Performance: Acting - BFA
Performance: Acting - BFA
Degree: Bachelor of Fine Arts
Faculty: The Creative School
Requirements: Grades-Plus
Grade range: Mid 70s1
Experiential learning: Studio course(s) available
Full-time format: 4 Year
Is this degree for you?
Join one of Canada’s top acting conservatory programs in the heart of downtown Toronto. The Performance: Acting degree program offers over 50 years of unparalleled training with leading industry professionals. You’ll get access to mentorship, job opportunities and advanced training that can launch your career.
You’ll train in the craft, skill and business of live performance, with hands-on learning in voice, movement, and acting techniques for theatre, film, TV, motion capture, and voice-over work. Plus, you'll study a multidisciplinary approach and collaborate with Performance: Dance and Production students to bring stories to life on stage.
Located in downtown Toronto, you'll be surrounded by the third-largest English language theatre district and a booming film and television production hub, offering endless opportunities to grow and thrive as an actor.
75%
Class time spent in studio or rehearsals
Student spotlight
Performance alum stars in Prime series Davey & Jonesie’s Locker
After graduating from the Performance: Acting program, Jaelynn Thora Brooks made it her goal to rise to stardom, and her most recent endeavour is sure to get her one step closer to that goal: co-starring in Amazon Prime’s comedy series, Davey & Jonesie’s Locker. The show follows the adventures of two best friends who stumble upon a multi-dimensional portal in their high school locker.
Read more: Performance alum stars in new Prime series Davey & Jonesie’s Locker
After you graduate with this degree
🎓 Further education:
- Arts
- Scriptwriting and Story Design (MFA)
Career possibilities:
- Actor for stage, film or television
- Arts administrator
- Casting director
- Director
- Playwright
💼 Employer possibilities:
- Canadian Stage
- CBC
- National Arts Centre
- Stratford Festival
- Tarragon Theatre
Tuition and fees range 2024-2025
For detailed fees information, visit tuition and fees by program.
Full-time format:
Ontario students: $7,305 - $7,798
Out-of-province students: $8,481 - $8,995
International students: $35,102 - $35,521
First-year courses
Here is a preview of first-year courses based on the available undergraduate calendar information.
1st & 2nd Semester
REQUIRED:
- THF 120 Music I: Introduction
- THF 121 Music I: Advanced Introduction
- THF 111 Creative Performance Studies I
- THF 112 Creative Performance Studies II
- THF 100 Anatomy of Movement and Lifestyle I
- THF 101 Elements of Production I
- THF 200 Timelines of Performance History I
- THF 201 Timelines of Performance History II
LIBERAL STUDIES:
Two courses from Table A - Lower Level Liberal Studies.
REQUIRED GROUP 1*: Two courses from the following, based on student's program:
Performance Acting students:
The Creative School
The Creative School stands as a beacon of innovation. Here, creativity isn't just a skill—it's the core of everything we do, transforming learning and expanding the boundaries of what’s possible. We offer a truly transdisciplinary education that immerses students in a creative ecosystem and encourages collaboration across faculties and around the globe.
The Creative School degree programs
Thinking of applying? Make sure the program is still accepting applications.
Academic requirements
Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) or equivalent with a minimum of six Grade 12 U or M courses including the following program specific requirements.
Typically, a minimum overall average of 70% establishes eligibility for admission consideration; subject to competition individual programs may require higher prerequisite grades and/or higher overall averages:
- English/anglais (ENG 4U/EAE 4U preferred).
- The minimum grade required in the subject prerequisite (normally in the 65-70% range) will be determined subject to competition.
Academic admission requirements for all other applicants are available on the admission requirements page.
This is a Grades-Plus program. In addition to meeting competitive academic requirements, you are required to submit the following non-academic requirements. Your ability to follow and adhere to the requirements is part of the assessment of your application.
Fall 2025 non-academic requirement due date:
February 1, 2025 or 10 business days from your application submission date, whichever comes later.
Submit a recent 8x10 photograph of yourself.
Please save the image as a .pdf file and upload it per these submission instructions.
The audition panel uses your written statements to learn more about you as an individual and gain a sense of who you are beyond your application, transcript, and audition. Each written statement should be 350 words or less, typed and in English. It must be your own original work. Please save all four written statements into ONE .pdf file.
Write a short (350 words or less) written response to each of these questions. You should have one statement per question:
- Tell us about who you are. How would your family, friends, and/or members of your community describe you?
- Why have you decided to become an actor and why do you think it’s necessary to perform in today’s world?
- In your opinion, what is the most important aspect of working in a group?
- Explain how you responded to a problem and/or an unfamiliar situation. What did you do, what was the outcome, and what did you learn from the experience?
Please list ONE private link (without a password) to a website (YouTube, Vimeo, personal site) that has your two monologue audition pieces and personal video. Please provide a link to your work in a .pdf file and upload this file (use these submission instructions). Please ensure the link works and does not expire. Your application will not be considered if the link you provided does not work.
