Program Description:
The Department of Theatre, Dance, and Motion Pictures is devoted exclusively to the training and education of undergraduate students in the areas of dance, motion pictures, and theatre. These programs lead to the Bachelor of Arts and the Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees.
The Department of Theatre, Dance, and Motion Pictures is empowered by the Ohio Revised Code to require particular preliminary training or talent for admission to specific programs, and each of the five B.F.A. degree programs has specific criteria for admission to each level of training. Students in all areas must earn a minimum GPA of 2.0 by the end of the freshman year to continue in a theatre arts major. Students who wish to be admitted as majors in acting, acting/musical theatre, or dance must successfully pass an audition or interview. Transfer students are admitted into B.F.A. programs on the basis of a successful audition, interview, or portfolio presentation. The department has an open admissions policy for students wishing to major in the B.A. programs in theatre studies and motion pictures history, theory, and criticism, and B.F.A. programs in design/technology and motion pictures production.
All students who return after an absence of three or more consecutive semesters must reapply to the faculty for readmission to the program, and at the discretion of the faculty they may be required to satisfy program requirements in effect at the time of readmission. Details of the admission and retention policy are detailed in the Department of Theatre Arts Student Handbook.
The B.A. Program:
The Theatre Studies Program combines studies in theatre with broad preparation in the liberal arts. Students master the fundamentals of acting, directing, history, literature, and design/technology and can use theatre electives to concentrate further in one of these or other areas. The B.A. program is designed to allow students to take a second major or to pursue minor concentrations in two or three other academic areas.
Because of the strength of the theatre production program in the department, the B.A. theatre studies student is in the particularly advantageous position to acquire a high level of practical, as well as theoretical knowledge–a distinction not afforded theatre students in programs with less per production emphases. The student is encouraged to diversify in a variety of disciplines; courses throughout the department, as well as production opportunities, are open to these students.
Theatre:
Students who wish to study theatre choose from professional programs leading to the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree or to the Bachelor of Arts degree in theatre studies. The professional programs are acting, acting-musical theatre, theatre studies, and design/technology/stage management.
Admission for the acting and acting-musical theatre programs is by audition. The department has an open admissions policy for first-term freshmen in the design/technology/stage management and theatre studies programs. Transfer students must audition or interview for all B.F.A. programs. Each B.F.A. program has set criteria for selectively retaining students in the programs. These include a requirement that students earn a GPA of at least 2.0 to continue in the B.F.A. programs; most of the programs require a higher minimum GPA for graduation. The policies are spelled out in the following sections and in the Department of Theatre Arts Student Handbook, which is issued annually. Students are required to consult quarterly with an academic advisor.