Registration opening soon for 2023/24 Events!

2023-24 CWRU Theater Scholarship Events

November 17&18, 2023 – Fall Scholarship Event

In-Person Theater Weekend: Come to CWRU for the weekend! Sit in on classes, tour the facility, attend workshops with faculty, see a show, and audition or present a portfolio for the CWRU Theater Scholarship. Registration opening soon!

February 2024 – Spring Scholarship Events

In-Person Theater Weekend: February 16 & 17, 2024 Come to CWRU for the weekend! Sit in on classes, tour the facility, attend workshops with faculty, see a show, and audition or present a portfolio for the CWRU Theater Scholarship. Registration will open in December of 2023.

Virtual Event: President’s Day, Monday, February 19, 2024: Candidates can audition or present their portfolio on Zoom with CWRU theater faculty, as well as talk with current CWRU Theater students about their experiences here at CWRU. Registration will open in December of 2023.

For more information regarding the scholarship and to be added to our mailing list, please email: christopher.bohan@case.edu

About the CWRU Theater Scholarships

 CWRU Undergraduate Theater Scholarships

Case Western Reserve University has made merit-based scholarships available for prospective theater students.  Each year, the Department of Theater awards four full-tuition scholarships to students who intend on majoring in theater, and two $10,000 scholarships to students who intend on minoring in theater, or those interested in pursuing theater as an extracurricular activity at CWRU.

FOUR FULL TUITION SCHOLARSHIPS for THEATER MAJORS

For students intending to major in theater at CWRU, we have FOUR FULL TUITION SCHOLARSHIPS to award.  Each scholarship is a full-tuition, four-year scholarship (room and board not included). To retain the scholarship, the student must declare theater as a major by the end of their freshman year, as well as maintain the stipulated GPA.

TWO $10,000 SCHOLARSHIPS for THEATER MINORS

For students intending to minor in theater, or pursue theater as an extracurricular activity, we have two $10,000 SCHOLARSHIPS to award.  Each scholarship is a four-year scholarship. To retain the scholarship, students must contribute to theater productions in either a performance, design, or technical capacity on an annual basis, as well as maintain the stipulated GPA.

 HOW TO APPLY FOR THE SCHOLARSHIPS

To compete for one of these scholarships, the prospective student must apply to the university by the traditional route, make an appointment to audition and/or present a portfolio with CWRU Theater Faculty, and complete a CWRU Theater Scholarship Application. All applicants MUST submit their application materials to the Arts Supplement portion of their CWRU application, or email/share documents with christopher.bohan@case.edu. Audition and Portfolio requirements are the same for both scholarships.  See specific audition and portfolio requirements below.

Please Note: The audition and portfolio presentation process is for scholarship eligibility only.  If you are admitted to CWRU and want to study theater, but do not receive one of the theater scholarships, you are welcome to study theater with us! Transfer students are not eligible for the scholarship.

HOW TO SCHEDULE A SCHOLARSHIP AUDITION OR PORTFOLIO PRESENTATION

ATTEND IN-PERSON THEATER WEEKEND

Prospective students will have the opportunity to audition and/or present a portfolio for the scholarship, participate in an acting or design workshop, attend an undergraduate theater production, meet with faculty and students, and ask questions about the program. In-person events are held in November and February.

ATTEND VIRTUAL EVENT

On President’s Day, we hold a virtual event from 9am to 5pm. Scholarship applicants can present their scholarship application materials to CWRU theater faculty on Zoom, as well as chat with current CWRU students.  

