diff --git a/daphne/testing.py b/daphne/testing.py
index e2c7200..a6dce64 100644
--- a/daphne/testing.py
+++ b/daphne/testing.py
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import importlib
 import logging
 import multiprocessing
 import os
@@ -128,14 +129,27 @@ class DaphneProcess(multiprocessing.Process):
         self.host = host
         self.application = application
         self.kwargs = kwargs or {}
-        self.setup = setup or (lambda: None)
-        self.teardown = teardown or (lambda: None)
-        self.port = multiprocessing.Value("i")
+        # prefer `type(None)` over `lambda x: None` for serialization in spawn mode
+        self.setup = setup or type(None)
+        self.teardown = teardown or type(None)
+        # ready event isn't really needed when blocking on Queue.get() but Channels calls into it
         self.ready = multiprocessing.Event()
         self.errors = multiprocessing.Queue()
+        self.__port = None
+        self.__portqueue = multiprocessing.Queue()
+
+    @property
+    def port(self):
+        # lazy load the port so we don't block the main process waiting
+        if self.__port is None:
+            self.__port = self.__portqueue.get()
+        return self.__port
 
     def run(self):
-        # OK, now we are in a forked child process, and want to use the reactor.
+        # Note: MacOS uses spawn by default since Python 3.8.
+        # Forked processes in MacOS are either pre-3.8 or explicitly requested
+
+        # OK, now we may be in a forked child process, and want to use the reactor.
         # However, FreeBSD systems like MacOS do not fork the underlying Kqueue,
         # which asyncio (hence asyncioreactor) is built on.
         # Therefore, we should uninstall the broken reactor and install a new one.
@@ -147,10 +161,17 @@ class DaphneProcess(multiprocessing.Process):
         from .server import Server
 
         try:
+            if isinstance(self.application, str):
+                mod_name, _, app_name = self.application.rpartition(':')
+                module = importlib.import_module(mod_name)
+                application = getattr(module, app_name)
+            else:
+                application = self.application
+
             # Create the server class
             endpoints = build_endpoint_description_strings(host=self.host, port=0)
             self.server = Server(
-                application=self.application,
+                application=application,
                 endpoints=endpoints,
                 signal_handlers=False,
                 **self.kwargs
@@ -171,7 +192,9 @@ class DaphneProcess(multiprocessing.Process):
         from twisted.internet import reactor
 
         if self.server.listening_addresses:
-            self.port.value = self.server.listening_addresses[0][1]
+            port = self.server.listening_addresses[0][1]
+            self.__portqueue.put(port)
+            # ready event isn't really needed when blocking on queue.get() but Channels calls into it
             self.ready.set()
         else:
             reactor.callLater(0.1, self.resolve_port)