Brian Ott arrived in the lobby of Chambers Building on a recent Tuesday evening not really knowing what to expect. In his first semester at University Park, he was going to try his hand at a No Refund Theatre (NRT) audition.

Ott, sporting a faded green The Doors T-shirt (which he said he loves because it brings out his hazel eyes), had auditioned and starred in plays before, but past experience wasn't doing much to offset his new surroundings.

"If anyone admits they're not nervous, they're lying," Ott said, standing in the lobby with the rest of the NRT hopefuls.

NRT member Alicia DiPompeo (sophomore-secondary education) sympathized.

"Every audition is nerve-wracking," she said.

Auditions for a play by NRT are unique, NRT Vice President Matt Davidson said. Davidson said that when a person auditions to participate in NRT, he or she auditions for all of the shows at once, rather than for just one.

"All of the directors are in the room with [the auditioner]," he said.

No stranger to the stage, Ott (sophomore-film) said he starred in numerous plays and musicals in high school. There, he said his friends played a prank on him by signing him up for an audition. Once he landed a role in the play, he decided to stick with it.

There are two ways to audition for NRT. The auditioners can perform cold readings of excerpts from the plays that will be performed during the semester, or take the option of preparing something in advance.

Ott, however, decided to go it without preparation. In the lobby, he glanced down at the reading he selected from a table and intently studied the pages as girls nearby practiced their British accents aloud to each other and the crowd of aspiring actors reacted to just-breaking news of actor Heath Ledger's death.

Ott was in his second week of classes at University Park, after spending three semesters at the Lehigh Valley campus. He said joining NRT would give him an opportunity to meet people and become accustomed to the new campus setting.

Davidson said NRT has regular attendees who consistently come to the group's shows. Even when NRT members are not involved with the show being performed, they come to see their fellow actors.

"It's cool that we have a cult following," he said, "but we always want a bigger audience."

Immediately following his audition, a flushed Ott said the process was "very relaxed."

NRT audition forms contain some questions one might expect to have to answer, such as class standing and acting experience, along with other, more abstract queries.

Some questions asked on the form include, "Would you be willing to kiss a member of the same sex on stage?" and "What kind of haircut would you be?" Ott said he was also asked what his favorite YouTube video was.

"We try to keep [auditions] more laid-back to get more people involved," Davidson said.

Davidson said NRT is also unique because it is completely student-run, and this can pose more challenges than an organization that doesn't rely on students.

"As much as we like to have fun, at the same time we're not just here to have fun," Davidson said. "It requires a good work ethic and self-governance."

For Ott, there wasn't much time to worry about how his initial audition went.

Before leaving Chambers Building, he had already been asked to come back to read more later that evening.

Ott also noticed a difference in the ratio of men to women at the auditions in comparison to his experience during his high school theater days.

"There are a lot more males [in theater] here at college. It's good for theater, but bad for me," he joked. "Now I have more competition."

The quality of those who audition is high, Davidson said.

"Sometimes we have to turn people away," he said. "We get so many talented people."

Ott was not one of those NRT would turn away.

After reading for a second time in front of the play directors, he was informed by e-mail of his role: Simon in mystery/comedy The Real Inspector Hound, a role he also had in high school.

Ott said he was pleased with his part and eager to see how acting the same character would turn out the second time around.

"I'm very excited," he said. "I wasn't sure where I stood. I'm happy and surprised."

Ott said this time, he is going to do a British accent. Unlike in high school, this time the part requires him to pull it off.

"I'm going to watch James Bond movies and practice my accent," he said.