Your Theater advisors will reach out to you before the ramping period with reminders to make appointments with them when the time comes. Class of 2029 students, will also receive communication from HFA Advising to discuss your General Education and other university requirements.
All theater majors are required to take TH140 Fundamentals of Acting, which is a prerequisite for upper-level dramaturgy courses, as well as many of your upper level-performance courses. Your body and voice are your primary instruments as an actor. Just as a violinist must train their fingers and a singer must develop their vocal technique. You need to develop physical and vocal control, awareness, and expressiveness, so we highly recommend taking TH240 Beginning Voice and TH341 Stage Movement. Please note that TH240 is a prerequisite for all of our upper-level performance courses in Voice and Dialects, such as TH447 Dialects and TH397U The Craft of Voiceover.
We also offer other wonderful performance courses such as TH342 Acting, TH393C The Michael Chekhov Technique, TH393N Devised Theater, among many others.
Our BA program takes a broad, liberal arts approach to theater, preparing well-rounded, knowledgeable artists who understand the many facets of the theater world. This philosophy applies to both our majors and those pursuing the minor in Theater.
Theater thrives when collaborators share a common language and vision. Whatever your focus might be, you'll be stronger in that area through knowledge of related disciplines. An actor might make more nuanced performance choices by understanding a play's dramaturgy. A costume designer who has taken acting classes can communicate more effectively with performers, creating designs that truly support their work.
Our curriculum also creates space for discovery. You may uncover unexpected passions—perhaps for directing, design, or dramaturgy—that reshape your artistic path and open new professional possibilities.
See our Major page to learn about different areas of theater you can study here.
While our minor only requires students to pursue two of the three areas in depth, we still believe a broad perspective is helpful. See our Minor in Theater page to learn about how we apply our philosophy to the minor.
Yes! Actors and designers are able to receive credit for their work in our mainstage productions. Actors - if you are cast in a production, you will be enrolled in TH210 for 3 credits, the equivalent of a class, for your work. You can speak to Julie Fife about the details if the class puts you at an overload, or some other circumstance.
Designers: Designers and advanced technical roles are credited through TH310, for 3 credits.
We have a lot of double-major students, and many of them do finish in four years. The key is to be goal-oriented and to start working on getting your general education and other required classes completed as soon as possible. You should also be in close communication with your advisor (well, you should do that anyway, really!) to figure out the most efficient and effective way to plan your courses.
Because one of your dramaturgy credits will also count as your Junior Year Writing Requirement, one will appear in the JYW drop down menu, and the other will appear in the Upper-Level Dramaturgy drop down menu.
All theater majors are required to participate in TWO backstage experiences, at 1 credit each, while minors are required to participate in ONE backstage experience. TH110 is offered every semester. To sign up, simply register for the course during course registration, and Julie Fife will be in touch with you at the beginning of the semester about a mandatory organizational meeting and paperwork to select your crew.
No! You can take upper-level DTM courses before taking TH160.