and music tracks for both movers and dancers on or about October 3rd. You will have until October 19th to record your dance and return it (all instructions on returning the video will be in the message you receive with the dance choreography). You can choose to return in prior to the in-person PUA dates or after, but the hard deadline for returning it to us will be October 19th. However, we recommend that the strategic thing to do is to submit the video by the time of your individual audition.Virtual candidates will get the recording of the dance call, as well as the music track. We will send the materials out via Acceptd Messenger and you will have a week to return your self tape back. You will download it to the portal like your other media. In the past, successful candidates have recorded dance calls in various places, such as their living rooms, basements, garages, dance studios, church or school auditoriums, and even outside on the patio or driveway! If you are a mover, please do the mover call as opposed to the dancer call. Schools want to see you at your best and want to see you executing the choreography well. It is to your advantage to choose the dance call choreography that you can execute best and highlight your strengths instead of areas that you need to grow in. Whether you're live or virtual, a dancer or a mover, the most important thing is don't stress! The instructors are looking for ability to pick up choreography and dance fit for their program.

Seniors do not get feedback from the auditions. It is not standard practice for adjudicators to provide feedback for college auditions and PUA follows that model. This goes for both in-person and virtual Senior Auditions. However, both seniors and juniors who upload their media review video materials by September 1st, are guaranteed to receive professional feedback on all media uploaded (songs, monologues, dance, wildcard, resume, slate, and video labeling standards). During Junior Mock Auditions, all juniors will receive in-room, constructive feedback from the panel of professionals in the room.

Don't overthink it! Wear something you love and that you feel comfortable and confident in. Definitely wear something that you feel reflects your personality. As a general rule, wear something that you would wear on a first date to impress someone. Avoid any logos and large, distracting jewelry. Please make sure your hair does not hide your face, so the adjudicators can clearly see you, your eyes and your facial expressions during your audition. For footwear, please wear something comfortable that you can walk and/or move in easily. Avoid shoes that are hard to stand in. For dance, wear something is comfortable to move in and that is close fitting to the body so the instructors can easily see your lines. For all auditions, dance calls and masterclasses, be sure to wear your audition number in a visible location.