College of Fine Arts and Communication
Theatre Arts (BA/BFA)
Program Purpose
The School of Theatre and Dance strives to give students education and professional training in theatre and dance and to offer professional quality theatrical production for the University community and the greater community of eastern North Carolina. The School has a strong commitment to maintaining an under-graduate-only program in accordance with the University's intent to demonstrate excellence in undergraduate education, offering undergraduate students unusual opportunities in performance and production. To that end we offer Bachelor of Fine Arts degree programs in Theatre Arts and Dance with concentrations in acting, design-production, musical theatre, stage management and a variety of dance forms. Our BFA graduates are expected upon graduation to be able to compete successfully for work in the highly competitive professional arena.
In addition, the School prepares teachers of theatre arts and dance for the public school system through the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree programs in Theatre Education and Dance Education. For the student interested in a traditional liberal arts program in theatre, we offer the Bachelor of Arts degree in theatre arts. For the educational enrichment of the non-major undergraduate student, the School provides many opportunities for cultural and academic growth both through course-work and theatrical production open to all students. The School has artistic and producing responsibility for the East Carolina University/Loessin Playhouse, the East Carolina Dance Theatre and the ECU/Loessin Summer Theatre. Each is recognized as an element of distinction for the University as one of the academic and public programs.
The BFA in Theatre Arts program specifically prepares students to compete successfully for work in the highly competitive professional arenas of acting, design-production, musical theatre, and stage management.
Learning Outcomes
Acting
Students will honestly portray characters appropriate to the text and given circumstances, and will develop interpretation skills suitable to the style of the text.
Design and Production
Students apply knowledge and skills relating to the theory and practice of scene design and construction, costume design and construction, and lighting design and implementation and will apply these skills into the design and/or technical implementation of realized productions.
Design and Production Construction
Students in the THEA 2001 or THEA 2002 will have the ability to use tools in order to build a flat used for scenery.
Professional Behavior
Students in the BFA in Theatre Arts will demonstrate professional behavior in rehearsals and on crews.
Stage Combat
Students perform specific stage combat moves safely and believably as part of their overall stage combat training.
Stage Scenery
Students in the THEA 2001 Stage Scenery class will have the ability to use tools in order to build a flat used for scenery.
Students' Voices
Students work to improve their voices and to lessen the amount vocal fry, nasality, and glottal attacks in their voices.
The Leadership University (Leadership Principles)
Applies leadership principles relevant to the chosen discipline.
Theatre History/Literature/Play Analysis
Students will study the history surrounding a period of theatre, examine the impact of that history on the dramatic literature of the era, and discover its application to “style” in production: i.e., the acting, design, dramaturgy, and production techniques and trends.