Theatre Arts

The Department of Theatre Arts is dedicated to the highest standards of excellence in both its academic and its performance/technical theatre programs. Its energies are committed to fostering student creativity in all areas of theatre-design, performance, directing and management-and to helping students gain better insights into themselves and the world around them. The theatre arts program has been a vital and important part of the curriculum and student activities at North Dakota State University for more than 90 years. The program is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Theatre.

The Curriculum

The department offers three undergraduate degree programs in theatre. Each is flexible and can be designed to fit the individual student's career goals:

(1) The Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in theatre arts is a general baccalaureate degree built around a traditional liberal arts curriculum. Within the major field itself, courses are required in technical theatre, performing and directing, as well as in literature, theatre history and modern language. The B.A. program requires proficiency of a foreign language at the second year level.

(2) The Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree is an alternative to the B.A. The program for the B.S. is identical to that for the B.A., except that the B.S. requires a minor in an approved field, whereas the B.A. requires two years' proficiency of a foreign language.

(3) The Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.) is a professionally-oriented degree track which places primary emphasis on performance and studio activity, while also requiring a high level of involvement in the academic curriculum. It can be entered only by faculty permission. This degree track broadens the student's exposure to his or her field, and considerable study is made of other fine art fields as well.

Admission to the B.F.A. degree program in theatre requires consistent involvement in Little Country Theatre productions and projects, and demands a high level of commitment on the part of the student.

The Program

The department's official producing arm, the Little Country Theatre (LCT), is a laboratory for learning, in which imaginative play and disciplined work are fused in dramatic creations. A high degree of professionalism is consistently displayed. There are two major production programs of the Little Country Theatre:

(1) Main Stage Productions -- Three or four plays are produced each school year. These productions range from modern musicals such as The Secret Garden and The Music Man to classic comedies such as Tartuffe and The Rivals, including contemporary and ancient plays of the widest variety. Production seasons are chosen according to a four year style-rotation cycle. This ensures that during the course of his or her undergraduate career, the student will have the opportunity to acquire first-hand knowledge of all major performance styles in the Western theatrical tradition.

(2) Walsh Studio Theatre Productions -- In Walsh Studio numerous dramatic activities take place on a flexible schedule. There are showcase productions for B.F.A. candidates, and for student acting or directing projects.

In addition, the department participates regularly in the American College Theatre Festival (ACTF), inviting ACTF respondents to evaluate main stage productions and nominate students to compete for national scholarships

The Facilities

Theatre arts students presently study, work and create on two stages situated in Askanase Hall:

(1) Askanase Auditorium (the main stage), a 380-seat theatre with continental seating, and

(2) the Walsh Studio Theatre, a flexible studio-lab black box space.

In addition, Askanase Hall contains theatre classrooms, costume, scene and property shops. The 1,000-seat Festival Concert Hall, in the Reineke Fine Arts Center, is used for major musical stage productions.

Career Opportunities

Theatre training develops and exercises the creative imagination. Our graduates have found a rich variety of professions. Several former students have gone on to earn M.A., M.F.A., or Ph.D. degrees in theatre and related fields and now teach in colleges and universities, community colleges and high schools. Other graduates of our program work in arts management, technical theatre and technical consulting, as well as in community theatre, semi-professional repertory companies, professional theatre and commercial radio and television.

Scholarships

A number of scholarships in theatre arts are available for students both in performance and technical emphasis. Several scholarships are available to incoming freshmen. Contact the Office of Admission for general new student scholarships and the Division of Fine Arts for theatre scholarships. Both a student's academic record and his or her level of achievement in the production program are criteria used in awarding these scholarships. Active participation in the NDSU theatre arts program is expected of all scholarship recipients.

Contact Information

Coordinator of Theatre Arts
North Dakota State University
Division of Fine Arts - Music Education Bldg. 115
Fargo, ND 58105

Tel: (701) 231-7932
Fax: (701) 231-2085
Email:EJ.Miller@ndsu.edu
Web: http://www.ndsu.edu/finearts

Office of Admission

North Dakota State University
124 Ceres Hall
Fargo, ND 58105

Tel: (701) 231-8643
Fax: (701) 231-8802
Email: NDSU.Admission@ndsu.edu
Web: http://www.ndsu.edu/prospective/students/

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