Theatre Arts Management (BA)
Students of the program in Theatre Arts Management will develop hands-on knowledge in arts and non-profit administration along with program management through a combination of stage production, in-classroom simulation, and through hands-on experience in the workforce through internships. This dynamic major includes not only courses through the Theater Arts program, but also courses in business programs including management, marketing, finance, and other business-related courses. This program will give students the skills needed to enter the performing arts industry, and even develop their own theatre company, enabling and providing platforms for future artists to fulfill in a business enterprise.
Student participation in the staging of plays, musicals, and dance performances for the public is a required part of the theatre major’s training. This hands-on production experience provides ample opportunity for practical application of coursework. The combination of coursework and intensive practical experience ensures the development of the broad range of practical skills necessary for success in the field including a variety of technical trade skills, collaboration, creative problem solving, communicative clarity, organizational prowess, ethics, and time management skills. Departmental faculty facilitates students in planning and achieving career goals. To this end, students are encouraged to seek summer employment in theatrical endeavors according to their interests, to participate in professional organizations, to attend conferences and workshops (such as the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival in which the department participates yearly), to work on Discovery projects, and to take on lead assignments in the mounting of departmental productions.