Theater Major
The major in theater forms an integrated study wherein students develop a broad knowledge of theater and performance through practical and creative experience in studio work, production, and the study of cultural and historical context.
The flexible nature of the major in Theater gives students the ability to customize their academic journey as they craft a holistic course of study featuring the interdependent disciplines within theater such as acting, directing, dramaturgy, performance studies, playwriting, theatrical design and technology, and theater histories. Students will work with advisers to create a coherent and intentional major that is designed to build their skills as artists, scholars, and makers.
In addition to the department faculty, students have opportunities to work with guest artists in special workshops and master classes. The varied production program is designed to provide challenging and dynamic theater for the campus community while raising each student's artistic, collaborative and professional expectations and standard for success.
After officially declaring the theater major, students are required to submit an Artist/Scholar’s Statement, in which they outline their goals and personal approach to the study and work of theater. The statement should discuss their creative and scholarly intentions for the completion of the major, their engagement in the department, and their activity in the arts both within and beyond the College. This statement is revisited and revised annually, with its final version shared with the community at the Senior Capstone Festival.
The major consists of a minimum of nine four-credit courses and four theater lab credits, creating a breadth of study in performance, production, theater history, and literature. Students studying away at an approved theater-intensive program may apply up to two courses toward the major. These substitutions are determined in consultation with the major adviser and should be approved before the student studies away.
Majors take theater courses that study social difference, justice, and power embedded and imagined in performance and dramatic texts. Courses that fulfill the Social Difference and Power requirement include: USA Plays, CC: Performing Difference in the American Musical, and CC: Theater of the AIDS Epidemic.
Requirements
- Two Theater Studio courses
- Two Theater Studies courses
- Five elective courses, with at least two at the 300-level or higher.
- Four Theater Lab credits across three mainstage productions (may include one Theater Lab in acting)
Senior Capstone Projects and Honors Study
Students majoring in theater are strongly encouraged to pursue a senior capstone project that will serve as the culmination of their undergraduate study. The department encourages students to consider ways to integrate a minor or second major, if applicable, into their capstone project. Senior capstones are taken as 400-level individual studies or as a senior seminar, and are proposed and considered during the spring semester of the junior year. All students proposing capstone projects must have completed the 300-level course, or the equivalent, in their chosen field by the fall semester of their senior year.
Exceptional students who meet the College's requirements and the department's prerequisites may propose a two-semester Honors Study as their capstone. Successful proposals are undertaken with the mentorship of a faculty advisor, and typically embrace creative and/or scholarly research.
Capstone/Honors Study requires specific coursework and/or theater lab study as well as a minimum grade point average of 3.5 for courses in the major taken during the sophomore and junior year. Honors Studies are undertaken in addition to the major requirements. One-semester Capstone projects, taken as a 400-level individual study or as a Senior Seminar, may be included as an elective within the major. Students should discuss the relevant details with their major advisers.
The major consists of nine courses and four Theater Lab credits:
Two Theater Studio courses (4 credits each) from the following:
Two Theater Studies courses (4 credits each) from the following:
Five elective courses (4 credits each)
Any five courses from the Theater Department's offerings can be selected except Honors Studies courses and Theater Labs. At least two must be at the 300-level or higher. Two 2-credit courses may be combined to satisfy one 4-credit elective requirement.
Theater Labs
Four Theater Lab credits distributed across three mainstage productions (one may be a lab in acting):