The theater major is a preprofessional program that prepares students for careers or graduate studies in areas such as theater production and administration, theater education and drama therapy. The program is distinctive in its applied focus.
Each student majoring in theater is strongly encouraged to pursue a secondary program in a specified area, such as education (the courses required by the MAT program), sociology, psychology, political science or history (studies to support the emphasis in community and theater), business or communication (to augment a focus in theater administration) or media production (to augment a focus in theater production).
Students are required to complete an internship during their junior or senior year of study. Possible internship sites include the Long Wharf Theatre, the Elm Shakespeare Company, Hartford Stage and other professional theaters in the New York area (for theater production, administration and educational theater), the West Haven VA Hospital, the Clifford Beers Institute and the Long Wharf (theater and community) and area elementary and secondary schools (educational theater). The BA in theater allows students to explore their interests in performance areas (acting, directing, playwriting) while gaining the education and work experience to secure employment or to pursue graduate training upon graduation.
Quinnipiac’s Theater for Community immerses drama students in all aspects of theater—from acting and directing to lighting and stage design. The program creates productions designed to enlighten, heal and bring about change. The performances raise provocative questions that engage the performers as well as the audience.
From the beginning, students are involved in a different kind of theatrical experience, researching the underlying issues and talking to key players—those whose experiences mimic those of the characters.
The program and productions have received praise for their professional quality and artistic integrity. Theater for Community recently received the Region 1 Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival Award for Social Impact.
The theater program produces four mainstage productions a year. In addition, the student theater group, Fourth Wall Theater, produces staged readings, workshops and student-directed productions.
Guest Artists
The theater program has brought distinguished theater artists to candidly discuss their work and interact with drama students. Past guests have included:
- Anna Deavere Smith, playwright and actress
- Tim Robbins, actor and director
- Tina Howe, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright
- Joan Schirle, co-artistic director of Dell’Arte Company
- Dael Orlandersmith, actress and author of "Yellowman"
For more information, please contact Crystal Brian, professor of theater, at 203-582-8394 or crystal.brian@quinnipiac.edu.
