Department website

Bachelor of Arts

It is the belief of the AU theatre faculty that the best musical theatre artist will develop through a combination of rigorous interdisciplinary study and performance opportunities. A professional career in musical theatre begins with a core understanding and practical application of acting, vocal performance, musicianship, and dance. In professional quality productions and in musical theatre specific classes, students will learn and develop the skills needed for a career in musical theatre and a variety of other arts and non-arts affiliated fields. As students progress through the program, faculty will work collaboratively with them to prepare them for entrance into the world of performing arts, graduate study, and/or any career goal that could be enhanced with musical theatre training. 

On stage, students are provided the opportunity to be involved in high caliber productions and work directly with professional directors, designers, and other theatre artists and musicians. The theatre department explores a variety of themes and styles in these productions while maintaining a very high standard for everyone involved. Each year students and faculty also participate in many other special activities, such as student productions, collaborations with the music department, and special events on campus. A student’s activity level is only limited by his or her desire to be involved. Musical theatre students must also be actively involved in productions presented by the department. Each musical theatre major must substantially participate in at least four main stage productions (and at least one of those must include backstage work). Quality of student participation will be gauged by theatre faculty and will be assessed as part of annual reviews. 

Students are also required to complete an annual review. For transfer students, the first review must be completed upon entry into the program. In these reviews, the students present musical theatre audition packages. Faculty members work with the students to improve their presentation skills and discuss their progress in the program and their future goals. Students are also given the opportunity to provide feedback about the program. In their final semester, all majors complete an exit interview as a final step toward future employment.

Program Requirements

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
Required Courses
MUS-1910	University Chorale (1 credit per semester x 4 semesters)	4
MUS-2200	Applied Piano for Non-Majors (0.5 credit per semester x 2 semesters)	1
MUS-2600	Musicianship I	4
MUS-2610	Musicianship II	4
MUS-3030	Intermediate Applied Voice (1 credit per semester x 8 semesters)	8
THE-1300	Introduction to Acting	4
THE-1500	Stagecraft I	4
THE-2300	Scene Study for the Actor	4
THE-2310	Voice and Movement for the Actor	4
THE-2400	Introduction to Musical Theatre Performance	4
THE-2440	Musical Theatre Dance Styles I	2
THE-3400	Musical Theatre Scene Study	4
THE-3440	Musical Theatre Dance Style II	2
THE-3640	Musical Theatre History	4
THE-4440	Musical Theatre Dance Styles III	2
THE-4900	Senior Capstone Preparation	1
THE-4990	Senior Capstone Project	3
Total Credits		59

Undergraduate Degree Requirements

A student who graduates from Aurora University with a baccalaureate degree will have met the following requirements:

1. Completion of all requirements for an approved major (with no grades lower than “C”).
2. Overall completion of at least 120 semester hours of coursework with a GPA of at least 2.0 on a 4.0 scale (a course may be utilized only once in application toward a degree requirement, unless otherwise noted in the academic regulations). The 120 semester hours of coursework must include:
   • At least 52 semester hours completed at a senior college.
   • Residency Requirement - At least 30 semester hours completed at Aurora University, including the last 24 semester hours in the degree, and including at least 18 semester hours in the major. (Portfolio assessment credit, life and vocational experience credit, off-campus experience credit, examination credit, participation credit, and block credit, shall not count toward the residency requirement).
   • Upper-Division Requirement - A minimum of 30 semester hours numbered 3000 or above. Of these 30 semester hours, 15 semester hours must lie within the major and 15 semester hours must be completed at Aurora University.
3. Completion of all General Education requirements (with no grades lower than “C”), as follows:
   • Quantitative and Formal Reasoning competency requirement
   • ENG-1000 Introduction to Academic Writing
   • IDS-1200 Discover What Matters or IDS-3040 Global Justice
   • IDS-1150 First Year Experience - Not required for Transfer or AU Online students)
   • Satisfactory participation in the junior-year mentoring and assessment process designed to guide students to successful completion of their degree and to encourage planning for next steps beyond graduation. (IDS-3500 Junior Mentoring Program I and IDS-3550 Junior Mentoring Program II - Not required for ADC or AU Online students but may be designated electives for AU Online students admitted with fewer than 15 hours of transfer credit.)
   • Distribution Requirements
     Students will complete one approved course¹ from each of the following categories:
     • Artistic Literacy
     • Cultural Literacy
     • Human Inquiry
     • Scientific Inquiry

In addition to the above, ADC and Online students will also complete one approved course¹ from the following category:

• Discovery and Reflection

¹

Only courses that are approved to meet the distribution requirement can be used toward this requirement. See the list of approved courses  for available options. Courses taken to meet distribution requirements are 4 semester hours apiece, with the following exceptions:

• An approved transfer course of at least 2.50 semester hours can be used to satisfy a distribution requirement.
• Courses with co-requisite laboratory components may be used to satisfy a distribution requirement, provided that the student successfully complete both the three-credit-hour course and the single-credit-hour lab component.

Learning Outcomes

1. Student will be able to analyze theatre and musical scripts and performances perceptively and evaluate them critically.
2. Student will be able to identify specific repertories and comparative standards of production quality.
3. Student will be able to demonstrate a working knowledge of technologies and tools applicable to musical theatre acting, dance and vocal technique.
4. Students will be able to demonstrate achievement of professional, entry-level competence in the genre of musical theatre performance