Theatre
Degree: B.A., Performing Arts
Department of Theatre and Dance
A major in Theatre leads to a Bachelor of Arts degree in Performing Arts. The major offers students extraordinary flexibility to customize their college experience by choosing courses in the area of theatre in which they are most interested—acting, directing, costume design, scenic design, theatre history and literature, playwriting, lighting design, theatre management, arts management, theatre technology, and costume technology. Through a solid core of foundation courses and an impressive array of electives, students build a major program that allows them to pursue a professional career upon graduation.
Equally important to coursework are the many opportunities available for students to practice in our theatres what they are learning in our classrooms and studios. The Department believes that an experiential approach to theatre education offers the greatest potential of success to the emerging theatre artist. Ours is a hands-on program that emphasizes student leadership and responsibility. In addition to acting on our stages, theatre majors design, direct, build, choreograph, and manage productions in our theatres, as well as serve other leadership capacities in the Department. Beyond the main stage, students program and manage Studio 115, our flexible black box theatre, producing a season of performances that range in scope from evenings of scenes to fully-produced musicals.
The Department produces in Klein Theatre, a traditional proscenium stage, and the flexible Studio 115 in duPont Hall. Both theatres recently were transformed in extensive renovations that included the installation of state-of-the-art lighting, sound and communications systems. The Department also maintains an acting lab, design lab, rehearsal hall, craft studio, CAD lab, light lab and fully-equipped costume, lighting, and scene shops, and theatre management offices. Recent productions have included The Tempest, Harvey, Hedda Gabler, Rent, Elegies, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Noises Off, Proof, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Little Shop of Horrors, Sunday in the Park with George, Shakespeare’s R&J, Our Town, The Amish Project, The Laramie Project, Antigone, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Cabaret, Godspell, The Shape of Things, The Country Wife, Waiting for Godot, Sweeney Todd, As You Like It, Into the Woods, and The School for Wives.
The Department is devoted to preparing students to graduate into professional theatre careers. In addition to sponsoring internships, members of the faculty accompany students to a variety of events throughout the year where majors can audition and interview with producers for professional opportunities. Our majors graduate with a strong liberal-arts education in the field, as well as with solid skills for working in theatre.
Major Requirements
Thirty-three (33) credits including:
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| THEA 131 | Technical Production | 4 |
| THEA 321 | Acting I | 4 |
| THEA 361 | Theatre History and Literature | 3 |
| THEA 362 | Theatre History and Literature | 3 |
| THEA 400 | Professional Identity and Practice | 1 |
| THEA 482 | Senior Project | 3 |
| Select one of the following: | 3 | |
| Lighting Design | ||
| Scene Design | ||
| Costume Design | ||
| Select nine additional credits from Theatre courses 1 | 9 | |
| Required Theatre Practicum 2 | 3 | |
| Total Credits | 33 | |
- 1
Except THEA 111 Theatre and Society, THEA 112 Principles of Acting, THEA 390 Theatre Practicum , THEA 491 Individual Study , THEA 492 Individual Study , or THEA 499 Internship .
- 2
All majors are required to enroll in Theatre Practicum each semester except during the semester of the Senior Project; students may count eight practicum credits toward graduation. Three of those credits count toward the major.
General Education Requirements
The general education requirements for Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science degrees apply to all students who are seeking to earn an undergraduate B.A., B.S. or B.S.Ed. degree.
Students seeking a Bachelor of Liberal Studies degree have a separate set of BLS general education requirements.
Electives
Elective courses are those that are not needed to fulfill a general education requirement or major program requirement but are chosen by the student to complete the 120 credits required for graduation with a B.A./B.S./B.S.Ed. degree or the BLS degree. These courses may be taken graded or pass/fail (or S/U in the case of physical education and 100-level dance). No student in a regular B.A./B.S./B.S.Ed. program may count more than 60 credits in a single discipline toward the 120 credits required for graduation.
Total Credits Required for the Degree: 120 credits