The short version
Every ensemble and production at Porter is open to students in any major. Most music hearings are placement, not selection. They decide your part, your chair or which band you play in, not whether you get in. The exceptions with limited spots are the Chamber Singers, the first big band and theatre roles. Even there, people not cast are offered a place on crew, in the orchestra or in a second group, and most say yes. Each year roughly 70% of ensemble members and 60% of theatre company members are not music or theatre majors or minors.
Sign up through MyPorter → Arts auditions. If you need an accommodation, such as extra time, a seated audition or materials in advance, note it on the form or contact Accessibility Services. The department arranges it without asking you to explain.
Music ensembles
Spring 2027 hearings: Monday–Thursday, January 25–28, 4–9 p.m., Applied Arts Building third floor. Sign-up opens January 11.
| Ensemble | What to prepare | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Wind Symphony | A short piece of your choice, two scales, sight-reading | Part and chair; no cut |
| Jazz Orchestra | 12-bar blues (improvisation optional), scales, sight-reading; rhythm section comps | Orchestra, Lab Band or combo; no cut |
| University Choir | A verse of any song; range and pitch-matching | Voice part; no cut |
| Chamber Singers | A two-minute prepared piece, sight-reading | 24 places |
| Chamber music | 2–3 minutes of anything; interest form | Placed in a group; no cut |
| Ironclad Pep Band | Nothing — come to a Thursday rehearsal | No hearing |
Hearings last ten minutes, take place in a practice room with one or two faculty, and are not an occasion for formal clothes. You can borrow a school instrument for the hearing if yours is at home. Students who want private instruction as well should see music lessons for non-majors.
Theatre
Theatre auditions are held for each production. Remaining dates this year:
| Production | Auditions | Prepare |
|---|---|---|
| What the Coulee Keeps | Mon–Tue, Nov 9–10, 6:30 p.m., the Black Box; callbacks Thu, Nov 12 | Cold readings from the script, available at the department office from Oct 26 |
| The Millrace Follies of 1911 | Mon–Wed, Nov 30–Dec 2, 6 p.m., Thorsen Theatre; callbacks Fri, Dec 4 | 32 bars of a song (bring music), a short movement call |
| Shift Change | Wed, Jan 27, 6:30 p.m., the Black Box (two performer spots) | A two-minute true story about a place, told, not memorized |
No monologue is required for any audition this year. Rehearsals run Monday–Thursday, 6:30–10 p.m., plus Sunday afternoons, and conflict sheets are taken seriously. Labs, clinicals, athletic travel and jobs are all scheduled around. Fall play auditions were held September 8–9.
Crew, design and stage management
There is no audition for the backstage side. Fill out the production interest form any time and you will be placed on a build crew, run crew, wardrobe, props, lighting or sound. First-year students regularly hold crew-head jobs by their second production. Stage management and assistant design posts are by short interview with the production’s designer. Courses that pair well: THEA 1300 Stagecraft, THEA 2300 Stage Lighting and THEA 3300 Stage Management.
Credit and scholarships
Ensembles carry 0 or 1 credit each (MUS 1610–1650). Theatre work counts as THEA 1900 Production Practicum (1 credit per production, up to 4), or can go on your involvement record without credit. All of it counts toward the music and theatre minors. The Ensemble Music Scholarship ($1,000 a year, any major) uses a separate audition, held the same week as spring hearings. Its deadline is March 1, 2027. See the season for what you would be rehearsing toward.
Fictional information
UW–Porter Falls is a work of parody. These auditions, ensembles, productions, dates, course numbers and scholarships are invented; there is nothing to audition for and no sign-up form that goes anywhere.