A Juried Scholarship Competition for High School Juniors and Seniors
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Rules & Eligibility Requirements
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Students must be in 11th or 12th grade (or homeschool equivalent)
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Students must live in or attend school in one of the 24-designated Shoreline Arts Alliance towns of Branford, Chester, Clinton, Cromwell, Deep River, Durham, East Haddam, East Hampton, East Haven, East Lyme, Essex, Guilford, Haddam, Killingworth, Lyme, Madison, Middlefield, Middletown, North Branford, Old Lyme, Old Saybrook, Portland, Salem or Westbrook
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Students may apply in more than one category
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Applicants must complete an application and attend an interview/audition session which will be scheduled once applications are received
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There is a non-refundable $25 application fee. Anyone experiencing financial hardship should send an email to eric@shorelinearts.org
Scholarship Award Requirements:
Recipients and special recognition honorees
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may be asked to appear for a photo shoot and interview with the local press and other media
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are asked to attend our annual Celebration of the Arts Reception in June
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are asked to share this honor with their high school principals, faculty, guidance counselors and private teachers
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are asked to include this honor in high school graduation programs and biographies
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acknowledge that video clips from auditions/performances/presentations will be uploaded to our website and other sites for marketing and publicity purposes
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will be expected to write thank you notes to our scholarship sponsors and donors
Awards & Reception:
There will be a Celebration of the Arts event to honor the winners and view their work. This event is open to the public and will take place June,2025 at the E.C Scranton Memorial Library in Madison, CT.
Audition/Portfolio Review Dates & Info:
Creative Writing
Jeffrey Dobbs Scholarship for Excellence in Painting and Richard S. Dart Memorial Arts Scholarship are endowed scholarships to encourage young artists and provide support for future study.
Creative Writing Portfolio:
Portfolio should include a body of work of 6 – 10 pages that demonstrates a high level of achievement based on originality, technical skill, and personal voice. Independent work is highly regarded by the judges; each applicant is strongly encouraged to submit work that best reflects his/her/their individual creative writing gifts. This work may spring from creative writing classes and workshops, magnet programs, summer creative writing programs, and other extra-curricular writing courses. Entries may include poetry, short stories, personal essays, short one-act plays or screenplays, or excerpts from longer works, in any combination that falls within the 6 to 10 page limit. All submissions must be typed and double-spaced with 1-inch margins. No teacher markings (i.e. edits, corrections, comments, grade, etc.) may be visible in the submission. Portfolios must be uploaded as files through the application form, and file names must include your first and last name.
Dance Auditions:
Dancers will participate in a group audition, learning & performing a short movement piece. Additionally, each dancer should perform a solo dance piece no longer than 3 minutes in a technique of choice. The piece may be self-choreographed or choreographed by another individual.
Music Auditions:
Instrumental Music:
Instrumentalists should prepare two short contrasting pieces to perform. They may be of the same time period as long as the styles contrast. Music selections should be from the standards in the applicant's instrument. No original compositions may be performed. Combined selections must be no more than 7 minutes. Live accompaniment preferred - a list of suggested accompanists is available upon request.
Vocal Music:
Singers should prepare two short contrasting pieces to perform. Music selections should be from standards in the genres in which the applicant is auditioning. No original compositions may be performed. Each selection should be no more than 2.5 - 3 minutes in length. Live accompaniment preferred - a list of suggested accompanists is available upon request.
Theatre Auditions:
Theatre:
Actors should prepare two contrasting monologues to perform - one contemporary monologue and one traditional monologue. Each piece should be no longer than 2.5 - 3 minutes in length and memorized.
Musical Theatre:
Actors should prepare two contrasting monologues to perform - one contemporary monologue and one traditional monologue plus a theatrical presentation of one song - uptempo or ballad. Each piece should be no longer than 2.5 - 3 minutes in length and memorized. Live accompaniment preferred - a list of suggested accompanists is available upon request.
Visual Arts Portfolio:
All forms of visual art are encouraged to apply (i.e. ceramics, photography, painting, drawing, illustration, sculpture, etc). Portfolios must contain 3 – 5 images of original pieces representing a strong body of work. Paintings and drawings copied from published works or photographs taken by anyone but the submitting artist will not be accepted. If work is copied from a photo taken by the artist, the photo must accompany the submitted image. Artwork must be finished and completed within the last year. Videography is also accepted. Any applicants submitting only paintings will be automatically considered for the Jeffrey Dobbs Scholarship for Excellence in Painting.
The Jeffrey Dobbs Scholarship for Excellence in Painting:
All eligible Visual Arts applicants submitting only paintings will be automatically considered for the Jeffrey Dobbs Scholarship for Excellence in Painting. As paint was Jeff’s medium of choice, eligible works must utilize paint as the primary focus of the piece. However, unique processes and unconventional works will be both accepted and encouraged. Submissions must follow the Visual Arts guidelines outlined above.