The Theatre School > Conservatory > Undergraduate Conservatory > Stage Management > How to Apply

How to Apply

​​​​​​​BFA Stage Management

In order to be prescreened and considered for a Stage Management interview, all of your application materials​ must be received no later than December 1. Applications that are incomplete after the December 1 deadline will not be reviewed. Because of the prescreen process, we strongly recommend Stage Management applicants be well-organized and submit their application materials early. 

Prescreen decisions are communicated by email, typically by mid-December. If you are invited to interview, you will be emailed a link to the interview registration page and prompted to register for a date/time.  Interviews take place in January and February.

In addition to the application materials listed on the undergraduate admissions page, Stage Management applicants must submit the following major-specific application materials:

Your resume can include both theatre experience and non-theatre experience (extracurricular activities, employment, etc.)

Your writing sample should be one page long and answer both of the following questions:

  • What are the skills and qualities of a successful stage manager?
  • What is it about managing that you most enjoy?

This writing sample is specific to stage management and therefore different from the Common Application essay.

Your portfolio must include examples of your stage management paperwork. Your paperwork should demonstrate your organizational and management skills and might include things like prompt book pages, blocking notes, call sheets, rehearsal notes, communications, etc. to help demonstrate your stage management process. You may also choose to include optional additional items such as a video, artwork, or examples of technical theatre involvement, but the main focus of your portfolio should be on stage management. 

Please also be aware that while what you include in your portfolio is important, how you organize and present your work within the portfolio is equally important. We expect stage managers to be organized, thorough, and clear in how they communicate and present their work.

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Prescreen (December 1)​

BFA Stage Management applicants must pass a prescreen prior to registering for an interview. In order to be prescreened, stage management applicants must submit a complete application (all application materials) by December 1. Prescreen decisions are communicated by email.

Interview (January/February)

Students who pass the prescreen will be invited to interview one-on-one with the head of the BFA Stage Management program. We believe that during the interview, the questions you have for us are as important as the questions we have for you. There is no fixed format or schedule of questions for the interview, so you will be evaluated as an individual by an individual. The faculty member who conducts the interview will be interested in your theatre experiences, academic record, personal achievements, extracurricular activities, and plans for your artistic future. The best preparation for the interview is to be curious; come with plenty of questions about courses, instructors, programs of study, student life, and anything else you would like to discuss.

View Interview Dates