Theatre Major

Theatre Major

IN THIS SECTION

Pursue your passion and prepare for a career in stage

Pursue your passion for theatre while learning marketable skills and getting hands-on production experience.

The Theatre Major will prepare you for a career in live theatre production and its associated industries or for advanced graduate education. You’ll study theatre history, acting, design, technology, dramaturgy, and stage management, with emphasis on the practical techniques and critical analysis necessary for creating successful stage productions. During WSU’s production season, you’ll get exposure to a range of styles and genres with a portfolio of productions selected to provide opportunities to a diversity of students and to produce work that is relevant to the community and that fires the imagination.

WHAT YOU WILL DO

  • Take a broad range of courses in theatre arts
  • Develop your skills with practical work in WSU’s scene and costume shops
  • Choose from a wide range of electives, including Theatre for Young Audiences, Stage Combat, and Directing
  • Complete a senior thesis project in the area you’re most interested in: scene or costume design, and lighting and sound technology, dramaturgy, acting, or directing
  • Make real-world decisions in play selection, casting, rehearsing, designing, and mounting by participating in WSU’s student theatre club, Almost Off Book
  • Participate in WSU’s theatrical productions, shows featuring diverse styles that range from comedy to drama to tragedy
Check out the different theatre courses waiting for you at Worcester State!
TH-126 Script Analysis
Script analysis for theatre artists. How to take a script from initial reading to production.
3 credits
TH-145 Acting I
Introductory acting theory and practice. Students present brief monologues and scenes in class.
3 credits
TH-155 First-Year Theatre Practicum
Practical work in theatre production for first-year students.
1 credit
TH-175 Introduction to Stagecraft
An introductory class to major types of stagecraft for live theatre. Students will learn in formal classes and in 30 hours of scheduled laboratories about set construction, costume construction and lighting technology. Students will learn the vocabulary of technical theatre and will learn geometric and mathematical methods required for each of the three main areas covered.
3 credits
TH-235 History of Theatre
Survey of world theatre including from its ritual origins through the classical era, medieval era, the renaissance, the restoration, the modernist revolution to the present day. This global approach includes historical examples from Europe, Africa, Asia, North America, and South America.
3 credits
TH-263 Concepts of Theatre Design
This is a fundamental design course for live theatre, but will also apply to other design fields. Drawing, both freehand and digital, will be studied. Students will learn the elements and principles of design, and how to apply them to Scenic, Costume and Lighting Design, as well as other modes of 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional art. Additive and subtractive color theory will be covered. Students will learn the specialized language of design and will study how to approach the three areas of design aforementioned.
3 credits
TH-274 Stage Management
An introduction to the craft of stage management focusing on the techniques, responsibilities and duties necessary to manage both rehearsals and performances.
3 credits
TH-455 Theatre Capstone
Theatre students will create a senior thesis project/capstone in acting, directing, design, playwriting, craft or dramaturgy, chosen in consultation with a faculty advisor and demonstrating the skills learned in their studies. The capstone may be part of a mainstage production or a student generated project. Each capstone project will be accompanied by a written analysis showing their research or full-documentation of their process.
3 credits
TH-246 Voice and Movement
Training to strengthen the natural voice, develop diction, learn period movement and develop spatial awareness on and off stage.
3 credits
TH-290 Theatre for Young Audiences
Organization of children's theatre, script selection, visual design, rehearsal and performance. Investigation of creative drama as a teaching tool in elementary education.
3 credits
TH-292 Applied Theatre and Community Engagement
Principles and techniques of leading improvised dramatic activities with children and adults. Involves sensory awareness, imagination, movement and story dramatizations.
3 credits
TH-348 Stage Combat
Training in armed and unarmed combat for the stage. emphasis will be placed on safety in the choreography of stage fighting.
3 credits

Why Study Theatre at Worcester State?

As a theatre student, you will experience the joy of belonging to a tight-knit, collaborative creative community–and witness your own practice evolve
  • Costume Design for Theatre
  • Design
  • Cross-Media
  • Driftwood to Dumpsters
  • Modern Art
  • Directing
  • Music of the Cinema
  • Sculpture 
  • Animation
  • Gallery and Museum Studies
  • Jazz Ensemble
  • Music Theory
  • Computers and Music
  • African Drumming
  • Visual Arts in the Schools
  • Printmaking

At Worcester State, there's a whole world of creative spaces and resources at your fingertips. Some examples include:

Worcester Center for the Crafts
Sullivan Auditorium
Fuller Theater
Costume Design Studio
Mary Cosgrove Dolphin Gallery

See the diverse career paths that a degree in theatre can prepare you for.

Explore a wide range of rewarding professional opportunities with your theatre degree from Worcester State.

Costume designer
Scene designer
Lighting or sound engineer
Theatre performer
Director of a playhouse or performing arts theatre
Teacher
Acting coach
Technical instructor