INDIVIDUAL CAMPUS VISIT

Schedule an Individual On-Campus Audition and/or Portfolio Presentation: If you are unable to attend the Scholarship Weekend or Open House events, you may contact Professor Bohan to schedule a time to come to campus for an audition or interview. Deadlines listed below. Individual auditions and/or portfolio presentations are only held during the school week. If you would like to make an appointment, please contact Professor Bohan at christopher.bohan@case.edu

 

IMPORTANT DEADLINES for 2024 Scholarship Eligibility:

January 15, 2024: Deadline to submit your CWRU application

• You must submit a CWRU application to be eligible for consideration
• All Early Action and Regular Decision applicants are eligible
• You MUST submit all theater scholarship application materials to the Arts Supplement portion of your CWRU application, or email/share them with christopher.bohan@case.edu.
• You may audition/present portfolio for scholarship before submitting CWRU application

February 26, 2024: Deadline to submit CWRU Theater Scholarship application materials

• ALL applicants for the CWRU Theater Scholarship MUST submit the CWRU Theater Scholarship Application, along with the required materials for their discipline to the Arts Supplement, or email/share them with christopher.bohan@case.edu. Even if you have attended an in-person or virtually, you MUST submit all materials to the Arts Supplement, or email/share them with professor Bohan.

Detail of Submission Requirements for each discipline

Acting: Candidates interested in focusing on the acting concentration are asked to select, memorize, and prepare ONE monologue of their choosing. Selection can be from a contemporary or classic play and should not exceed two minutes in length. You may also prepare and present 16 bars of a musical, but this is not required. There will not be an accompanist, so you may sing a cappella or with a device. For Arts Supplement, please upload your videos, or submit links to your videos with your CWRU Theater Application.

Directing: For candidates interested in the directing concentration, a portfolio presentation is needed.  Your portfolio should consist of the following: 1) A one-page resume documenting your theater experience (directing, acting, playwriting, design, stage management, etc).  2) A 1-2 page Director’s Concept for a published play or musical that you would be interested in directing, detailing your vision for the show (characters, moods and tones, visual aspects) and what you would want the audience to take away from the production in terms of its central themes and ideas.  3) Production photos from previous projects you have directed (if applicable, not required). Candidates should be prepared to speak about their interest and passion for directing, as well as their previous directing and/or theatre experience. For Arts Supplement, please upload any documents and/or photos that represent your work.

Dramatic Writing/Playwriting: Students interested in the dramatic writing/playwriting concentration should submit a 10 page sample of their work in either playwriting or screenwriting (or both) at least one week prior to your interview date. This can include either an excerpt from a full-length work or a combination of shorter pieces, such as 10 minute plays or short film scripts.  While dramatic writing is preferred, you may also submit other examples of your creative writing, such as short stories, poetry, essays, etc. For arts supplement, please upload your 10 page sample.

Stage Management: Students interested in stage management should bring in their SM binders, copies of scripts they have worked on (with cues written in), paperwork related to the show, and any other evidence of skills related to stage management such as organization, managing/coordinating large groups of people, multitasking, and communication.  Please upload your presentation and or links to the Arts Supplement in ONE pdf document.

Design: For the design concentration scholarships, a portfolio demonstrating skills in theater is required (which can include some or all of the following: renderings, sketches, paperwork, scale drawings, production photos, etc.).  Students may also include experience in a related field, such as art, architecture, cosplay, graphics, or photography. The portfolio may be in scrapbook format or on an online platform. Art projects or model making could substitute or be included with the other requirements. The material should be organized into some kind of cohesive presentation, with identifying labels for references. Please upload your presentation and or links to the Arts Supplement in ONE pdf document.

SCHOLARSHIP AWARD NOTIFICATION

The department of theater will make its scholarship award selections in the first week of March.  Award selections will be sent to the CWRU department of admissions. Awardees, regardless of application submission (Early Action, Early Decision, Regular Decision) will be notified by CWRU admissions during the second or third week of March.  The CWRU Department of Theater is not authorized to notify awardees.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT US

For general scholarship information, and auditions/interviews for actors/directors, contact:

Professor Christopher Bohan at 216-368-6097 or christopher.bohan@case.edu

For design/technical theater portfolios/interviews, contact:

Professor Angelina Herin at 216-368-2856 or angelina.herin@case.edu