Submissions open from August 15 - November 15

**ALL VIDEOS, HEADSHOTS and RESUMES must conform to the CITA Secondary Theatre Festival Self-Submission Instructions and Festival Event Rules.

GENERAL VIDEO TAPING INSTRUCTIONS:

1. A slate is required at the beginning of each event. Each actor is required to slate his/her name and the rest of the information required for that event with a full body (head-to-toe) shot. Please see our sample Adjudicator Forms  for the rules of each event.

2. Performance framing should be mid-chest to top of head. We need to see your eyes…the truth of every performance is in your eyes. Remember mid-chest to top of head for the entire audition. If self taping with Phone or Tablet, hold device horizontally and use a tripod (see Self-Tape Recording with a Smartphone Instructions below).

3. The overall goal of self-taped performance is to re-create the reality of the stage environment, including appropriate eye lines for each person in the scene with you. The audience must be one eye line and should be located slightly to the left or right of the camera.

4. Sound must be clear. We recommend using a lavaliere or shotgun mic if possible (see Self-Submission video equipment recommendations below). If not, please be sure that the mic is directed toward the actor and the recorded music is far enough away so as not to overpower the actor’s voice. The actor’s voice should be clearly heard and the music should be quieter. SEE MUSICAL THEATRE EVENTS RULES BELOW REGARDING MUSIC ACCOMPANIMENT.

5. Lighting should be clear and balanced across actor’s face. Use soft lighting if possible – avoid stark white light. Avoid shadows on wall behind actor. See Self-Submission video equipment recommendations below.

6. Please tape auditions in front of a dark gray/black neutral backdrop or wall  Please remove anything behind the actor that will distract the viewer’s eye, like furniture, pictures, windows, etc. See Self-Submission video equipment recommendations below.

7. One good take per event, please. ALL SUBMISSIONS ARE FINAL. We will not be able to edit or exchange submissions once received.

8. FESTIVAL EVENT RULES APPLY. Submissions that do not comply with the rules of each event will be disqualified from the competition but will be included in the Actors Clearinghouse where applicable. Please see our sample Adjudicator Forms  for the rules of each event.

9. Complete the submission form at the bottom of page when you are ready to submit the video.

Self-Tape Recording with a Smartphone Instructions 

• Record in the HORIZONTAL position against a dark gray/black neutral backdrop. Student MUST be well lit with clear audio. See self-submission video equipment recommendations below.

• Export as large as possible. Don’t export at small size.

  • Auditions should be shot in high definition if at all possible (1080p). Files should be saved in MOV, or MP4 format. Acceptable file size is generally under 100MB, with the ideal range being 20-60MB.

• For the videos you will want the file to be at least 1920 x 1080 resolution. 

  • Do not compress the video file when uploading it, please upload the original.

• Upload the video to YouTube only in full 1080p resolution

• There should be only ONE video for EACH event entry per student. (Example: if you compete in the three events: Solo Musical Theatre, Contrasting Monologues and Shakespeare Monologue then you will upload three separate videos)

• Complete the submission form at the bottom of page when you are ready to submit the video.

Headshots with a Smartphone Instructions

• When using a smartphone camera please take them in VERTICAL position against a dark gray/black neutral backdrop.

• Photographs must be high-resolution.

  • No web photos. 

  • No Facebook/Twitter/Insta/Snap/TikTok/etc photos.

• Photos must be no smaller than 1600 x 1200 pixels or 4" x 5.3" at 300 dpi 

• Photo files should be 1.5/2MB or larger

  • Just for reference smartphone cameras typically have at least 12 megapixels which will give you a resolution of about 4000 x 3000 pixels for a photo-quality print around 13"x10” and a jpeg file size of ~3MB.

• Submit the JPEG photo to STF Submission Form

Resumes

• Limit resumes to one page max.

• ALL resumes must reference and use the formatting of our sample resume 

• If you have Apple Pages please use our Actors Clearinghouse Template to create your resume- then export as a PDF.

• Submit the PDF to on the STF Submission Form

Self-Submission video equipment recommendations:

• A ring light kit. Look for one that uses daylight bulbs (great for video). Checkout Limostudio and it's very portable.

• For sound, you should always use an external mic rather than the smartphone’s mic.

  • A lavalier microphone is fine for speaking but not so great for singing.  Look for one that can hook up to any camera, including your iPhone. 

  • A shotgun microphone is best for singing & speaking. Look for one that connects to any camera, including your iPhone.

• A dark gray/black neutral backdrop like this. This can be temporarily attached to a wall or you may want to have backdrop support with clamps.

FESTIVAL EVENT RULES STILL APPLY. Submissions that do not comply with the rules of each event will be disqualified from the competition but will be included in the Actors Clearinghouse where applicable. Please see our sample Adjudicator Forms for the rules of each event.

ALL musical theatre events (Solo Musical Theatre, Duo Musical Theatre and Ensemble Musical Theatre) MUST use a piano-only recording from Piano Trax for their accompanist. 

• NO submissions with karaoke tracks or other fully/partially orchestrated performance tracks will be adjudicated. 

• NO submissions with live accompanists will be accepted. 

• This ensures a level playing field between those with access to an accompanist and those without access to an accompanist.

CITA has partnered with Piano Trax to provide contestants a library of over 7,500 pre-recorded piano-only tracks from the full catalogue of Broadway musicals. CITA members save 30% off Piano Trax recordings currently in their library. Please use the code CITA at checkout for your discount. If you don’t see what you need in the library Piano Trax can record a custom track for you. 

ALL musical theatre events (Solo Musical Theatre, Duo Musical Theatre and Ensemble Musical Theatre) MUST use a piano-only recording from Piano Trax for their accompanist. 

• NO submissions with karaoke tracks or other fully/partially orchestrated performance tracks will be adjudicated. 

• NO submissions with live accompanists will be accepted. 

• This ensures a level playing field between those with access to an accompanist and those without access to an accompanist.

CITA has partnered with Piano Trax to provide contestants a library of over 7,500 pre-recorded piano-only tracks from the full catalogue of Broadway musicals. CITA members save 30% off Piano Trax recordings currently in their library. Please use the code CITA at checkout for your discount. If you don’t see what you need in the library Piano Trax can record a custom track for you.