Curriculum
Students
admitted to the Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA)
Acting degree program must complete 78
credits in theatre. Fifty-nine are in
performance techniques, including
fundamentals of acting, scene study, period
acting, acting for the camera, audition
techniques, voice and articulation,
phonetics and dialects, stage combat, and
dance. All classes are taught by a
distinguished faculty whose members have
worked professionally as directors, actors
and choreographers in productions ranging
from Broadway to regional Theatre to network
television.
Performance
Each
year, the department produces five Mainstage
shows (comedies, dramas, musicals, and dance
concerts). Our high quality productions
offer students varied opportunities to
practice skills learned in the classroom on
stage. Students also perform in scenes
directed by other students. Players, the
student-run theatre and dance organization,
provides additional opportunities to direct,
choreograph, perform in, design and tech the
shows they produce. The faculty encourages
new students to become involved in
department and Players productions from the
moment they enter the program.
Employment Opportunities
Finding
consistent employment challenges all
graduates in the performing arts. Throughout
the acting program, the faculty and guest
artists make the realities of the profession
clear to our students while also teaching
them the practical and basic skills
necessary to face and meet the challenges of
the business. Many graduates follow the
"normal" path to establishing a career in
the field. They work "day jobs" while
auditioning and performing until gaining
sufficient professional experience to pursue
acting as a full-time profession. Other
graduates pursue a graduate degree (MFA) in
acting, work for touring youth theatre
troupes, or move to Chicago, Minneapolis, or
New York to pursue their careers.
