The bachelor of arts (B.A.) major program in theater arts is designed for those students seeking a liberal arts education.  The program is intended to provide an excellent generalized background in theater.  Students who wish to specialize in acting, design, or productions should consider auditioning/interviewing to be a bachelor of fine arts (B.F.A) theater major.  There are several opportunities for study abroad in university-sponsored programs.  Please see Mason Gross School of the Arts admission information.  Casting and directing opportunities are available with the several extracurricular theater organizations on campus: the Cabaret Theater (Douglass), the College Avenue Players (Rutgers), and the Livingston Theater Company (Livingston).  Casting in departmental productions is restricted to B.F.A. and M.F.A. acting students.

Major Requirements

Students who are considering the major should take 07:965:211 Theater Appreciation and 07:965:271 Basic Acting or 07:965:215 Scenic Art as a means to explore potential aptitude for the field.  B.A. theater majors should complete courses in 07:966:215-216 Scenic Art, 07:965:311-312 Theater History, and 07:966:123 Theater Practice (repeatedly) by the end of the junior year, since they are required of all majors and are prerequisites for most advanced theater courses.  It is important to complete theater practice prior to senior year.

Scenic Art and Theater History are both two-term courses, which must be taken in sequence, beginning in the fall term.  Both courses are offered during Summer Session.

Theater arts majors in the B.A. program are required to take a minimum of 47 credits, distributed as follows:

1. 15 credits in academic courses:  07:965:311-312 Theater History (3,3); 3 credits in either 07:965:398 Basic Theater Texts (3) or 07:065:211 Theater Appreciation (3), 07:966:364 Theater Management (3), and –7:965:401 Theater Criticism (3);
2. 10 credits in physical theater:  07:966:215-216 Scenic Art (3,3), 07:966:123 Theater Practice (2,2);
3. 1 credit in 07:965:390 Theater Horizons;
4. 6 credits in performance (acting and/or directing);
5. 6 credits in 07:965:491-492 Project Work or 07:965:396 Internship (BA) (fro example, a year of study or performance in children’s theater ensemble or an internship with a professional theater organization).  Approved study abroad credits may be substituted.  All credits in this category must be planned and supervised with the B.A. theater arts adviser.
6. 9 credits in theater arts electives

Theater arts students should take correlative courses in dramatic literature (modern drama, Shakespeare) as well as courses in art, dance, and music history and appreciation.

Minor Requirements

The minor in theater arts requires 18 credits.  07:965:311-312 Theater History (3,3) and 07:966:215-216 Scenic Art (3,3) are required coursed.  In addition, theater arts minors take 6 credits in theater arts electives.  B.A. advisers in theater arts must be consulted for approval of elective selections.  Theater arts minors who are declaring n the senior year must pre-register for classes to ensure availability; space is limited.

Scenic Art and Theater History are both two-term courses that must be taken in sequence, beginning in the fall term.  Both courses are offered during the Summer Session.

Departmental Honors Program

A student in the theater arts major qualifies as a candidate for departmental honors after meeting several requirements at the time the proposal for candidacy is submitted, the student must have a cumulative grade-point-average of 3.5 or better in the major; the student must submit to their B.A. adviser a project proposal that has the sanction of one member of the department who has agreed to serve as a mentor.  The project may take the form of a paper in theater history; or aesthetics and criticism; or may be a creative work in areas of acting and directing design, or playwriting.

The candidate whose proposal is accepted must enroll in 07:965:493, and honors seminar, and 07:965:494, the thesis project.  This project must be completed by May 1 and is judged by the student’s mentor and two other faculty members who determine whether the student’s work merits high honors, or no honors.