2026 INTAKE THEATRE AND PERFORMANCE AUDITIONS

Placement in the Theatre and Performance programme will require acceptance and admission for study at UCT, submission of the supporting documents indicated below, and the delivery of a successful in-person audition. Candidates may be interviewed as part of the audition process.  

There will be FOUR in person audition dates; you may only audition ONCE. Please ensure that you are properly prepared for your audition. In order to book an audition, you need to have made an application online via the UCT website and received your applicant number. Please see the link below for details on how to go about applying online: https://uct.ac.za/students/applications/key-dates  

AUDITION DATES 

  • Saturday 17 May (Cape Town) 

  • Saturday 12 July (Johannesburg) 

  • Sunday 13 July (Johannesburg) 

  • Saturday 27 September (Cape Town) 

If you do not attend an in-person audition, your application will unfortunately not be considered.  

Please read these instructions carefully in order to prepare for your audition.  

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS   

 ALL applicants are required submit the following: 

A Personal Statement, a Writing Sample in the form of an essay, and a Recommendation Letter, when booking an audition. Guidelines are provided below. You will not be able to book an audition without submitting these documents.  

1.PERSONAL STATEMENT GUIDELINES  

Please craft an essay of one to two pages in length telling us about yourself and your vision of your future contribution to the development of South African Dance or Theatre and Drama.  

Your essay should tell us who you are, why you want to pursue this qualification, and why you are well suited to it. When crafting your essay, focus on personal experiences (and experiences with theatre, dance and performance in particular) that are relevant to your personal and academic growth, and how these have uniquely shaped your outlook on the world. How have the insights you have acquired on your journey informed your vision of what you can contribute positively to the field?  

Write honestly, and use descriptive language to create a vivid picture of your journey that convinces us of your authentic interest in this academic programme and field. 

2.WRITING SAMPLE GUIDELINES  

Please submit an essay of three to five pages in length that you completed for marks in Matric for either Drama Studies, Visual Art, English or similar field.    

We strongly recommend that you select an essay that best shows off your ability to read texts closely, to conduct independent research and analysis, to develop and support an argument, and to communicate your ideas well in written form (using the proper register, grammar and punctuation).  

OR  

If you do not have access to a writing sample that demonstrates your critical thinking abilities and your fitness for an academic programme, you may craft and submit a new essay in response to the following prompt instead:  

Discuss the contribution made to the South African performing arts landscape by a 20th - or 21st-century South African practitioner of theatre and/or dance.  

Your response must explain the conceptual and aesthetic concerns that animate this practitioner’s work, as well as the broader social, political and cultural impact that their particular approach to making performance has had on other practitioners and the South African performing arts industry more broadly.  

Your essay must include references to at least three academic (scholarly) reference texts. 

3.RECOMMENDATION LETTER GUIDELINES 

Recommendation Letters should include the following information: 

  • How do you know the applicant (in what capacity), and for how long have you known the, in that capacity?  

  • What is your working relationship with the applicant, as a teacher, director, organiser etc.?  

  • The applicant’s practical theatre or dance experience and abilities.  

  • The applicant’s ability to work in a team and independently.  

  • The applicant’s aptitude for academic work. It would be especially helpful to discuss their ability to think critically, to read texts closely, to conduct independent research, to develop and support an argument, and to communicate their ideas well in both verbal and written (essay) form.  

  • Why you think the applicant should be considered for a place in this programme.   

  • Your contact details, including a daytime telephone number should we need to confirm any details. 

To book an audition and submit all the required documents, please click here: (https://forms.gle/9GHMgatJjhD76rS89) 

In order to prepare for your audition on the day, please follow EITHER the Dance or Theatre instructions below: 

DANCE AUDITION INSTRUCTIONS 

During the audition, you will participate in a special dance class led by faculty masterclass offering a variety of forms, namely African dance, contemporary dance, ballet and movement improvisation.   

Applicants will also prepare and present a solo of 1-2 minutes demonstrating an area of dance in which they are most proficient and feel most comfortable to express themselves. The solo may be choreographed by you, the applicant, or someone else. You may choose to use costumes and props as you see fit but try to keep this to a minimum. Be prepared to play the music from a phone or other playback device.  

Wear comfortable, close-fitting dancewear. Ballet shoes or cotton socks for ballet. Bare feet for contemporary, improvisation and African dance.   

All applicants auditioning in-person must sign a liability waiver releasing the Centre for Theatre, Dance and Performance Studies and UCT from liability should the applicant be injured during the audition.  

Observers are not permitted during the actual audition classes.  

THEATRE AUDITION INSTRUCTIONS 

 Applicants are required to present 2 monologues of no longer than 2 minutes each, as well as a 30-40 second personal introduction. Your whole audition presentation should be no longer than 5 minutes in total. Your personal introduction should include your name, age, where you’re from and why you want to study theatre at UCT.   

Please note:  

  • We are looking for performers who can demonstrate performance range and the ability to transform, who have a good command of their physicality and vocal instrument, and who can demonstrate a compelling emotional connection to the text they are performing. Please make your audition choices thoughtfully.  

  • If the character in your monologue is speaking to another character, don’t direct the speech to an 'invisible person’ on stage.  

  • You may use props as you see fit but try to keep these to a minimum. Your audition will not be judged on its aesthetic ‘production values’. Keep it as stripped down and as simple as possible so that your performance commands our attention. If you’re applying in a language other than English (bilingual streams), prepare at least one of your monologues in that language, e.g. Afrikaans or isiXhosa.  

  • Please avoid accent work. In first year, we’re much more interested in your own voice and how you interpret the text in a way that feels like an honest reflection of your own experience and background. Speak in your own voice!  

  • We want you to do THEATRE monologues, not monologues from films! We will add links to some suggested monologues soon. Applicants are welcome to present their own choice of monologues should they not wish to choose from the suggested list. Please read the whole play that each monologue has been taken from!   

ON THE DAY OF YOUR AUDITION 

  1. Arrive on time: 08h30 start (aim to arrive by at least 08h00). You will likely be required to stay for most of the day, so arrange transport accordingly.  

  1. Bring water snacks, and towel with you. 

  1. Make sure you have prepared your monologues or solo dance pieces 

  1. No family/friends are allowed in the audition. 

  1. Details of the audition venue will be made available on the website closer to the time.  

Good luck! 

Should you have any questions, please contact: undergrad.ctdps@uct.ac.za