| Department: | Department of Performing Arts and Mass Communication / Liberal and Performing Arts |
| Hours Required: | 120 |
| Categories: | Major, Minor, Undergraduate |
| Delivery: | On-Campus |
The theatre and musical theatre curriculum offers a rigorous course of study with options in a wide variety of Theatre topics pertinent to careers in these degrees, including performance, design, management, or advanced graduate studies.
Learning Goals
- Our graduates communicate effectively.
- Our graduates understand the role that theatre plays in society.
- Our graduates will develop their artistic and creative abilities.
- Our graduates will understand the technology used in their field.
- Our graduates will have learned theatre through practical production experience.
The bachelor of arts degree in theatre requires a total of 120 hours. Courses in this program include the following:
- Dance and Stage Movement
- Voice and Diction
- Stagecraft
- Fundamentals of Acting
- Costume and Make-Up
- Directing
Major in Performing Arts: Theatre (BFA)
120 hours
All theatre majors must earn a C or higher in all major courses.
Admission Requirements:
- Each student must audition and be accepted into the program before declaring their major. Auditions for the program will be held once during the fall semester and three times during the spring semester on designated dates. The audition requirements for majoring in theatre with an acting concentration are as follows:
- Students must attend one of the designated audition dates.
- Students must prepare and perform two contrasting monologues.
- Students must provide one letter of recommendation from a past theatre teacher or director.
- Please contact the Director of Theatre for more information.
For the first two years, all students are admitted into the program on a probationary period. At the end of the student’s second semester and fourth semester, they will undergo a jury audition and/or interview examination in which the senior faculty will evaluate their status and progress within the program to be permitted to pursue advanced study.
University Requirement (2 hours)
- GSTD 1002 – Freshman Seminar
General Education (29 hours)
- Six hours of fine arts/humanities requirements are included in the major.
BFA Core Requirements (9 hours)
- ART 2013 – Art Appreciation
- HUM 2003 – Film Appreciation
- MUS 2013 – Music Appreciation or MULI 1013 – Introduction to Music
Theatre Requirements (26 hours)
- THEA 1000 – Production Run Crew (2 semesters)
- THEA 1013 – Acting I
- THEA 2023 – Acting II
- THEA 2503 – Fundamentals of Design
- THEA 2613 – Stagecraft
- THEA 3433 – Musical Theatre History
- THEA 3643 – Theatre History I
- THEA 3653 – Theatre History II
- THEA 3763 – Script Analysis
- THEA 4922 – Project in Theatre
Acting Requirements (36 hours)
- THEA 1110 – Acting Studio (6 semesters)
- THEA 2103 – Acting III
- THEA 2203 – Acting IV
- THEA 2603 – Improvisation
- THEA 3403 – Playwriting I
- THEA 3413 – Acting for the Camera
- THEA 3423 – Dialects and Accents
- THEA 3533 – Business of Acting
- THEA 3663 – Performance in Shakespeare
- THEA 3673 – Creative Dramatics
- THEA 4013 – Survey of Black Theatre and Film
- THEA 4633 – Directing I
- THEA 4853 – Devised Theatre
Electives (18 hours)
- Select 18 hours of THEA or THDA electives. ART or MUS electives may also be approved by the advisor.
Total Hours – 120
Minor Requirements:
Minor in Theatre – 18 hours
THEA 2613 Stagecraft
THEA 2633 Fundamentals of Acting
THEA 2643 Fundamentals of Entertainment Design
THEA 3643 Theatre History I: Origins to 1600
THEA 3653 Theatre History II: 1600 to Present
THEA 3763 Script Analysis
All theatre and musical theatre majors must earn a B or higher in all major courses.
Admission Requirements:
Each major must audition and be accepted into the program before declaring their major. Auditions/interviews for the program will be held once during the fall semester and three times during the spring semester on designated dates. The audition for majoring in theatre are as follows:
1. Students must attend one (1) of the designated audition dates.
2. Students must prepare and perform two (2) contrasting monologues from published play scripts or provide a technical portfolio and résumé for review.
3. Students must provide one (1) letter of recommendation from a past theatre teacher or director.
Please contact the Director of Theatre for more information.
For the first two (2) years, all students are admitted into the program on a probationary period. At the end of the student’s second semester and fourth semester, they will undergo a jury audition and/or interview examination in which the senior faculty will evaluate their status and progress within the program to be permitted to pursue advanced study.
