Writtle University College and ARU have merged. Writtle’s full range of college, degree, postgraduate and short courses will still be delivered on the Writtle campus. See our guide to finding Writtle information on this site.

Audition information by course

For some of our undergraduate courses, you will be invited to submit an audition portfolio as part of your application process.

These are: BA Acting / BA Acting with Foundation Year, BA Drama / BA Drama with Foundation Year, BA Musical Theatre / BA Musical Theatre with Foundation Year, and BA (Hons) Music Performance (unless you have or are working towards a level 3 qualification in Music, Music Technology or related subject OR ABRSM Grade 7).

For all courses, please email [email protected] (home applications) or [email protected] (international applications) with a link to a video or recording no longer than ten minutes of you performing a piece from your individual course audition pack (see below). Include your name, the course you are applying for and student ID number.

Please host the video on a video sharing site such as YouTube or Vimeo – you can set it as 'unlisted' and send us just the link. If you are unable to share your video via a video sharing site please use a file sharing service such as Google Drive or Dropbox. If you do, you need to ensure your file is less than 1GB.

Each course also has individual audition portfolio requirements as detailed below.

Individual course requirements

BA (Hons) Acting / BA (Hons) Acting with Foundation Year

You will be asked to make and share a video self-tape of your performance of a short piece from a published play or screenplay. You should:

  • record about 1.5 - 2 minutes maximum
  • Choose a piece you can identify with, reasonably close to your own experience /age, or something that you've been cast in or would like to play
  • Film it in a well-lit space, without any light sources behind you so we can see you properly - ideally your whole body, not just your head and shoulders.
  • Avoid very big spaces with echoing acoustics - we want to hear your voice clearly.

 

BA (Hons) Drama / BA (Hons) Drama with Foundation Year

Please prepare a monologue from our Drama audition portfolio materials pack and video yourself performing the piece.

Please note that our BA Drama and Film and BA Drama and English Literature courses do not require an audition portfolio.

 

BA (Hons) Music Performance

If you don't have and are not working towards a level 3 qualification in Music, Music Technology or a related subject OR ABRSM Grade 7, you will need to show us your musicianship by sending us a music portfolio for review. You should provide a video of yourself performing or playing live. You should prepare one or two pieces lasting up to 10 or 15 minutes. You can choose any material to play. If you’re a songwriter, we encourage you to perform your own material.

You’re also invited to show us examples of your creative work (compositions, recordings, leadsheets) or provide links to online media.

 

BA (Hons) Musical Theatre / BA (Hons) Musical Theatre with Foundation Year

You'll need to prepare two songs from our pre-selected list, as well as a short, contemporary monologue of your own choice. You'll find more instructions, and a list of song options, on our Musical Theatre auditions page.