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Theatre Degree
Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)
Program type:
Major
Format:
On Campus
Est. time to complete:
4 years
Credit Hours:
120
Take the stage by storm through UNT's theatre program and hone your performance and
tech skills for a career in theatre.
Are you passionate about the arts? Do you want to create magic on stage and behind
the scenes?A Bachelor of Arts with a major in theatre provides you with a comprehensive
understanding of theatre and the skills required to make a show work, both on and
off the stage.
Want more info?
We're so glad you're interested in UNT! Let us know if you'd like more information and we'll get you everything you need.
Request More InfoWhy Earn a Theatre Degree?
The Department of Dance & Theatre is part of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences at UNT. The diverse curriculum offers breadth and depth in academics and performance.
The theatre program offers a selection of core theatre courses, encompassing various aspects of theatre. After completing the core in each concentration, the student's subsequent coursework is customized. The student can continue to study a broad general degree, or to choose to specialize in acting, design/tech, or theatre studies.
Through our rigorous curriculum, you'll:
- Gain practical experience in costuming, stagecraft, stage lighting, stage management and theatrical makeup through laboratory work
- Have opportunities to perform lead roles, direct, design and stage manage
- Learn how to use your voice and body during performance
- Learn how to prepare plays for performance
- Study actors, plays and playwrights from Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Europe and North America
- Work with faculty members, guest and student directors, and choreographers on productions
Our faculty members are outstanding teachers as well as active professionals and renowned researchers. They include an Emmy nominee, a noted Edward Albee scholar and a recipient of the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for costume design. We sponsor two student organizations — the Drama Lab and the Alpha Psi Omega national honor society — that provide performance and networking opportunities. Our facilities include:
- Acting and directing studios
- Rehearsal rooms
- Shops devoted to costume, set and prop design and construction
- Two full-size performance venues (University Theatre and Studio Theatre)
Department alumni work with professional dance and theatre companies as dancers, choreographers, actors and artistic directors. Others are educators or administrators in universities, public schools, and private and professional studios. Still others have pursued careers in areas such as dance therapy, movement analysis, the dance fitness industry, radio, television, and film.
Marketable Skills
- Analytical knowledge of historical/social context
- Teamwork
- Oral and written communication
- Multi-cultural/diversity competencies
- Workplace resourcefulness/innovation
Theatre Degree Highlights
The Department of Dance and Theatre maintains the University Theater (409-seat proscenium
theatre) and the Studio Theater (160-seat black box), and the technical facilities
to support the annual season, including a well-equipped costume and scenic shop, and
adequate storage.
Unique among theatre programs, qualified undergraduate students perform lead roles,
direct public productions, stage-manage, and design scenery, costumes, lights, make-up
and wigs.
Through studying theatre, you can acquire a diverse range of communication and organizational
skills that are applicable to many careers. For example, combining your degree with
studies in journalism or a law degree could lead to a career as a theatre critic or
an entertainment lawyer.
Students are often offered performance and design opportunities as part of outside
professional projects of the faculty and are able to audition for local theatre groups.
UNT has several student organizations for students to network and further hone their
skills and craft.
Scholarships are available based on merit and talent.
What Can You Do With a Theatre Degree?
Career paths include:
- Acting (both stage and film)
- Acting coach
- Artist-in-residence
- Box office manager
- Directing
- Drama education and criticism
- Lighting, costume, makeup, props, scenery or sound design
- Marketing director
- Producing
- Stage crew member
- Stage managing
- Theatrical photographer
- Theatre teacher at an elementary or secondary school
Theatre Degree Courses You Could Take
Stagecraft I (3 hrs)
Introduction to basic scenery construction, properties, general theatre safety and
operations. Includes a practical laboratory working in the scene shop on department
productions. Time and dates in the practical laboratory determined through consultation
with instructor.
Play Analysis (3 hrs)
Principles and techniques governing the preparation of plays and other theatrical
events for performance, design, direction and production. Contemporary systems of
script analysis. Emphasis on theory and criticism of theatre arts.
Acting: Fundamentals (3 hrs)
The study of the art of contemporary acting, grounded in psychological realism. Exposure
to a broad spectrum of acting techniques designed to develop use of the body, voice,
intellect, memories and imagination. Emphasis on removal of the body’s resistances
and blocks which hinder a spontaneous and truthful reaction in a creative situation.
Stage Management I (3 hrs)
Introduction to stage management pre-production, rehearsal and performance responsibilities
and techniques. Lecture and discussion. Practical application of concepts through
class exercises and lab hours.
Theatre Voice I (3 hrs)
Introduction to the mechanics of the voice and effective use of the vocal instrument
for the actor. A basic foundation of techniques for vocal preparation and performance,
including vocal quality, range, resonance, energy, and freedom.
World Theatre After 1700 (3 hrs)
Intense investigation of major developments in theatre performance and dramatic literature
from the mid-17th century to the 21st century, from Western and non-Western worlds.
Emphasis on plays, playwrights, actors and other theatre artists in relation to society.
Lecture, student presentations and a research project with a cross-cultural emphasis.
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