The Theatre Arts curriculum is planned to provide a broad quality education in the humanities and to develop in the student an appreciation of the whole self and the universality of the human experience. The Theatre Arts program promotes an environment that nurturers self-expression within all aspects of the discipline, ranging from acting and design to technical theatre and the history and theories surrounding these practices. Faculty and students collaborate to enhance creative involvement in and promote aesthetic and scholarly inquiry into the art of theatre and performance. Participation on all levels in the performing arts is central to this work. Through the production and study of both western and world theatrical traditions, the program contributes to the cultural vitality of our students, the university, and the surrounding community. The Theatre Arts program supports the mission and goals of the university with a commitment to educating the whole person and providing students with the tools to be an active participant in the service of faith and the promotion of justice, and is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Theatre. The program offers the Bachelor of Arts in Theatre degree, the requirements of which can serve as an excellent foundation for those students pursuing a career in theatre, film, and television, for those who wish to enrich their lives through non-career oriented study and performance, and for those pursuing MFA and PhD degrees in performance, design, history, and performance theory.
Students majoring in Theatre Arts should be able to:
• Strengthen their skills in observation, concentration, and imagination
• Effectively apply learned acting techniques to performance and/or creative works of their own
• Interpret dramatic texts and critique theatrical performance using appropriate critical language and analytical
frameworks
• To integrate effective use of body and voice in communication in a theatrical space
• Read technical drawings, and apply a basic understanding of scenery, scenic materials, construction procedures, and
standard theatrical lighting practices to theatre production
• Identify the basic elements of stage direction; analyze a play script from the point of view of the director; articulate
and defend a production concept; develop actor-coaching skills; and identify elements of direction that communicate
story, theme, and concept
• Positively contribute to the fi eld of theatre performance, history, and production.
Students majoring in Theatre Arts are presented with the opportunity to value:
• Theatre as a live, human, creative, and spiritual experience, which has the power to transform and educate as well as
entertain an audience
• Non-Western theatrical styles and genres
• The impact design and production have on the theatrical experience, and the relationships and contributions of all
collaborators and theatrical personnel and how they contribute to the creation of theatre production across a broad
spectrum of styles and genres
• Individual expression through exploration, analysis, and creation of dramatic writing
• First-hand European theatre tradition; Stanislavski and Epic theatre performance techniques; the history, geography,
and culture of Germany and Russia, through our semester study abroad program, Bonn-Moscow-Berlin.
Students majoring in Theatre Arts should know:
• Basic theories, techniques, and process of dramatic writing and structure, and various approaches to translating
original dramatic material from the page to the stage/screen
• Basic world theatre history and dramatic literature, including exemplary works and genres
• Basic performace and design genres, styles, and techniques
• Basic strategies of career development and audition/interview methods.