Program Description
The Department of Theatre, Dance, and Motion Pictures is devoted exclusively to the training and education of undergraduate students in these subject areas. These programs lead to the Bachelor of Arts and the Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees. Students who wish to study theatre choose from the B.A. degree in Theatre Studies, or B.F.A. programs in Acting, Musical Theatre, and Design/Technology/Stage Management.
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. programs has specific criteria for admission to each level of training. Students who wish to be admitted as majors in Acting, Acting/Musical Theatre, or Dance must successfully pass an audition. The department has an open admissions policy for first-term students who wish to major in the B.A. programs in Theatre Studies and Motion Pictures History, Theory, and Criticism, and the B.F.A. programs in Design/Technology/Stage Management and Motion Pictures Production. Transfer students are admitted into B.F.A. programs on the basis of a successful audition, interview, or portfolio presentation.
Each B.F.A. program has set criteria for selectively retaining students. These include a requirement that students successfully pass regular juries or performance reviews and 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 curriculum sections of the department web page. Students are required to consult regularly with an academic adviser. 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.
Degree Requirements–Acting and Musical Theatre Concentrations
Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree
Professionally bound students may select the B.F.A. in either Acting or Musical Theatre. These degrees both require students to master fundamental skills in Acting, Movement, Voice and Speech. Acting students continue with focus on a wide range of contemporary and period styles, with intensive focus in classical acting, stage combat and vocal skills. Musical Theatre students continue with a range of courses focusing on the broad ranger of styles from operetta to the most contemporary works. Musical Theatre majors study dance daily and intensive vocal performance. The professional Acting and Musical Theatre programs are each an intensive, four-year progression of studies in acting, voice, movement, dance, and singing. Because courses in the Acting and Musical Theatre programs follow a set sequence, students are generally admitted only in the Fall Semester. The Professional Actor Training Program is limited by audition to only selected superior students who show promise of high achievement. Retention in the Professional Actor Training Program is determined by periodic review. Students are retained in the program based on their growth and development as judged by the acting faculty.
To be retained in the program, all Acting and Musical Theatre students must earn a grade of C or better in required departmental and related courses for the major, with the exception of TH 1200 and TH 2220 . If a student does not earn a C or better in these required courses, the student may not take the courses a second time. However, students may retake TH 1060 , TH 1070 , TH 1080, TH 3720 , TH 3730 , TH 3800 , TH 3810 , and TH 3820 (literature and history courses) for a second time to earn the required grade of C or better. Students not earning a grade of C or better in all required departmental and related courses (with the above exceptions) will not be retained.
Program Learning Outcomes
- Be able to master artistic and technical skills necessary to pursue acting as a profession.
- Be able to demonstrate knowledge of current business practices of the acting profession.
- Be able to master professional audition skills.
- Be able to perform in a variety of roles in Wright State productions.
- Be able to demonstrate knowledge of theatre history, musical theatre history and literature, and/or dramatic literature (depending on degree emphasis).
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