Costumes in place and makeup on. The stage is pitch black. Other than muffled murmurs coming from the other side of the curtain and the nervous and excited pounding within the actors' chests, everything is silent.

Suddenly, the curtain opens, and the performance comes alive.

Being on stage is an opportunity so many students don't realize they have at University Park. Sure, the School of Theatre has a selective induction process, but it is just one of many theater opportunities on campus.

"It's definitely challenging. It has to be something you know you are passionate about," Julie Danni (junior-theatre and public relations) said about getting into the School of Theatre.

Danni said being a theatre major is demanding, but the selection process for being in shows seems reasonable.

"They recognize there is room for improvement, so they don't necessarily pick people who are perfect," she said. "They know people come here to learn and get better."

Dan Carter, director of the School of Theatre, said there is an interview and audition process to be admitted into the school. If applying for a design major within the college, there is also a portfolio assignment. Once admitted into the School of Theatre, however, the challenges do not end. Since the program is ranked as one of the top in the country, competition at Penn State comes with no surprise, Carter said.

At a convocation given for the School of Theatre this fall, Carter said there were nine Penn State graduates on Broadway at the same time. As far as auditioning for individual plays, Carter said they are open to all students, even those not declared in the School of Theatre.

"We ask the actors to come in and present a piece of their choosing to us suited to the shows we are doing," he said. "We ask them to sing as well if it's for a musical."

Danni, who has been in the School of Theatre since her freshman year, has been in one School of Theatre performance, Cinders, in the fall of 2005.

She said the audition process is conducted in front of all of the directors.

As far as the likelihood non-theatre majors will receive a role in a production put on by the School of Theatre, Carter said chances are slim.

An estimated 90 percent of the casts are School of Theatre students, he said.

"Not only are students talented and in training, but we know them," he said.

Danni said she cannot recall anyone she knows personally who has been in a School of Theatre production who wasn't a theatre major.

"I know people who have been called back," she said. "I think they get intimidated if they are not in the School of Theatre."

As for Andrea Roposh, the president of Penn State Thespians -- another theater group on campus -- a former vice president of Thespians remains the sole person she knows who was cast in a School of Theatre performance but was not a theatre major. Carter said this occurs for several reasons.

"It's highly competitive," he said. "But also, the non-theatre majors often direct their energies with Thespians or No Refund Theatre (NRT). They have other outlets that they are often drawn to."

As for Penn State Thespians, participants do not even have to be a member of the group to be cast in a show.

Roposh said they often have students from the School of Theatre in Thespians shows, as well as students who are not affiliated with any theater group.

Thespians shows tend to differ from School of Theatre performances.

"We don't have that kind of funding," Roposh said. "Any of the money we have is from UPAC or funds we have raised."

She added that Thespians shows are not quite as flashy as those put on through the School of Theatre.

"Most of the people in Thespians are not theatre majors, so it's just something else to do since a lot of us did theater in high school and just wanted to continue," she said.

Roposh said Thespians is the "longest consecutive running student club on campus."

Between the club and the School of Theatre, there is constant overlap. Roposh said some Thespians members who are also theatre majors took part in Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, a performance put on by the School of Music this fall.

And Danni, a theatre major, is preparing for her role in the Thespians performance called Assassins.

Danni said the atmosphere of Thespians is more fun, while the School of Theatre atmosphere is much more professional, like in the real world.

Jesse Cramer (sophomore-English), the NRT public relations chair, said auditions are "open to anyone, literally anyone" when it comes to NRT.

Anyone in the area who wants to has the opportunity to try out, Cramer said.

"We've had faculty members," he said. "We are hoping to expand our roots and get people from the community as well."

Cramer added that NRT has been putting on a wide variety of shows since it was first established in 1993.

Next semester, Shakespeare is in the works, as well as different variety shows and even a 24-hour theater experiment -- where the plays are written, cast and performed in 24 hours.

As far as students who are both theatre majors and members of NRT, Cramer said there are a few who come out consistently.

"It's a great way for people in the School of Theatre who haven't been cast to stay involved," he said.

Cramer was not optimistic, however, about the idea of non-theatre majors making a School of Theatre show.

"Yeah, that doesn't really happen very often," he said. "They can audition, but they usually don't get cast."