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The Acting Program At...

The Baylor University Department of Theatre Arts is an elite program combining an excellent liberal arts education with rigorous training in both academic and artistic fields of theatre study. The department is ranked among the top 20 undergraduate theatre programs in the United States and is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Theatre.

The Department of Theatre Arts at Baylor is a dynamic and intensive program with academically and professionally engaged professors, an active production season, and a busy schedule of workshops, guest artists, and special events. We hope that you will want to be a part of the work we do.

Academics
Maintaining a cap enrollment of 125 undergraduate majors, and a select group of graduate directing students, the department provides small, focused classes, and ample opportunities to excel in areas including acting, design, direction, dance, management and craftsmanship.  Prospective students are accepted through an audition/interview process. Students may direct their studies through a selection of degrees and elective courses offered, but all students are grounded in a holistic theatre education with required courses in theatre history, literature, performance, and a full range of hands-on technical elements. Courses are also available in specialized areas such as playwriting, stage combat, and acting for the camera.  The following Theatre Arts degrees are offered: the Bachelor of Arts in Theatre, the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Performance, the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Design, and the Master of Fine Arts in Directing.

Productions
The department produces five mainstage plays and two to three summer graduate plays each year in which students perform and fill a variety of production positions. These plays include at least one musical theatre offering each year and a range of contemporary and period pieces.  A weekly workshop, attended by the entire department, provides another showcase for student work, one which often encourages artistic risk and exploration.  The mainstage production season is accompanied by the Baylor Theatre Lecture Series, in which invited guests provide an interpretative view of each play through interdisciplinary history and criticism.