PLANS FOR THE SUMMER 2024 PROGRAM WILL BE ANNOUNCED IN A FEW WEEKS. PLEASE CHECK BACK THEN!!!
Application Instructions
Quick Overview
WHAT: The summer, 2023 BAYFEST Youth Theatre Intensive Training and Performance Workshop will run from August 21 – September 1, from 10 – 3, Monday – Friday. Classes/rehearsals will be held at Chief Sealth International High School in West Seattle, and performance/showings will be on Thursday, August 31 and Friday, Sept 1.
This year, through the generous support of our donors, all program costs are being fully funded, and there will be no cost to participants. We are looking for 18-20 participants who will commit to their participation for the full time, and are excited to work hard and have fun! You DO NOT have to have prior experience in performing to apply — many of our wonderful past students have come to us with no acting or performance training, but have wound up loving the program. Your interest and willingness to be a part of a truly collaborative ensemble is what counts!
Classes/rehearsals will be led by some of BAYFEST’s top teaching artists, who will build a performance that showcases participants’ skills in acting, movement/dance, spoken word poetry, music and comedy. Each participant will get to work on a solo and a group piece, and will be featured in at least two pieces in performance.
WHO: The program is open to students ages 14-19 (though we will occasionally accept younger participants on a case-by-case basis) who have a strong interest in learning acting, movement and related skills. As stated above, previous experience is NOT required. For more information on out-of-area applications, please email us at: BAYFESTyouthTheatre@gmail.com with the subject line: “Summer 2023”.
Program application includes:
- Completed Application form
- One audition video if you are not attending an in-person audition (cell phone video is fine! See “Tips” below)
You are strongly encouraged to submit your completed application form as soon as possible (application windo will close June 12th), as we accept participants on a rolling admissions basis — meaning that there will be fewer available spots as the application deadline approaches.
We will acknowledge receipt of your application within 48 hours. Please contact us if you do not hear back from us in that timeframe.
The Application Form
- Download the BAYFEST Application Form and Information sheet. It is available in .pdf or .doc format.
- You can complete it either by typing on your computer or filling the fields by hand and then scan or photograph it to send electronically.
- Video cannot be uploaded to our website or sent by email. You will need to post it online to YouTube, Vimeo, etc. and provide us the link on the application form.
- applications must be send by email to BAYFESTyouthTheatre@gmail.com
The Audition Video
If you are not able to attend an in-person audition (which will be held in May in Seattle), an audition video must be submitted as part of your application, although it can be submitted after the written application form. It must include:
- One short monologue, song, or poem, under one and a half minutes long.
- A personal section, where we get to know you (see more about the video below).
- It’s fine to film your audition using your phone as long as we can clearly see you (head-and-shoulders shot is best).
- Upload to a video- or file-sharing site like YouTube.com / Vimeo.com / YouSendIt.com / WeTransfer.com / Dropbox.com — it will be too big to send via email!
- EITHER include the video URL in the space provided on the application, OR email us the video link separately.
Tips on Making Your Audition Video
Don’t get too fancy! You can use your cell phone, and we don’t need costumes, backgrounds, music soundtracks or editing – In general, a ‘medium shot’, where we can see your face and most of your body, is fine. Just make sure we can also here you clearly.
We want to get to know the REAL YOU in your audition video. This means that choosing a very “charactery” piece (something much older or different in type than you) for your monologue is probably not a good idea. Because Summer 2023 will involve a lot of physical theatre techniques, anything you can do to show those skills in your audition video can be a help.
In the rest of the video, we want to learn more about you than is already in your essay and resume — BE CREATIVE and BE YOURSELF! Applicants have done this in a variety of ways, from talking directly to the camera, to giving us tours of their house or car, introducing us to their families, friends, stuffed animals. Some have interviewed other people about themselves to give us a sense of their personality – whatever you do, you should keep in mind that WE DON’T KNOW YOU and we want to.
Sometimes we ask applicants to submit something more, but give it your best shot the first time. If you have specific questions about something you want to do, you may email us at BAYFESTyouthTheatre@gmail.com, but ALMOST ANYTHING goes! We will NEVER share your videos with anyone else or reveal what is in them without your express permission, so feel free to share secrets if you feel you want to – again, we want to see the REAL, most interesting and HONEST you. One suggestion before you decide what to do is to ask family and friends (even enemies!) what THEY think are your most interesting and genuine qualities.
We will acknowledge receipt of your application within 48 hours. Please contact us if you do not hear back from us in that time-frame.
After You’ve Been Accepted
If you are accepted into the BAYFEST Seattle 2023 program, you will need fill out the Participant Information Form/Survey that we will send to you.