Get Your Theatre Career off to a Fast Start
If you love theatre, UNC’s Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Studies offers you intensive preparation for a career in the industry. This well-rounded degree offers a practical, hands-on training in the entrepreneurial aspects of theatre production. If you’re seeking a career as a theatre writer, director, producer or promoter, our theatre studies degree can help you develop the skills and knowledge you need to enter the work force or go on to graduate school.
As one of the nation’s premier theatre programs, UNC provides you with unique opportunities. You’ll work with exceptional faculty who are active in the theatre industry and have broad professional networks. We stage more than 30 shows a year, enabling you to gain first-hand experience in performance, marketing, promotion, public relations and many other roles. You can also write or direct a play that gets produced on campus. Above all, you’ll belong to a passionate theatre community of first-rate performers, educators, professionals and technical crew.
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Degree Option
B.A. in Theatre Studies
Our theatre studies bachelor’s degree offers top-notch preparation whether you’re seeking a graduate degree or immediate employment after graduation. Students commonly pair the theatre studies degree with a minor (or second major) in a business-oriented degree or a liberal arts degree such as English or journalism. UNC also offers an arts entrepreneurship certificate that emphasizes skills such as business planning, marketing, and promotion.
Related Programs
Your Future in Theatre Studies
UNC’s program excels in career preparation. You’ll build practical, marketable skills and experience that help you get noticed by employers. UNC’s extensive faculty and alumni networks can provide you with valuable connections and professional opportunities to help you get established. In addition, our Arts Entrepreneurship certificate prepares you to launch your own business in the theatre industry. Our theatre studies graduates have an outstanding track record of career success in this highly competitive industry.
Consider UNC's B.A. in Theatre Studies if you want to:
- Work in the theatre industry as a writer, director, producer, or promoter
- Become an entrepreneur in the theatre industry
- Work with passionate, industry-connected faculty
- Belong to one of the nation’s best on-campus theatre arts communities
- Pair theatre studies with a second major in business or liberal arts
You’ll learn:
- Business aspects of theatrical production, including house management, promotion, sales and marketing
- Playwriting and direction
- Organizational leadership and collaboration
- Entrepreneurship and self-promotion
- Performance
Sample courses:
- Playwriting
- Dramaturgy
- Stage Management for Theatre
- Seminar in Theatre Arts Management
FACULTY SPOTLIGHT
David Grapes
Producing Artistic Director, Little Theatre of the Rockies
Actor, director, producer, playwright, promoter, photographer, muse---David Grapes has been all of those things at one time or another during his 30-year career in the theatre. He also served as leader of 3D Productions, a commercial bus and truck touring company that produced Broadway shows.
Grapes combines an undying enthusiasm for theatre with an adventuresome streak. His creations include a tribute to Frank Sinatra (My Way), a film noir version of Dracula (The Case of the Silver Scream), and a musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night (Gunfight at the Illyria Corral).
A native of Parkersburg, West Virginia, Grapes has guest-directed productions at venues all over the country. His recent directing credits include shows at Denver Theatre Center Attractions, Asolo Theatre, Arkansas Repertory Theatre, American Stage Company, Flatrock Playhouse, Little Theatre on the Square, Muhlenburg Summer Theatre and Dollywood. He is a member of Actor’s Equity, the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, and the Dramatists’ Guild of America.
Beyond the Classroom
With about 30 productions annually, you’ll have exceptional opportunities to gain first-hand experience. Explore all aspects of the theatre industry and acquire practical skills that help you stand out in the job market. In addition, UNC hosts one of the nation’s premier summer stock companies, Little Theatre of the Rockies, where you can work alongside professional actors, directors and technical crew.
Where can your degree take you?
- Theatre management
- Business and marketing careers in the theatre industry
- Playwriting
- Directing
- Graduate School
- Entrepreneurship in the arts
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