In one video you are to include Speech A, Speech B, and your personal video (see details below). Introduce each speech with your full name, pronouns if it is safe for you to do so, hometown, age and last school of attendance. Include the name of the play the speech is from, the writer of the speech, and the name of the character you are playing (if applicable).
Video specifications:
- Background: If possible, choose a wide-open space that you can move around in for your speech. Some people find a neutral background useful.
- Lighting: Try to ensure that your face is well-lit with no stark contrast and dark shadows.
- Sound: Please check your digital recording to make sure that you can be heard.
- Size of shot (Please refrain from using close-up shots):
- Speech A: Use a full shot for your poetic speech.
- Speech B: Use a full or medium shot for your contemporary speech.
- Length: Your video should be no longer than five minutes. The panel may stop watching if your recording exceeds this time.
- Movement: We encourage you to use the full capacity of your body and to move freely within the architecture of your space when making your digital recordings.
Speech A – Poetic monologue (two minutes maximum)
The audition piece should be in poetic form using heightened language. This is a piece in which words are chosen for their sound and suggestive power as opposed to a naturalistic speech. While it need not be originally written in English, we ask that you perform an English translation for your poetic monologue. There is no boundary in time period, culture, or form (as long as it’s poetic) in which you choose this speech from. For example, Shakespeare, Tang Zianzu, Kae Tempest, Aleshea Harris, Ocean Vuong, The Mahabharata, Suzan-Lori Parks, Matthew Mackenzie and Joseph A. Dandurand are all appropriate choices.
Speech B – Contemporary monologue (two minutes maximum)
The contemporary piece should provide a clear contrast to your poetic piece. It ideally uses naturalistic speech and was written after 1960.
Personal video (one minute maximum)
A one minute video about something (other than acting) that you are especially passionate about. Consider why it is important to you and how it brings you joy. Record a snippet of a song you love, a rant about something you're passionate about, share a painting you made, a tour of your kitchen - anything that will better help us know YOU!
Select applicants will receive an invitation (by email) to participate in a Callback audition with other applicants to the program. The Callback will occur on campus. Please dress in athletic wear for movement and be prepared to stay for the entire day.
Applicants will be invited to a specific date and cannot choose which date they will attend.
- Thursday, February 20, 2025 from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
- Friday, February 21, 2025 from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Please note: short interviews might occur after your callback from 6 - 8 p.m. Applicants will be notified of their requirement to attend an interview at the end of their callback day.
In addition to repeating Speech B, we may also ask for a new speech and/or for you to memorize a short scene. There will also be classes/workshops for candidates to participate in, as well as a tour of the campus. Further details will be provided in the invitation email.
The Callback may include opportunities to get to know other applicants, faculty, and students currently in the program. You may work individually, in pairs, in groups, and as an ensemble for performance creation, group discussions and embodied sequences. The Callback will give you an opportunity to better understand our school and what to expect from our training.
Select applicants from the callback might be asked to attend an interview. This will be confirmed the day of the callback. Interviews will be five to 10 minutes. They will occur the same day as the callback and will take place from 6 - 8 p.m. Being selected (or not being selected) for an interview is not confirmation of your acceptance (or lack of acceptance) into the program.
Zoom or Google Meet Option
For those who live out of province, arrangements can be made to attend an online callback audition on Google Meet or Zoom. Further details will be provided in the callback invitation email.
The non-academic requirements assessment fee is $50 CAD and must be paid in order for your submission to be reviewed. Here’s how to pay:
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Access your ChooseTMU Applicant Portal account (instructions to access the portal can be found below under Submission Instructions).
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Click on the button to link to the eForms Centre.
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Next, click on the eForms Center tile.
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Then click on the Non-Academic Fee Form link.
Applicants are required to submit all components of their non-academic requirements via the ChooseTMU Applicant Portal. Due to the volume of applications received and our system performance, we strongly encourage you to submit your documents well in advance of the noted deadlines.
Here’s how to access your ChooseTMU Applicant Portal account:
- Get your TMU Student Number in the email acknowledgement of your application
- Activate your TMU Online Identity. Fill in the Activation Form on the Accounts website. When asked for your Student/Applicant ID, enter your nine-digit TMU Student Number. Keep a record of your user name and password
- 24 hours after activating your TMU Online Identity, visit the ChooseTMU Applicant Portal
If you are applying for readmission or reinstatement, you may not be required to submit non-academic requirements. You must inform Undergraduate Admissions of your intentions.
Contact ServiceHub at 416-979-5036 and ask to speak with the admissions officer by February 1, 2025, or 10 business days from your application submission date (whichever comes later).
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Notes:
- Actual minimum grade ranges required for fall 2025 admission/wait list consideration will be determined based on grades and qualifications presented by the applicant pool as they become available. Required grade ranges may fluctuate from year to year (up or down) as a result of competition. Applicants not educated in Ontario may present the equivalent of the Ontario requirements. TMU reserves the right to determine equivalency at its sole discretion.
Disclaimer:
While every effort is made to ensure accuracy on this site, in the event of a discrepancy, TMU's current Undergraduate Calendar is the official reference.