Theatre Admissions Requirements
All students interested in becoming a Theatre Major or Theatre Minor must go through the admissions procedure.
- Students attend the auditions set by the faculty within the first two weeks of school.
AUDITION/INTERVIEW: The total time for audition and interview is no longer than thirty (30) minutes.
ACTORS: Prospective students must perform an audition consisting of two monologues/pieces, preferably one classic and one contemporary. The pieces must be no longer than two minutes each, must be contrasting, and should reflect the student’s interest and/or experience in theatre.
PLAYWRIGHTS: Playwriting students are required to bring two copies of an original piece. The piece must be typed and a minimum of two pages. Determination: Within one week of audition, the Theatre Area faculty determines students’ placement.
MAJOR: Performance or Production-Tack.
Students may request to become a MAJOR their Freshman or Sophomore years only. Others will be accepted on a case-by-case basis.
MINOR: Theatre Minor.
Students may request to become a MINOR their Freshman, Sophomore, or Junior year only. Others will be accepted on a case-by-case basis.
General Requirements
Students entering the Bachelor Degree program should have some background in theatre whether it be performing, backstage work, writing, or directing. The background of the student helps in determining placement within the program. However, the student’s background is not the only determining factor for admission to the program. Passion, raw talent, and willingness to develop skills also are considered.
All Theatre majors must participate in the productions of the area, as approved by the faculty.
All Theatre concentration majors must attend at least one production by the Shaw Players. In addition, students must attend all outside productions, determined by the faculty.
Each student must participate in departmental seminars, including lectures, recitals, workshops, and master classes.
Performance-track students must audition each semester in a faculty-approved capacity. These performances may be, but are not limited to, student-directed shows, class scenes, main-stage productions, or productions in the community. Production-track students must direct, design, or assist in a faculty-approved capacity, once a year. These may be scenes, productions at Shaw, or in the community.
Yearly Juries
At the end of EVERY semester, all Theatre concentration MAJORS and MINORS must perform a jury before the department.
Advisor help students determine what is needed to perform / produce for each jury.
Pieces CANNOT be from previous juries or class work.
Theatre department faculty will judge juries, based upon preparation, creativity, professionalism and the following guidelines.
This jury will determine students’ ability to continue to participate in the department. Participation is a determining factor in assessing eligibility for scholarships. If a student fails the jury, the department determines the appropriate course of action, within a week of the jury date.
If you are a PRODUCTION MAJOR, you MUST:
Participate in an interview that will include a discussion of your grades, participation in the department, and your goals.
Produce a director’s notebook regarding a piece you have either directed during the semester or plan to direct (or another project determined by your advisor) which includes:
- Traffic patterns, sketches for all designs (costumes, sets, lighting, flyers, graphics, etc) and casting process
- Budget
- An essay on the selection process and subsequent processes leading up to production
*Each piece should be between 1.5 and 2.5 minutes long.
Upon Graduation
- All students graduating with a Theatre concentration must have knowledge of the following:
- The origin of Theatre and its history
- Genres of Theatre
- Periods of Theatre
- The works of various playwrights, including but not limited to: Sophocles, Euripides, Ibsen, Chekov, Shaw, Miller, Williams, Baraka, Hansberry, Shange, and Wilson.
- Basic stagecraft terms and design concepts for make-up, set and lighting design, and costumes.
- Terminology relevant to analyzing dramatic texts and productions
- Production-track students must also have knowledge of the following:
- Major directing techniques
- Organizational skills
- Prompt book/Director’s portfolio
- Directing diary
- Theatre management skills including scheduling, budgeting, facility planning and publicity
- Design portfolio
- Playwriting examples
Production track students are required to take:
Production students must also choose three additional classes from the following list:
In addition to the departmental core requirement:
Three additional classes of their choice from the following list:
Note:
See theatre advisor for academic advisement and appropriate sequence of courses, based on your major and incoming year.
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