The Bachelor of Arts in Acting teaches students advanced performance technique and acting practice to prepare them to compete for work after graduation. An integrated immersion course, Theatre Foundation, will develop students’ kinesthetic awareness, observational skills and ability to respond to their experience of the world in written, visual, vocal and physical form and lays the groundwork for the rest of the acting curriculum. The BA offers an unusual breadth of training in Voice, Body Movement, Scene Study, Ensemble, and a variety of acting styles including Heightened Languages and Physical Approaches. There are myriad opportunities to collaborate as performers with the Film and Television Departments as well as study abroad prospects with international theatre programs. Acting students are expected to perform in a minimum of one departmental production prior to graduation. The recommendation is that they will do much more. Acting majors are encouraged to take advantage of the specialized classes we offer to enhance their artistry and marketability upon graduation. The Department also provides acting students in their senior year the opportunity to audition for Senior Showcase, a platform for entry into the professional theatre community.

As a result of successfully completing program requirements, students should be able to:

• demonstrate competence in the performance techniques necessary to fully inhabit any role in which they are cast;
• select, prepare, and present representative and varied scenes and monologues from a range of sources in a variety of media including on-camera and voice over;
• utilize the body and voice as the actor’s instruments of communication;
• utilize and integrate theory and process in the creation of character;
• exhibit the ability to analyze text as it relates to performance;
• integrate the techniques and skills developed through participation in theatre exercises, games, and improvisations with the preparation of scripted scenes; and
• assemble, rehearse, and perform a suitable personal audition package.