PURPOSE: The purpose of the Cincinnati Music Theatre Scholarship Program is to encourage and promote the study of theater arts at the collegiate level, particularly musical theater, in both performance and production.  Importantly, the CMT Scholarship Program is intended to give back to the Greater Cincinnati area through the support of academic study in recognition of the years of dedicated public interest and support of CMT productions.

CMT, through its scholarship program, will recognize outstanding Cincinnati-area high school seniors who have excelled in various aspects of theater production and/or performance during their high school career and will pursue a college degree in theater arts or theater-related music performance, production or education.

ELIGIBILITY: High school seniors in the Greater Cincinnati area who will be entering college to study theatre/musical arts. 

QUALIFICATIONS: Eligible applicants (as described above) must have a GPA of 3.0 or higher (4.0 scale). Applicants must submit an application and portfolio (if applicable). Applications may be emailed to [email protected]. 

 Applications must be received by April 16, 2025, no exceptions.

SELECTION PROCESS: Applications will be reviewed by a committee of 3 to 5 CMT members, one of whom will be a member of the CMT Board of Trustees. A selected group of applicants will be invited to audition/interview for the CMT Scholarship Selection Committee, who will then select the scholarship winner(s).

Selected applicants in performance areas (vocal, instrumental, dance) will be required to audition, including a performance of a musical excerpt from a musical theater production of their choice and – if applicable – a brief dramatic reading. Applicants are instructed to perform two pieces of contrasting styles. All auditions and interviews will be May 14, 2025, in the Jarson Kaplan Theater in the Aronoff Center.

Selected applicants in technical areas (direction, production, stage & technical) will be invited to provide an interview-type review of their previous work/experience as well as participate in an interactive question and answer session on related technical topics.  Applicants should be prepared to share their portfolio with the judges.

The CMT Scholarship Selection Committee will have the final decision as to scholarship winners.  They will report their decision to the CMT Board no later than two (2) weeks following completion of the auditions/interview process.

AWARDS: The award will be in the form of a check made payable to the institution for the benefit of the winning applicant(s).  The recipient may use the award for any expense related to his/her education, i.e. tuition, fees, books, room and board, etc.

Up to two winners may be selected per year, with each award not to exceed the amount of $1,000.

2025 SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION FORM