Theatre Arts

The theatre arts major sets you on a path to artistry by complementing your passion for theatre with a perceptive reading of the world, a depth of critical thinking and the broad skills you need to develop your creative talent.

Preparing You For Success

The theatre arts track is a well-rounded program that builds your foundational theatre skills, challenges your understanding of the world, enhances your critical thinking and offers you broad experiential learning to develop your creative awareness and potential. Though most appropriate if you’re considering a double major, this track also is appealing if you want the flexibility and upper-level course space to explore interests like directing, management and other topics that combine knowledge from the performance and production disciplines. Frequent second majors are advertising, public relations, English, management and leadership and television arts. This stand-alone major also is the required core curriculum for students who wish to study performance or production.

By the time you graduate, your experiences may include:

• Workshops with acclaimed professional companies like the Tectonic Theatre Project and celebrated contemporary playwrights like Kate Hamill
• Producing your own work with dynamic student organizations like BBQ Kitten improv troupe, Ministry of Experimental Theatre (MET) and Bradley’s student chapter of the U.S. Institute of Theatre Technology (USITT)
• Excursion courses to London theatre and Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas
• Internships in theatre production and administration at theatres like Chicago Shakespeare, Lookingglass Theatre Company, and the Illinois Shakespeare Festival.

Making Your Mark

A theatre arts major is a gateway to careers in commercial and non-profit theatre, as well as film, television, and new media. Recent Bradley theatre grads are active in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, St. Louis, Phoenix and throughout the U.S. as performers, technicians, stage managers, designers, educators, authors, filmmakers, talent agents and master craftspeople. Others have attended graduate school at Ohio State, Penn State, and Long Island University. Recent internships have seen Bradley theatre students in acting, production, advertising, development, and stage management at professional theatres including Steppenwolf, Chicago Shakespeare, The Looking Glass Theatre, Illinois Shakespeare, L.A.’s The Groundlings, Great River Shakespeare, Peninsula Players and more.

Major Requirements

This general Theatre Arts major is especially intended for students who intend Theatre Arts to be their primary major but plan to add a second major; or for students in another major who wish to add Theatre Arts as a second major. The course sequence described below also comprises the Theatre Core for the Performance and Production concentrations.

Required Courses

• THE 115: Fundamentals of Acting - 3 hrs.
• THE 121: Contemporary Theatre Practice - 3 hrs.
• THE 123: Script Analysis for the Theatre - 3 hrs.
• THE 125: Stagecraft - 3 hrs.
• THE 226: Fundamentals of Design - 3 hrs.
  OR
  THE 230: Costume Construction - 3 hrs.
• THE 316: Fundamentals of Directing - 3 hrs.
  OR
  THE 318: Stage Management
• Two of the following Theatre History Courses:
• THE 336: History of Theatre and Drama I - 3 hrs.
• THE 337: History of Theatre and Drama II - 3 hrs.
• THE 338: History of Theatre and Drama III - 3 hrs.
• THE 410: Senior Seminar/Capstone Project - 3 hrs.
• THE 439: Global Encounters - 3 hrs.
• Theatre Practicum:  A total of 3 hours (6 sections) from the following.
• THE 107: Theatre Practicum - .5 hrs.
• THE 108: Theatre Practicum - .5 hrs.
• THE 207: Theatre Practicum - .5 hrs.
• THE 208: Theatre Practicum - .5 hrs.
• THE 307: Theatre Practicum - .5 hrs.
• THE 308: Theatre Practicum - .5 hrs.
• THE 407: Theatre Practicum - .5 hrs.

Total Hours: 33

Note: Majors in the Theatre Arts track may take any number of theatre electives for which they meet pre-requisites and obtain instructor and department chair approval.