Speech Auditions and Requirements
Undergraduate
No audition is required for entrance into the undergraduate programs in the Division of Speech Communication.
Graduate
New Deadline
For the 2010-11 school year and following, all admission materials for School of Fine Arts graduate programs, including application, graduate audition, and any program-specific requirements, should be submitted by the following dates prior to the start of the intended semester of enrollment:
- For fall enrollment: April 1
- For spring enrollment: October 15
Prospective graduate students with an undergraduate degree in speech communication must successfully pass the graduate platform requirements. Those who lack a speech communication undergraduate degree must have at least 15-18 hours of speech communication classes; pass the graduate platform requirements; and make up any deficiencies as a Postgraduate Special student before proceeding with their graduate work.
The following programs offer separate platform requirements that must be passed before acceptance into the program is conferred.
Dramatic Production
A 3- to 5-minute scene directed for two or more characters from Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard. The scene should be presented as a rehearsal, not a performance, spending 6-7 minutes before presenting the entire scene without stopping.
A student profile (in resume form) should be submitted, listing the speech and drama courses taken and experience in dramatic productions.
An analysis (750-1,000 words) of the play from which the scene was directed, considering the six elements of drama from Aristotle’s Poetics.
A floor plan drawn to 1/4-inch scale.
The rehearsal schedule used for the scene.
A well-supported paper (500-750 words), which details the student’s view of the role and limitations of theater and drama in the Christian’s life.
For further information, contact Mr. Ron Pyle, Dramatic Production Department Head.
Performance Studies
A 20- to 25-minute program of selections from prose, poetry and drama. The selections should be presented from memory.
Platform Arts
A 20- to 25-minute program including public speaking and oral interpretation. Time should be equally divided between the two areas. The oral interpretation section should include selections from poetry, prose, and drama. The student may choose to relate the public speaking material directly to the literature he is presenting, or the speech may come from a separate subject area entirely.
Rhetoric and Public Address
A 5- to 8-minute analysis of an address by a well-known speaker. Some possible choices include the following: Lincoln’s “First Inaugural,” William Jennings Bryan’s “Cross of Gold,” John F. Kennedy’s “First Inaugural,” and Ronald Reagan’s “Acceptance Address” (1980 Convention). The student should also present a 15-minute persuasive speech on a subject of his choosing.
Further information on the platform requirements for these three degrees may be secured from Dr. Lonnie Polson, Chairman of the Division of Speech Communication.
