Degree: B.F.A., Performing Arts
Department of Theatre and Dance
The B.F.A. in Performing Arts with majors in acting, musical theatre, stage management and theatre design/technology, offers focused pre-professional training coupled with a strong foundation in the liberal arts. Academic, classroom, and studio work are coupled with production experiences to build technical skills in the area of specialty, as well as in collaboration, critical thinking, problem solving, organization, and management.
Students will work in a facility with a proscenium theatre and a studio theatre supported by cutting edge audio, lighting, communications, and rigging systems. Production spaces include a scene shop, costume shop, rehearsal studios, dance studios, wig room, dressing rooms, wardrobe, CAD studio, vocal studios, reading room, faculty, staff, production, arts administration, and stage management offices, along with ample public gathering spaces.
UMW Theatre has an impressive record of producing plays and musicals with impressive production values. Recent productions have included Roald Dahl’s Matilda, Men on Boats, The Play That Goes Wrong, Twelfth Night, The Rocky Horror Show, Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Fun Home, and Julius Caesar.
Student Learning Outcomes
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Students will develop of a broad-based knowledge of theatre history, theory, and literature.
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Students will acquire a facility with the tools and techniques of creating scenery, lighting, and props in the process of creating a theatre production.
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Students will understand the unique challenges and opportunities of working in the professional theatre as they connect classroom and practical experiences to build a portfolio of proficiencies that transition to life after Mary Washington.
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Students will engage the art and craft of creating theatre to share with an audience.
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Students will prove the capacity to work independently on a culminating project in theatre and the ability to frame an informed and articulate opinion of the process and result.
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Students will demonstrate the ability to physicalize and perform text, including understanding the role of action, listening, focus, vulnerability, and truth in the world of the play.
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Students will analyze characters from a wide variety of periods, styles, and genres with a deep understanding of how political, social, and cultural contexts affect their choices and actions.
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Students will build a flexible, strong voice and the ability to use that voice healthfully, expressively, and effectively as vital tool of a character’s life.
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Students will prove the ability to learn and perform dialects.
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Students will build a strong, flexible, body that is capable of expressing effectively and healthfully the physical life of a character.
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Students will understand and perform in a wide variety of period styles.
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Students will operate with a deep understanding of professionalism, including, attitude, discipline, a strong work ethic, time management skills, preparation, focus, and a commitment to courtesy, respect, and the collaborative nature of theatre.
Major Requirements
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| THEA 131 | Technical Production | 4 |
| THEA 240 | Stage Makeup | 3 |
| THEA 318 | Stage Dialects | 3 |
| THEA 411 | Acting Styles | 4 |
| THEA 362 | Theatre History and Literature | 3 |
| THEA 400 | Professional Identity and Practice | 1 |
| THEA 482 | Senior Project | 3 |
| THEA 390 | Theatre Practicum 1 | 6 |
| Additional two credits from: | 2 | |
| Class Voice I | ||
| Class Voice II | ||
| Private Voice | ||
| Advanced Private Voice | ||
| Additional four credits from: | 4 | |
| Beginning Ballet | ||
| Beginning Ballet | ||
| Beginning Modern Dance | ||
| Beginning Modern Dance | ||
| Beginning Jazz | ||
| Beginning Jazz | ||
| Dance Improvisation | ||
| Intermediate Ballet | ||
| Intermediate Ballet | ||
| Intermediate Modern Dance | ||
| Intermediate Modern Dance | ||
| Intermediate Jazz | ||
| Intermediate Jazz | ||
| Broadway Jazz | ||
| Additional three credits from: | 3 | |
| Stage Combat | ||
| Rapier and Dagger | ||
| Additional six credits from: | 6 | |
| Dramatic Literature | ||
| Dramatic Literature | ||
| Special Studies in Theatre | ||
| Special Studies in Theatre | ||
| Stage Management | ||
| Principles of Arts Administration | ||
| Directing I | ||
| Lighting Design | ||
| Scene Design | ||
| Ideas in Performance | ||
| Costume Design | ||
| Special Studies in Theatre | ||
| Special Studies in Theatre | ||
| Individual Study | ||
| Individual Study | ||
| Internship | ||
| Total Credits | 42 | |
- 1
All majors are required to enroll in Theatre Practicum each semester except during the semester of the Senior Project; students may count eight practicum credits toward graduation. Six of those credits count toward the major.
