# How to Prepare for Unified Theatre Auditions (SETC, UPTA and More) > One stage, one short slot, and dozens of theater companies watching at once. A step-by-step plan for unified auditions such as SETC and UPTA: reading this year's rules, fitting the clock, the slate, the song cut, the callback board, and what to pack. - URL: https://www.offbook.com/blog/unified-theatre-auditions - Published: 2026-10-20 - Last updated: 2026-10-20 You get an audition number, a day, and a slot that lasts about as long as a commercial break. You will walk onto a bare stage, say your name, and do a monologue, maybe a song, for rows of people from theater companies you have never met. Then you walk off, and the next number walks on. That is a unified audition, sometimes called a combined audition or, less kindly, a cattle call. It is one of the most efficient ways for a newer actor to be seen for summer stock, outdoor drama, and year-round regional work. It is also unforgiving: there is no second take, no redirect, and no one waiting to hear the end of a speech that runs long. The short version: find out whether the event is running this year and read its current rules yourself. Build a package that finishes well inside the time limit, with a slate of only what the rules allow. If the event provides a pianist, mark your sheet music for someone you have probably never worked with. Know your words cold. Then plan for the callback board, because the real work often starts after your slot ends. ## Know which kind of unified audition you're walking into A unified audition gathers many hiring companies in one place so actors can audition for all of them at once. The Southeastern Theatre Conference, for example, says on its [2027 convention page](https://www.setc.org/convention/convention-2027/) that it hosts one of the most active unified audition processes in the country. The Unified Professional Theatre Auditions (UPTA) in Memphis and the Midwest Theatre Association's auditions at Webster University in St. Louis work on the same idea. Missouri State University's theater department keeps a useful [list of external auditions](https://theatreanddance.missouristate.edu/ExternalAuditions/default.htm) for its students. It describes the Midwest event as covering graduate programs, internships, summer stock, and year-round theater, so one event can mix very different employers. These are not the National Unified Auditions for college BFA and MFA programs, which work differently. If you are applying to drama school, read our guide to [preparing for a BFA or drama school audition](https://www.offbook.com/blog/drama-school-audition) instead. One more check before anything else: make sure the event still exists. StrawHat, a New York combined audition, now says on its own site that it has suspended operations and has no plans for future auditions. Older articles and forum threads will not tell you that. ## Read this year's rules before you choose a piece An easy way to waste a unified audition is preparing for last year's rules. Time limits differ between events, and some events include a video screening round before you are ever invited to the stage. Compare two organizers. For its 2027 auditions, [UPTA's guidelines](https://upta.org/guidelines) say actors get 90 seconds to present their material, and that saying your name and audition number does not count against that time. For its January 2027 [Summer and Outdoor Theatre Auditions](https://www.setc.org/events/auditions/summer-outdoor-theatre-auditions/), SETC sets a strict 60-second limit and asks performers to introduce themselves with only their name and audition number. Thirty seconds is room for a short second piece. A 90-second UPTA package will not fit SETC's 60 seconds, and a 60-second package leaves UPTA time unused, so build for the event you are actually attending. When you read the rules, look for these answers and write them down: - How long is the slot, and does the slate count toward it? - Is there a screening video first, how long may it be, and what must it contain? - Is a song required, allowed, or optional, and will there be a live pianist or a recorded track? - Who is eligible this cycle: students, recent graduates, or only actors available for year-round work? - How are callbacks posted, and how long should you stay after your slot? - What must you bring in print, and how many copies? ## Treat the screening video as the first audition Several unified auditions now screen actors on video before giving out audition numbers. SETC's [auditions page](https://www.setc.org/events/auditions/), as it reads in October 2026, lists a screening for both its spring and fall professional auditions, and says the fall application asks for a main audition video of 60 seconds at most. Acting-only applicants submit one monologue, singing-only applicants one song, and actors who do both put both in a single video. UPTA's rules are stricter about what goes in. For 2027, its [screening video guidelines](https://upta.org/guidelines/audition-screening/) say the video should run no more than 90 seconds, that you slate only your name (not your school or your pieces), and that every package must include at least one monologue. Singing-only videos are not accepted, singers must have accompaniment, and you may not accompany yourself or dub your audio. Film it like a real audition, not a performance clip: framed so the panel can see you clearly, your voice above the accompaniment, and shown to a teacher before you submit. UPTA says your February package can differ from the video, but if you plan to sing in February, the video must include a song. ## Build a package that finishes early A 60-second slot is not a 60-second piece. Mark Dundas Wood's 2012 Backstage guide to regional combined auditions, [60 Seconds to Impress](https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/seconds-impress-62964/), passes on advice to keep a 15-second cushion for a breath, a pause, or a dry swallow. That is a sensible target whatever the limit: keep about 15 seconds spare. Time every run with a stopwatch from your first word. Nerves change your pace on the day, so if a run ever brushes the limit in rehearsal, cut it now. Our guide to [cutting a monologue down to time](https://www.offbook.com/blog/how-to-cut-a-monologue) shows how to lose lines without losing the story. Then choose for the people watching. A summer stock company casting a season of musicals wants to know whether you sing. An outdoor drama wants to see that you can fill a big space. A regional theater may want a strong contemporary monologue. You cannot show everything in a minute, so show the thing most of those companies will hire you for, and keep a second, contrasting piece ready for callbacks. ## Prepare the song cut for a stranger at the piano UPTA says an accompanist is provided and recorded accompaniment is not used, so you will likely sing with