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Bachelor of Arts

It is the belief of AU theatre faculty that the best theatre artists develop through intensive training in a specialty combined with knowledge in all areas of theatre. In the core theatre classes, students will explore theatre history, performance elements, and literature. In professional quality productions and in concentration-specific classes, students will learn and develop the skills needed for a career in theatre or nearly any field. As students progress through the program, faculty will work collaboratively with them to prepare for graduate study, entrance into the world of theatre, and/or toward any career goals that could be enhanced with theatre training. 

On stage, students are provided the opportunity to be actively involved in high caliber productions and work directly with professional directors, designers, and other theatre artists. 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 activities, such as student productions, collaborations with other programs, and special events on campus. A student’s activity level is only limited by their desire to be involved. 

Many theatre graduates pursue careers in theatre, television, and film. Others find that with the combination of theatre studies and a solid liberal arts education, they are prepared to pursue careers in a variety of fields including law, teaching, business, performance coaching, sales, and marketing. The theatre major and minor are also designed to be easily combined with many other majors to meet the needs of many different career goals. Commonly, theatre is combined with business, communication, English, history, and music. 

Theatre students must be actively involved in productions presented by the department. Each 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 audition monologues or portfolios. 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 review as a final step toward future employment. 

Program Requirements

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
Required Core Courses
THE-1300	Introduction to Acting	4
THE-1500	Stagecraft I	4
THE-2210	Play Analysis	4
THE-3600	History of Theatre: Antiquity to Renaissance	4
THE-3610	History of Theatre: Restoration to Present	4
THE-3310	Directing	4
THE-4900	Senior Capstone Preparation	1
THE-4990	Senior Capstone Project	3
Selected Courses
Select 12 semester hours of the following:		12
ART-2100	Introduction to Drawing
THE-1310	Improvisation
THE-2300	Scene Study for the Actor
THE-2310	Voice and Movement for the Actor
THE-2510	Design for the Stage
THE-2630	Latinx Theatre
THE-3300	Classical Acting
THE-3500	Scenic Design
THE-3520	Costume Design
THE-3525	Lighting Design
THE-3550	Stage Management
THE-4500	Advanced Study in Design or Technical Theatre
Total Credits		40

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. Students will critically analyze and interpret theatrical texts and performances.
2. Students will demonstrate knowledge of theatre history and literature. 
3. Students will develop and apply specific theatrical skills (including collaborative, technical, artistic, and analytical) in the theatrical process (classroom, rehearsal, and/or production).