Theater Arts

Director of Program: John E. Lane, Jr.

As an undergraduate student pursuing a major or minor in theater arts degree at Duquesne, you'll enjoy a number of distinctive benefits:

• A holistic, liberal arts approach to the study of theater. This means you'll get a well-rounded education in the many aspects of theater, from studying the literature of the plays themselves, to developing skills needed both backstage in production and on stage as an actor.

• A supportive learning environment that includes small classes, one-on-one mentoring and the chance to work on independent projects.

• The opportunity to get involved in student productions of the Red Masquers, Spotlight Musical Theater and the Medieval and Renaissance Players-starting your freshman year! The Summer Company, Exhalations Dance Troupe and Encore Show Choir provide additional campus performance opportunities.

• Theater arts students can develop their performance or behind-the-scenes skills in a new Black Box Theater that opened in the 2015-2016 academic year.

Theater Arts Major

The four-year B.A. program encourages students to examine and experience the relationship between drama as literary artifact and drama as performance. Students learn the skills necessary to translate the written word into a living, breathing, dynamic art.
By working with the technical side of dramatic presentation, students develop invaluable problem-solving skills, build leadership qualities and learn to work successfully in a team environment. You learn skills that keep you calm in a crisis, keep your mind flexible, make you versatile and courageous, and train you to have a critical eye.

As in all liberal arts programs, students develop flexibility of mind, clarity and precision in written and oral communication, and an ability to negotiate an ever more complex world.

CORE REQUIREMENT

15 credit hours, including:

THEA 151: Introduction to TheaterENGL 203: Introduction to Drama
THEA 210: History of Theater I (Ancient to Renaissance)
THEA 211: History of Theater II (Renaissance to Present)
THEA 305: Directing I

LITERATURE COURSES
9 credit hours, selected from 300-400 level English Department courses that emphasize dramatic literature

ELECTIVES

12 credit hours, chosen from the following:

THEA 201: Acting I (2 credits)
THEA 301: Acting II (2 credits)
THEA 302: Acting III (2 credits)
THEA 303: Acting IV (2 credits)
THEA 310: Technical Theater
THEA 405: Directing II
THEA 481/ENG 434W: Dramatic Criticism
ENGL 301W: Playwriting I
ENGL 400W: Playwriting II
THEA 496: Directed Studies (including practica in Theater Management, Technical Theater, and Performance)

Theater Arts Minor

Students who choose theater arts as a minor concentration find that it provides an invaluable set of skills regardless of a student's major course of study.

CORE REQUIREMENT

9 credit hours, including:

THEA 151: Introduction to Theater
THEA 210: History of Theater I (Ancient to Renaissance)
THEA 211: History of Theater II (Renaissance to Present) 

LITERATURE COURSES

6 credit hours selected from 300-400 level English Department courses that emphasize dramatic literature

ELECTIVES

6 credit hours, chosen from the following:

ENGL 203: Introduction to Drama
THEA 201: Acting I (2 credits)
THEA 301: Acting II (2 credits)
THEA 302: Acting III (2 credits)
THEA 303: Acting IV (2 credits)
THEA 305: Directing I
THEA 310: Technical Theater
THEA 405: Directing II
THEA 481/ENG 434W: Dramatic Criticism
ENGL 301W: Playwriting I
ENGL 400W: Playwriting II
THEA 496: Directed Studies (including practica in Theater Management, Technical Theater, and Performance