General Education Requirements
The general education requirements for Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Fine Arts/Bachelor of Science degrees apply to all students who are seeking to earn an undergraduate B.A., B.F.A., B.S. or B.S.Ed. degree.
Students seeking a Bachelor of Liberal Studies degree have a separate set of B.L.S general education requirements.
Electives
Elective courses are those that are not needed to fulfill a general education requirement or major program requirement but are chosen by the student to complete the 120 credits required for graduation with a B.A./B.F.A./B.S./B.S.Ed. degree or the B.L.S. degree. These courses may be taken graded or pass/fail (or S/U in the case of physical education and 100-level dance). No student in a regular B.A./B.F.A./B.S./B.S.Ed. program may count more than 60 credits in a single discipline toward the 120 credits required for graduation.
Total Credits Required for the Degree: 120 credits
Plan of Study
This suggested plan of study should serve as a guide to assist students when planning their course selections. It is not a substitute for a student's Degree Evaluation or the Program Requirements listed for this major in the catalog. Academic planning is the student's responsibility, and course selections should be finalized only after speaking with an advisor. Students should familiarize themselves with the catalog in effect at the time they matriculated at the University of Mary Washington. Students should also familiarize themselves with general education requirements which can be fulfilled through general electives as well as major/minor course requirements. Course requirements and sequencing may vary with AP, IB, CLEP, Cambridge or previous coursework, transfer courses, or other conditions. To be considered full-time, an undergraduate student must be enrolled in 12 or more credits for the semester.
| Freshman | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall | Credits | |
| FSEM 100 | First-Year Seminar | 3 |
| THEA 321 | Acting I | 4 |
| THEA 390 | Theatre Practicum | 1 |
| General Education Courses | 7 | |
| Credits | 15 | |
| Spring | ||
| THEA 240 | Stage Makeup 1 | 3 |
| THEA 322 | Acting II | 4 |
| THEA 390 | Theatre Practicum | 1 |
| General Education Courses | 7 | |
| Credits | 15 | |
| Sophomore | ||
| Fall | ||
| THEA 218 | Voice and Body Movement | 4 |
| THEA 390 | Theatre Practicum | 1 |
| Program Electives | 3 | |
| General Education Courses | 7 | |
| Credits | 15 | |
| Spring | ||
| THEA 318 | Stage Dialects 2 | 3 |
| THEA 390 | Theatre Practicum | 1 |
| Program Electives | 3 | |
| General Education Courses or Electives | 8 | |
| Credits | 15 | |
| Junior | ||
| Fall | ||
| THEA 361 | Theatre History and Literature | 3 |
| THEA 390 | Theatre Practicum | 1 |
| THEA 411 | Acting Styles 2 | 4 |
| General Electives | 6 | |
| Credits | 14 | |
| Spring | ||
| THEA 362 | Theatre History and Literature | 3 |
| THEA 390 | Theatre Practicum | 1 |
| Program Electives | 3 | |
| General Electives | 9 | |
| Credits | 16 | |
| Senior | ||
| Fall | ||
| THEA 131 | Technical Production 3 | 4 |
| THEA 400 | Professional Identity and Practice | 1 |
| Program Electives | 3 | |
| General Electives | 7 | |
| Credits | 15 | |
| Spring | ||
| THEA 482 | Senior Project 4 | 3 |
| Program Electives | 3 | |
| General Electives | 9 | |
| Credits | 15 | |
| Total Credits | 120 | |
- 1
Offered in alternating years. Students should take this course in the first two years of the program.
- 2
Offered in a rotating sequence. May be taken in any semester in which it is offered.
- 3
May be taken in any semester.
- 4
May be taken in fall or spring of senior year.