Undergraduate Program
theatre
Table of Contents
Contacts
- Undergraduate Program Information: Scott Cummings, 617-552-4614, cumminsc@bc.edu
- www.bc.edu/theatre
Undergraduate Program Description
The Boston College Theatre Department—faculty, staff, and students—is committed to theatre education that combines art with scholarship and drama study with theatre practice. We seek to foster creativity, critical thinking, excellence, and professionalism through the integration of courses, productions, workshops, and other activities. We value theatre as a liberal art as well as a performing art, which means that we seek to understand it not only as a means of artistic expression and a form of entertainment but as a window onto history, a method of inquiry into all things human, and a vehicle for social change. Interested students are invited to join us in this mission regardless of previous experience. Those who do will develop an intellectual frame of reference, a theatrical imagination, and practical skills that prepare them for advanced training in a wide range of disciplines and vocations.
Major Requirements
The Theatre Department offers a major in theatre and students earn a Bachelor of Arts degree. Students must successfully complete a total of twelve 3-credit courses, six of which constitute the foundation upon which the upper-level courses are built. Ideally, these six courses will be completed by the end of the sophomore year. The required Foundation courses are:
- CT 062 Dramatic Structure and Theatrical Process (fall only). Students unable to register for this class may substitute CT 060 Introduction to Theatre.
- CT 101 Acting I
- CT 140 Elements of Theatre Production I (spring only)
- CT 141 Elements of Theatre Production II (fall only; prerequisite CT 140)
- CT 275 History of Theatre I
- CT 276 History of Theatre II
Students must also complete six 3-credit courses that provide focused training and advanced study. Theatre majors will choose these courses as follows: (1) two upper-level Performance/Production courses (numbered CT 300 to CT 359 and CT 400 to CT 459); (2) two upper-level Dramatic Literature, Criticism, and Theatre History courses (numbered CT 360 to CT 379 and CT 460 to CT 479); and (3) two General Theatre Electives chosen from the Theatre Department curriculum according to individual interest.
In addition, theatre majors must complete a total of six Production Labs. These are experience-based courses that involve working backstage or in the shops (one credit) or as a designer or stage manager (two credits) on Theatre Department productions. Students register for Labs at the beginning of each semester.
Mentoring and Advisement
The Theatre Department faculty places great emphasis on academic advisement and professional mentoring. We are committed to helping students design an academic program that stimulates their curiosity, supports their interests, and advances their abilities. In this interest, we encourage students to pursue professional internships and/or summer training programs that provide practical experience and help to clarify long-range goals. Internships can earn academic credit and often lead to job offers after graduation. Junior and senior Theatre majors are guided and coached as they face the challenges of life after college and prepare for graduate study, advanced training, a full-time professional internship, or early-career job experience.
The Theatre Department Production Program
The Theatre Department maintains an ambitious co-curricular production program that includes four faculty-or-guest directed Mainstage productions and two student-directed, student-designed Workshop productions per academic year. Casting is open to all students and based mainly on audition. The Theatre Department actively encourages students of color to audition for all productions and is firmly committed to a policy of non-traditional (or "color blind") casting, which means that race and ethnicity are not a factor when casting decisions are made. Opportunities abound for students who are interested in design, technical production, and stage management.
Certification in Theatre Option for Education Majors
Elementary Education
Elementary Education majors may follow a program that allows them to seek alternative certification in theatre from the Massachusetts Department of Education. More information is available from the Assistant Dean of Students and Outreach in the Lynch School of Education, Campion 104.
Secondary Education
Secondary Education/English majors may follow a carefully designed program that allows them to seek alternative certification in theatre from the Massachusetts Department of Education. More information is available from the Assistant Dean of Students and Outreach in the Lynch School of Education, Campion 104. For more information, please contact the Department Chair.
Information for Study Abroad
The Theatre Department has no formal affiliation with international programs that focus on theatre training. Students who are considering study abroad are advised to meet with their advisor a full year in advance of their departure in order to plan their academic progress and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of being off campus for a semester or more as an upperclassman. In general, students can receive credit towards the Theatre major (as appropriate) for no more than one course taken abroad. For more information, please contact the Department Chair.