Theatre Major

Pursue your passion and prepare for a career in theatre.

Pursue your passion for theatre while learning marketable skills and getting hands-on production experience.

The Theatre Major will prepare you for a career in live theatre production and its associated industries or for advanced graduate education. You will study theatre history, acting, design, technology, dramaturgy, and stage management, with emphasis on the practical techniques and critical analysis necessary for creating successful stage productions. During Worcester State’s production season, you will get exposure to a range of styles and genres with a portfolio of productions selected to provide opportunities to a diversity of students and to produce work that is relevant to the community and that fires the imagination.

WHAT YOU WILL DO

Take a broad range of courses in theatre arts
Develop your skills with practical work in Worcester State’s scene and costume shops
Choose from a wide range of electives, including Theatre for Young Audiences, Stage Combat, and Directing
Complete a senior thesis project in the area you are most interested in: scene or costume design, lighting and sound technology, dramaturgy, acting, or directing
Make real-world decisions in play selection, casting, rehearsing, designing, and mounting by participating in Worcester State’s student theatre club, Almost Off Book
Participate in Worcester State’s theatrical productions, shows featuring diverse styles that range from comedy to drama to tragedy

Explore sample courses in this program.

TH-126 Script Analysis

Script analysis for theatre artists. How to take a script from initial reading to production.

3 credits

TH-145 Acting I

Introductory acting theory and practice. Students present brief monologues and scenes in class.

3 credits

TH-155 First-Year Theatre Practicum

Practical work in theatre production for first-year students.

1 credit

TH-175 Introduction to Stagecraft

An introductory class to major types of stagecraft for live theatre. Students learn in formal classes and in 30 hours of scheduled laboratories about set construction, costume construction, and lighting technology. Students learn the vocabulary of technical theatre and learn geometric and mathematical methods required for each of the 3 main areas covered.

3 credits

TH-235 History of Theatre

Survey of world theatre including from its ritual origins through the classical era, medieval era, the Renaissance, the Restoration, and the modernist revolution to the present day. This global approach includes historical examples from Europe, Africa, Asia, North America, and South America.

3 credits

TH-263 Concepts of Theatre Design

This is a fundamental design course for live theatre, but also applies to other design fields. Drawing, both freehand and digital, is studied. Students learn the elements and principles of design and how to apply them to scenic, costume, and lighting design as well as other modes of 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional art. Additive and subtractive color theory are covered. Students learn the specialized language of design and study how to approach the 3 areas of design aforementioned.

3 credits

TH-274 Stage Management

An introduction to the craft of stage management focusing on the techniques, responsibilities, and duties necessary to manage both rehearsals and performances.

3 credits

TH-455 Theatre Capstone

Theatre students create a senior thesis project/capstone in acting, directing, design, playwriting, craft, or dramaturgy, chosen in consultation with a faculty advisor and demonstrating the skills learned in their studies. The capstone may be part of a mainstage production or a student-generated project. Each capstone project is accompanied by a written analysis showing their research or full documentation of their process.

3 credits

TH-246 Voice and Movement

Training to strengthen the natural voice, develop diction, learn period movement, and develop spatial awareness on and off stage.

3 credits

TH-290 Theatre for Young Audiences

Organization of children’s theatre, script selection, visual design, rehearsal, and performance. Investigation of creative drama as a teaching tool in elementary education.

3 credits

TH-292 Applied Theatre and Community Engagement

Principles and techniques of leading improvised dramatic activities with children and adults. Involves sensory awareness, imagination, movement, and story dramatizations.

3 credits

TH-348 Stage Combat

Training in armed and unarmed combat for the stage. Emphasis is placed on safety in the choreography of stage fighting.

3 credits

Meet the Arts Faculty

Rob Brandon

Adjunct Music Faculty

I began playing music in 1995 when he was six years old. I studied piano for six years at Indian Hill Music School in Littleton, Massachusetts and switched to drum set when I was 12 years old. [...]

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Sam O’Connell

Department Chair, Visual and Performing Arts

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Carlos Odria

Assistant Professor of Music and Interdisciplinary Arts

Carlos Odria, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Music and Interdisciplinary Arts in WSU’s Visual and Performing Arts Department. In this role, Odria offers WSU students his expertise in modern guitar performance, world music, jazz, and [...]

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Stacey Parker

Professor of Fine Art, Mary Cosgrove Dolphin Gallery Director

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Adam Zahler

Professor of Theatre

Adam Zahler served as founding Artistic Director of Second Stage and The Open Stage in Vermont, and interim co-Artistic Director of Vermont Repertory Theater. In the Boston area, he was Producing Associate at New Repertory Theatre. As a stage [...]

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Bellalorraine Carey-Hicks, English & Theatre Student at Worcester State

I feel like I get a lot more out of my English degree through my Theater degree. They are two very different ways of looking at texts, but between the two of them, you end up with a more in-depth experience.

— Bellalorraine Carey-Hicks, Theatre

Portrait of VPA student at Worcester State Emily-Cawley

My Senior Capstone art project on dog breed discrimination allowed me to use my art not simply for enjoyment but to challenge a topic that is near and dear to my heart. After graduation, I want to make art that forces people to think about the world around them and inspire them to change their perspective.

— Emily Cawley, Visual Art

Ziliang Jin performs with Worcester State VPA's guitar ensemble at the Spring 2022 Mosaic of Music

Private lessons and improvisation classes gave me the opportunity to build up tunes of my own personal style. I had the opportunity to participate in multiple ensembles - Chamber Orchestra, WSU Jazz, African Drumming, and the Guitar Ensemble. I had so many great memories with professors and friends.

— Ziliang Jin, Music

Worcester State students Brighid Campbell and Angel Sotomayor perform in "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead" theatre production in Spring 2022

The health of a community can be seen in the vitality of its arts community. Even during the most isolating times in the pandemic, faculty, students, and staff in the Department of Visual and Performing Arts worked tirelessly to bring dearly needed creative expression and performance to the university community and the community at large.

— Russ Pottle, Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences

91�첥 chorale members return to in-person performance in Sullivan Auditorium during the Spring 2022 Semester

Now, with programming expanded through new majors in Art and Theatre and a new scope of possibilities in Music, the department has so much more to offer students in their educational experiences and to offer to our university and larger communities. I’m really looking forward to seeing how things develop over the next years.

— Russ Pottle, Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences

A woman in a polka dot dress, part of the Visual & Performing Arts program, holds a mirror and flowers while face painting a young boy sitting in front of her outdoors.

VPA at Worcester State helped me to explore, develop, and express my creative talents in all areas of the arts. Each concentration directly influenced my decision to create this business. I am thankful for each of the classes and, of course, the performances!

— Christine Begin '13, owner of Christine's Creative Co, a local children's and family entertainment company