Performance Emphasis
Majoring in Theatre Arts at Bloomsburg University
Why choose a Performance Emphasis?
The Performance emphasis prepares graduates to pursue further studies as an actor or director.
Acting and directing classes are small, almost always with 16 or fewer students, so you’ll
get lots of one-on-one instruction. The curriculum offers a sequence of courses that will guide
you to augment your own abilities by examining and applying techniques and methods of past
and current masters. With these explorations, you will be encouraged to develop independently
as a critical thinker and risk-taker and as a collaborative creative artist.
Production is an integral part of all BU theatre arts major programs. Auditions are open to
all Bloomsburg University students, and all performance emphasis students are expected to
audition throughout the year. There are a variety of performance opportunities including:
mainstage productions, student directing projects, independent projects, special events such as VDay and Taste of the Arts. Mainstage productions are presented in the Alvina Krause Theatre, a
350-seat venue located in downtown Bloomsburg, and in the Theatre Lab. We also perform at
the Moose Exchange downtown, Carver Hall and other venues.
As a theatre arts major, the faculty is dedicated to your total development as a theatre artist.
You’ll participate in a broad range of production activities: costumes, scenery, lights, etc., in
addition to your activities as an actor and director. The faculty believes strongly that such
activity adds greatly to what you have to offer the field of theatre.
All theatre arts majors engage in a core curriculum that introduces and investigates theories and
history of theatre and dramatic literature providing a solid background for advanced studies in
the your area of emphasis. It also provides a vehicle for planning and assessing your progress as
an artist. (See the reverse of this page for a list of the core requirements.)
We have an ongoing collaborative relationship with the Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble, a
professional theatre company whose home is the Alvina Krause Theatre. We regularly jointly
produce plays, giving student actors the chance to rehearse and perform with full time
professional actors. Members of the Ensemble frequently teach classes to our students, mentor
student productions and support the BU productions by attending as audience members. You’ll
get to know them, and they’ll get to know you.
Our graduates are successful. Bloomsburg University Theatre graduates with a Performance
Emphasis are acting in such high-profile places like Network Television, Broadway, OffBroadway, and Hollywood. Others are working throughout the country: Philadelphia, Chicago,
San Francisco, in large companies and small. Some are doing original work. Some have their
own companies. Some are on the road, touring. Some are teaching. And some have pursued
other lines of work. A performance emphasis at Bloomsburg University prepares you for a wide
variety of options.
For questions about the Performance Emphasis, contact David A. Miller, Assistant Professor of
Acting, Directing and Playwriting at dmiller@bloomu.edu.
Performance Emphasis Requirements
Theatre Arts Major
Performance Emphasis
Core Requirements
Theatre
Theatre
Theatre
Theatre
Theatre
Theatre
Theatre
Theatre
Theatre
Theatre
Theatre
101
102
112
202
215
270
325
401
416
100
108
Career Seminar: A Theatre Life
Introduction to Theatre
Fundamentals of Acting
Script Analysis
Theatre History 1
Fundamentals of Design
History of Theatre 2
Career Seminar: A Life in Theatre
Modern Theatre
Theatre Forum (every semester)
Theatre Practicum (4 credits min.)
1
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
3
Performance Emphasis Course Requirements
Theatre
Theatre
Theatre
Theatre
Theatre
Theatre
200
312
411
412
492
Dance
Music
297
Voice & Movement
Intermediate Acting
Play Directing
Advanced Acting
Seminar in Performance
Costume Construction, Production, or
any of the Design Tech courses
A dance course from the following:
Beginning Jazz/Ballet
Intermediate Ballet
Beginning/Intermediate Modern
Intermediate Jazz
Class Voice
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
Recommended General Education Credits from Other Departments
Comm
English
English
Art
Music
Anthro
Public Speaking
Shakespeare
Modern Drama
Introduction to Art
Music Listening
Principles of Cultural Anthropology
For Bloomsburg University General Education requirements and for the current requirements
for the Theatre Division, please consult the Bloomsburg University website:
http://www.bloomu.edu/catalog/current/cola/com_the_ba.php