Portfolio/Audition Requirements

Your artist’s statement should discuss your goals and their relationship to your past experience, as well as evidence of your interest in performance-based design whether in theater, film, installation, writing or other related forms.

Applicants should upload their resume as a part of the online application.

Applicants from a wide range of backgrounds and interests are encouraged to apply. The portfolio submission should reflect your primary areas of interest and artistic strength.

The BFA Experience Design and Production portfolio may include the following as applicable:

• Examples of drawings, paintings, sculpture, photography, or other artwork.
• Examples of graphic and drafting skills.
• Examples of theater design, including models, sketches, costume designs, light plots, prompt books and photographs of props, scenery and costumes.
• Digital Media— that documents your sound designs, including any accompanying paperwork (cue sheets, equipment lists, drafting, etc.).
• If applicable, include scores, original music compositions and evidence of computer literacy and indicate if you play a musical instrument.
• Examples of work that show your craft skills in scenery constructions, painting, props, and/or costuming and lighting, including photographs of realized work, drawings, drafting, samples, patterns, and artistic ideas.
• Examples of created video work and installations.
• Documentation of fully realized original work as demonstrated by video, slides, or photographs of designs, and/or documentation of works-in-progress.
• Architectural drawing, textile work, performance art, and video work are also welcome.

In this Video Introduction, tell us about one person, place, thing, or event that has helped shape your artistic practice.

• Duration: minimum of 30 seconds, maximum of 90 seconds
• Speak directly to the camera
• Do not read from a prepared statement
• No edits
• No special effects or on-screen overlays
• File should be uploaded or linked directly to the portfolio section of the CalArts Application
• Does not require professional-level equipment; cellphone cameras or consumer cameras are okay.

Interviews are by invitation only. Students will be notified of a request for an interview after the completion of preliminary reviews by faculty, sometime in February. Prospective students must fulfill all admissions application requirements and submit the online portfolio by the general application deadline on January 5th if they wish to be considered for an interview. Interviews will be held virtually.

Your artist’s statement should discuss your goals and their relationship to your past experience, as well as evidence of your interest in performance-based design whether in theater, film, installation, writing or other related forms.

In this Video Introduction, tell us about one person, place, thing, or event that has helped shape your artistic practice.

• Duration: minimum of 30 seconds, maximum of 90 seconds
• Speak directly to the camera
• Do not read from a prepared statement
• No edits
• No special effects or on-screen overlays
• File should be uploaded or linked directly to the portfolio section of the CalArts Application
• Does not require professional-level equipment; cellphone cameras or consumer cameras are okay.

Applicants will be contacted if an interview is requested by the Faculty. Not all candidates will be invited to interview. The location and format of the interview (virtual or in-person) will be determined after you receive your invitation to interview. 

Prospective students must complete the admissions application requirements and the online portfolio to be considered for admission. The online application must be submitted before an interview will be scheduled.

CalArts School of Theater faculty will participate in URTA events for Experience Design and Production candidates in Chicago and virtually. Applicants interviewing via URTA are still required to complete the online application. If you plan to participate in URTA's and are considering CalArts, starting a CalArts application is an important first step.

Letters of recommendation are required. See details for each Specialization below. 

All letters of recommendation should be received by the application deadline, so it is highly recommended that you contact your recommenders months before. We request that you submit the requests for your letters of recommendation through the online application, as it will allow you to track when we receive your requested letters.

Only if this is not possible, you may download the Letter of Recommendation Form (pdf) and have your recommender send their letters by mail to the Office of Admissions. Please choose only one method – either through the online application (preferred) or by mail – per recommender. Letters of recommendation will not be accepted via credentialing services such as Parchment or Naviance.

Mailed letters of recommendation should be sent to:

CalArts Office of Admissions
24700 McBean Pkwy.
Valencia, CA 91355
United States of America

Please note, letters of recommendation must be written in English or accompanied by a certified English translated document.

• Examples of production work including all preliminary work, such as rough sketches, models, technical sketches, and research.
• Documentation of fully realized original work through video, photographs, scripts, and storyboards, as well as documentation of works-in-progress.
• Fine art work including drawings, paintings, textile work, sculpture, performance, etc., or photographic documentation of the aforementioned.
• Three letters of recommendation, including one professional.

• Lighting plots and paperwork.
• Production still images or video.
• Examples of design, drawing and graphic skills.
• A writing sample communicating visual or theatrical ideas.
• Digital or hand drawn renderings of lighting design intentions.
• Lighting plots in Vectorworks or Autocad and other lighting paperwork including Lightwrite or equivalent.
• Three letters of recommendation, including one professional.
• Production still images or videos of realized productions.
• Fine artwork including photography, sketching, painting, and/or sculpture.

• Examples of production work and design, as well as drawings.
• Pieces that demonstrate photographic and/or graphic skill.
• Fine art work, sculptures, models, or photographic documentation of the aforementioned.
• Documentation of fully realized original work through video, photographs, scripts, and storyboards, as well as documentation of works-in-progress.
• Architectural drawings, textile work, performance art, and video work are also welcome.
• Three letters of recommendation, including one professional.

• Examples of video design for performance projects.
• Examples of Virtual or Augmented Reality projects.
• Examples of video installations, single-channel video art, or projection mapping projects.
• Examples of cinematic, music video, commercial, or film work.
• Examples of interactive art, creative technology, programming, gadgets, inventions, creative writing, and hacker/maker projects.
• Video or still image documentation of other original new media projects.
• Examples of exciting, new works-in-progress.
• Three letters of recommendation, including one professional.

• Audio or video files that document your sound designs, including any accompanying paperwork (cue sheets, equipment lists, CAD drafting, etc.).
• If applicable, include scores, original music compositions and evidence of computer literacy and indicate if you play a musical instrument.
• Three letters of recommendation, including one professional.

• Production books and drafting or technical drawings.
• Photos of completed work or works-in-progress. These can include work in disciplines other than theater.
• You may also include examples of organizational ability and technical or artistic experience.
• Three letters of recommendation, including one professional.

• A current resume
• Your artist statement, which should address your interest in stage management and performance, your thoughts about the role of the stage manager in the creative process, and your reasons for pursuing an MFA
• Samples of paperwork you have created for production that demonstrate the range of your experience (character/scene breakdown, prop list, deck shift plot, schedules, contact sheets.) When possible please include sample rehearsal reports and samples from blocking and cueing scripts. Please do not submit an entire production book at this time.
• Two letters of recommendation, including one professional.
• Transcripts from all undergraduate institutions attended.

Applicants selected for interview might be asked to provide a complete production book and the names of two additional professional references.

• A current résumé
• An artistic statement, which addresses your vision for the theater and its place in the world and why you are a producer
• A writing sample (this can be from a grant, marketing copy, a performance review, etc.)
• Two letters of recommendation, including one professional
• Any materials you have created or worked with that illustrate your experience and organizational ability, such as marketing copy and/or flyers, fundraising appeals, general management materials (budgets, organizational memos, timelines and schedules, company management or systems manuals, etc.)