Stand by lights… Cue music!
Southern Arkansas University was approved today to offer Arkansas’s most affordable Bachelor of Fine Arts in Performing Arts with studies in Musical Theatre and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Performing Arts with studies in Theatre by the Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
SAU’s BFA in Musical Theatre will be truly unique to Arkansas public universities because it will offer a complete theatre and music curriculum, based on the National Association of Schools of Music. The NASM is the national accrediting agency for music and music-related disciplines.
SAU is thrilled about the start of these more advanced theatre degree offerings in Fall 2015, and faculty are ready to hit the road to recruit students.
Faculty say the program is going to be exciting because they are merging with the music department so they will have music and theatre professors involved in the instruction. There will be a great energy starting this fall and the department is expecting to have a great group of incoming freshman.
These BFA degrees are called ‘pre-professional’ degrees because the students take a lot more hours in their fields of theatre. They will complete the standard core classes, but then will between 70-80 hands-on hours specific to their field of study.
One of the reasons students should consider a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree is because it sets them apart from most students who get a four-year Bachelor of Arts degree, BFA students get so many more hours “logged under their belts” in terms of experience in acting or design. The BFA also makes finishing students more attractive to competitive master’s programs.
Lainey Walthall, center, sings in SAU’s Seussical musical
Lainey Walthall, freshman theatre major from Magnolia, has already been in a musical and two other plays at SAU. She said she plans on switching to the BFA in Musical Theatre in the fall because she hopes to pursue a master’s degree after completing her studies at SAU.
“I am switching because it will offer me a more direct degree plan and give me a leg up on the field. I am really looking forward to having classes and working on a degree that is right in line with what I intend on pursuing professionally,” said Walthall. “I love the atmosphere of SAU Theatre…the professors encourage me every day to reach for my dreams and to never give up.”
Following a great momentum of play seasons, there is already a powerful lineup of four plays for the 2015-16 season in which students will gain valuable experience.