a pianist you have never worked with. Check whether your event provides one. Rules for videos can differ: SETC's summer and outdoor page says songs in the video must be accompanied by piano music or a high-quality track. Your sheet music has to do the talking, because you will not have time to explain a tricky cut. Wood's Backstage guide advises music that is clearly marked and in the proper key, with the last line of your monologue noted so the pianist knows when to come in. That one note on the page saves the dead air that eats short slots. ## Say your slate, then start At these events the slate is short by design. Both SETC's summer and outdoor rules and UPTA's video rules limit what you say, and adding your school, your pieces, or a joke breaks those rules. Rehearse the whole entrance, not just the material: walk to center, plant your feet, say your name and number, take one breath, and begin. SETC's summer page notes you perform center stage under spotlights, and stage lights can make the house hard to see. Pick your focus point above where the panel sits before you arrive, and go to it as soon as your slate ends. ## Know your lines cold, because there is no second take In a private audition, you can sometimes ask to start again. At a unified audition, the next actor is already in the wings. A line that goes missing in a 60-second slot costs you a large share of your time, and there is nobody on book to throw it to you. So test the words the way the day will test them: from memory, standing up, out loud, with no script in sight. In Offbook you can hide your lines while the rest of the scene stays visible, swap them for first-letter cues while they are still new, and then hide the entire script for a final run. Our [free first-letter tool](https://www.offbook.com/tools/first-letter-memorizer) turns any speech into first-letter cues, too. Video: [Hide your lines](https://www.offbook.com/learn/hide-your-lines) (1:07) A monologue lifted out of a play also needs the thing that came before it. In Offbook you can upload the scene, pick your role, and have realistic voices read the other parts and wait for your line, so your speech starts as an answer to what was just said. ## Plan for the callback board At a unified audition, the slot gets you onto callback lists. SETC's own preparation article, written by Professional Theatre Division co-chair Jenna Tamisiea, [describes how performers there](https://www.setc.org/connections/news/2026/1/youre-ready-for-this--preparing-for-your-setc-audition/) can receive immediate callbacks from several dozen professional companies. That is a lot of people who may want to see you, all on the same day. Know how the board works before you go. For 2027, UPTA says acting callback lists are posted at its hotel after each session, and actors sign up on the theaters' hotel doors. Its [FAQ](https://upta.org/faq) adds that each company sets its own callback times, that callbacks may run late, and that you should not plan to leave on the day of your audition. Research the companies on the list before the event, so you know which callbacks matter most to you when the times overlap. Bring your second piece and an open mind; a callback might ask for a reading, another song, or a movement call. Our guide to [preparing for a callback](https://www.offbook.com/blog/how-to-prepare-for-a-callback) covers what usually changes from the first audition. ## Pack the bag the night before The print count catches people out. UPTA's FAQ says company reps still want your real headshot and resume at callbacks, and tells actors to bring twice as many copies as there are companies registered. Check the registered list close to the date and print accordingly. - Printed headshots and resumes, in the number your event recommends. - Your sheet music, marked, in a binder, plus a spare copy. - Your second monologue and a second song, ready to perform. - Dance clothes and shoes: UPTA asks you to bring appropriate attire and shoes for its combined dance callbacks, which include a mover's routine. - Water, food that will not crash you, and a pen for writing down callback times. - Clothes you can move in that make you look like yourself on a good day. ## A four-week prep plan The screening video comes first: check its deadline when you apply, often months ahead, and submit it on time. Once you have an audition number and a month before the day, this order works well. 1. Four weeks out: read this year's rules from the organizer's own page and write down the time limit, slate, song rules, and print count. 2. Still in week one: confirm your main pieces (UPTA lets them differ from your video, but you can only sing if your video included a song) and your backups, and time each one with a stopwatch. 3. Three weeks out: cut the package until it finishes with a cushion of about 15 seconds, then set the order and the transition. 4. Same week: mark your sheet music for a stranger and, if you can, run it with a pianist you have not worked with before. 5. Two weeks out: get the words to memory and test yourself with the script hidden, every day, out loud. 6. Ten days out: run the full entrance, slate to final note, in a room with a chair where the panel would be, and film it to watch back yourself. 7. One week out: read the rules again, check the list of registered companies, research them, and print your headshots. 8. The night before: pack the bag, set two alarms, and do one calm run. Then stop. ## Questions actors ask ### Do I have to sing at a unified audition? Usually not, but it depends on the event and the work you want. SETC lets acting-only applicants submit just a monologue. UPTA lets you act without singing, but if you sing, you must also do a monologue. If most of the attending companies produce musicals, a strong 16 bars can open more doors than a second speech. ### Are unified auditions only for students? No, and eligibility differs by event. SETC's summer and outdoor page says those auditions are open to current students and recent graduates who are 18 or older, while its fall professional auditions are for actors who are not currently enrolled and are available for year-round work. UPTA's 2027 criteria require actors to be available year-round, with paths for graduating seniors, Equity members, and actors with professional sign-off. ### What happens if I go over time? Don't find out. The limit is the organizer's rule, and the panel is watching dozens of actors on a schedule. Build your package with a cushion so going over is not a risk, and if you feel the clock in the room, keep going and finish cleanly rather than speeding up. ### What should I wear? Clothes that look like you at your best and let you move. SETC's summer and outdoor page asks for attire that shows you in your best light, and dancers should bring dance clothes and shoes. Avoid costumes; a company should be able to picture you in any role it is casting.