Theatre Arts
The Department of Theatre Arts is dedicated to the highest standards of excellence in both its academic and performance/technical theatre programs. Its energies are committed to fostering student creativity in all areas of theatre—design, performance, directing and management—and to help students gain better insights into themselves and the world around them. The theatre arts program has been a vital and important part of the curriculum and student activities at North Dakota State University for more than 100 years. The program is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Theatre.
The Curriculum
The department offers three undergraduate degree programs in theatre. Each is flexible and can be designed to fit the individual student's career goals.
The Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in theatre arts is a general baccalaureate degree built around a traditional liberal arts curriculum. Courses are required in technical theatre, performing and directing, as well as in literature, theatre history and modern language. The B.A. program requires proficiency of a foreign language at the second year level.
The Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree is an alternative to the B.A. The B.S. requires a minor in an approved field.
The Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.) with an emphasis in musical theatre, performance or design technology is a professionally-oriented degree track that places primary emphasis on performance and studio activity, while also requiring a high level of involvement in the academic curriculum. It can be entered only by audition. This degree track broadens the student's exposure to his or her field, and considerable study is made of other fine arts fields as well.
Admission to the B.F.A. degree program in theatre requires consistent involvement in Theatre NDSU and LCT Productions, and demands a high level of commitment on the part of the student.
The Program
Theatre NDSU is a laboratory for learning in which imaginative play and disciplined work are fused in dramatic creations. A high degree of professionalism is consistently displayed.
(1) Main Stage Productions—four plays are produced each school year. These productions range from modern musicals such as Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson and Sweeney Todd to classic comedies such as The Comedy of Errors and Noises Off, including contemporary and ancient plays of the widest variety. Production seasons are chosen according to a four-year style-rotation cycle. This ensures that during the course of his or her undergraduate career, the student will have the opportunity to acquire first-hand knowledge of all major performance styles in the Western theatrical tradition, including Devised work and TYA or Theatre for Young Audiences.
(2) The Newfangled Theatre Company is the student branch of Theatre NDSU. This student-managed company produces up to four shows in the second stage season.
Numerous dramatic activities take place on a flexible schedule in Studio Theatre Productions. There are showcase productions for B.F.A. candidates and for student acting or directing projects as well as a dance recital each semester.
The Facilities
Theatre arts students study, work and create on three stages:
- Askanase Auditorium (the main stage), a 380-seat theatre with continental seating,
- the Studio Theatre, a flexible studio-lab black box space also located in Askanase Hall, and
- the 1,000-seat Festival Concert Hall, in Reineke Fine Arts Center, used for major musical stage productions.
In addition, Askanase Hall contains theatre classrooms, costume, scene and property shops.
Career Opportunities
Theatre training develops and exercises the creative imagination. Our graduates have found a rich variety of professions. Former students have gone on to earn advanced degrees in theatre and related fields and now teach in colleges and universities, community colleges and high schools. Other graduates of our program work in arts management, technical theatre and technical consulting, as well as in community theatre, semi-professional repertory companies, professional theatre and commercial radio and television. Theatre NDSU is committed to helping students understand the value of entrepreneurship in the Arts, creating their own work and community outreach.
Scholarships
A number of scholarships in theatre arts are available for students both in performance and technical emphases. Several scholarships are available to incoming freshmen. Both a student's academic record and his or her level of achievement in the production program are criteria used in awarding these scholarships. Active participation in the NDSU theatre arts program is expected of all scholarship recipients. Applications are available at www.ndsu.edu/finearts/theatre/.
Theatre Arts Plans of Study - B.F.A. in Design & Tech, Musical Theatre or Performance Options – visit ndsu.edu/bulletin
Theatre Arts Plan of Study - B.A. / B.S.
Please note this is a sample plan of study and not an official curriculum. Actual student schedules for each semester will vary depending on start year, education goals, applicable transfer credit, and course availability. Students are encouraged to work with their academic advisor on a regular basis to review degree progress and customize an individual plan of study.
Freshman | |||
Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
ENGL 110 College Composition I | 4 | ENGL 120 College Composition II | 3 |
THEA 150 Theatre Foundations I | 1 | THEA 181 Dramatic Literature & Style II | 3 |
THEA 161 Acting I | 3 | THEA 271 Costume Craft | 3 |
THEA 180 Dramatic Literature and Style I | 3 | Gen Ed Wellness | 2 |
THEA 270 Stagecraft | 3 | Gen Ed Social & Behavioral Sciences for BS or | 3 |
THEA 220 Stagecraft Lab | 1 | Foreign Language for BA | |
Gen Ed Quantitative Reasoning for BS or | 3 |
| |
| 18 |
| 14 |
Sophomore | |||
Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
MUSC 100 or 103 Music Appreciation or | 3 | ART 111 Introduction to Art History | 3 |
THEA 210 Theatre Practicum | 2 | THEA 210 Theatre Practicum | 1 |
THEA 275 or 279 Theatrical Makeup Design or | 3 | THEA 276 Lighting and Sound Design for the Theatre, | 3 |
Theatre Elective | 3 | THEA 224 Lighting and Sound Design Lab (THEA 223 | 1 |
AHSS Requirement | 3 | THEA 280 World Theatre | 3 |
Minor Requirement for BS or Foreign Language for BA | 3 | Gen Ed Science & Technology | 3 |
| Minor Requirement for BS or Foreign Language for BA | 3 | |
| 17 |
| 17 |
Junior | |||
Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
THEA 210 Theatre Practicum | 2 | COMM 110 Fundamentals of Public Speaking | 3 |
THEA 365 Directing I | 3 | THEA 210 Theatre Practicum | 2 |
Gen Ed Upper Level Writing | 3 | ENGL 380 Shakespeare | 3 |
Gen Ed Science & Technology w/Lab | 4 | Theatre Elective | 3 |
Gen Ed Social & Behavioral Sciences | 3 | Minor Requirement for BS or AHSS Elective for BA | 3 |
| 15 |
| 14 |
Senior | |||
Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
THEA 450 Capstone Experience | 3 | THEA 210 Theatre Practicum | 2 |
THEA 480 History and Literature of Theatre I | 3 | THEA 481 History and Literature of the Theatre II | 3 |
AHSS Requirement | 6 | AHSS Requirement | 3 |
Minor Requirement for BS | 3 | Minor Requirement for BS | 3 |
| Gen Ed Science and Technology | 3 | |
| 15 |
| 14 |
Total Credits: 124 |
View NDSU equivalencies of transfer courses at: www.ndsu.edu/transfer/equivalencies
Reineke Fine Arts Center
Music Education Room 115
Reineke Fine Arts Center is located on the south end of campus on the corner of 12th Ave. N. and Bolley Drive (Campus Map)
Contact Information
Theatre Arts
NDSU Dept 2336,
PO Box 6050
Fargo, ND 58108-6050
DEPT PHONE: (701) 231-7932
DEPT EMAIL: ndsu.performing.arts@ndsu.edu
DEPT WEBSITE: www.ndsu.edu/performingarts/theatre/
or
Office of Admission
North Dakota State University
Ceres 114
Dept #5230, PO Box 6050
Fargo, ND 58108-6050
Tel: (701) 231-8643 / Fax: (701) 231-8802
Email: NDSU.Admission@ndsu.edu
Web: www.ndsu.edu/admission/
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