Department of Theatre

For more information on degree offerings by the faculty of theatre, visit the Department of Theatre webpage.

The Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)  degree in theatre and the Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)  degree in musical theatre offer a core curriculum supporting the collaborative process essential to the living theatre. In consultation with a department adviser, theatre students choose courses leading to a general  education in theatre or an emphasis within the art form. The student may audition for acceptance into an area of specialization at the end of the spring semester of their freshman year. Areas of specialization are acting, musical theatre, design/technical theatre, stage management, playwriting, history and literature, and directing. The theatre student is expected to participate fully in the production aspects of the theatre program as the essential laboratory in which course work is integrated with practice.

The Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)  degree in musical theatre does not require a minor area of study since this degree offers three distinct areas of concentration: acting, music, and dance.

The Department of Theatre offers minors in theatre , musical theatre  , and dance . Permission of the program director is required for all minors. An audition to be admitted to a minor may also be required. Minors are required to audition and participate in production aspects of the program.

The Department of Theatre is located in Kendall Hall which houses two theatres, a CAD design lab, scenery and costume shops, and a dance studio. These facilities enable students to participate fully in traditional and experimental theatrical productions. The third venue of the Department of Theatre, the Lorton Performance Center, contains a state-of-the-art proscenium theatre where musicals, dance concerts, and plays are presented. The focus of the Department focus on an undergraduate program allows the serious theatre student multiple opportunities to be produced, both on the mainstage and in a student-driven studio setting. Students enjoy opportunities to direct, to act in major roles, to stage manage, and to design and produce original works.

The film studies and arts management programs  provide additional opportunities in performance, writing, and design.

Non-majors are also encouraged to participate in theatre productions and to take theatre courses. However, priority for placement is given to majors and minors and space is limited in certain classes.

Theatre and Musical Theatre Mission Statement

• To provide exceptional theatre/musical theatre training, within the strong liberal arts emphasis of the Tulsa curriculum, delivered by an outstanding faculty of teaching-artists recognized for excellence as specialized theatre practitioners. The curriculum requires a core of broadly-based knowledge as well as the mastery of skills, theories, and practical and creative practices of theatre in the study of theatre as a fine and performing art and as a social document; and
• To provide opportunities for growth within the collaborative process of producing theatre and as individual artists/technicians/scholars through small classes, personal attention, mentoring, the development of oral, close-reading and writing skills, increased responsibility, and teamwork. Upon completion of study, the student will be prepared for entry into the profession, further specialized training, or graduate study.

Expected Learning Outcomes

Training in the Department of Theatre promotes students to:

• Develop communication and critical thinking skills
• Develop a working knowledge of all aspects of the profession
• Develop an inquisitiveness and imaginative engagement with the world
• Achieve the tools to develop strong personal aesthetic and a sense of self
• Develop an artistic initiative and risk-taking founded on a passion for creative expression
• Develop social engagement through active contributions to the community.

Programs

• Musical Theatre, B.A.
• Theatre, B.A.

• Dance Minor
• Musical Theatre Minor
• Theatre Minor

Courses

• THEA 0171 Voice for Musical Theatre
• THEA 1011 Introduction to Vocal Style I
• THEA 1013 The Theatre Experience
• THEA 1021 Introduction to Vocal Style II
• THEA 1023 Vocal Usage for the Professions
• THEA 1043 20th-Century American Women Playwrights
• THEA 1053 Improvisation
• THEA 1063 The Broadway Musical in Film
• THEA 1101 Tap I
• THEA 1220 Theatre Production Practicum
• THEA 1223 Theatre Graphics
• THEA 1243 History of Western Clothing and Costume
• THEA 1401 Ballet I
• THEA 1441 Dance Strengthening and Conditioning
• THEA 2013 Survey of Dance in History and Cultures
• THEA 2033 Housewives to Harridans: Images of Women in Drama
• THEA 2093 The Art of Acting
• THEA 2111 Modern Dance I
• THEA 2113 Period Styles and Design Motifs
• THEA 2133 Creative Drama
• THEA 2163 Oral Interpretation
• THEA 2173 Survey of Modern Playwriting
• THEA 2201 Tap II
• THEA 2202 Voice and Movement I
• THEA 2211 Jazz Dance I
• THEA 2213 A Cultural History of Theatre
• THEA 2323 Survey of Dramatic Literature
• THEA 2333 Acting I
• THEA 2341 Costume Technology
• THEA 2351 Stage Technology I
• THEA 2362 Introduction to Scene Painting
• THEA 2383 Introduction to Scripting and Script Analysis
• THEA 2391 Stage Technology II
• THEA 2401 Ballet II
• THEA 2523 Contemporary Women Playwrights
• THEA 2541 Introduction to Stage Makeup
• THEA 2633 Contemporary Plays for Stage and Screen
• THEA 3011 Stage Management
• THEA 3021 Stage Management Practicum
• THEA 3023 The Classical Theatre
• THEA 3031 Advanced Dance Repertory
• THEA 3043 Modern Theatre History and Literature
• THEA 3053 Playwriting
• THEA 3063 Adaptation to Stage and Screen
• THEA 3072 Choreography I
• THEA 3093 Portfolio/Rendering
• THEA 3101 Modern Dance II
• THEA 3103 Lighting Design
• THEA 3202 Voice and Movement II
• THEA 3211 Jazz Dance II
• THEA 3343 Acting II
• THEA 3361 Musical Theatre Performance I Lab
• THEA 3362 Musical Theatre Performance I
• THEA 3401 Ballet III
• THEA 3411 Modern Dance III
• THEA 3442 Musical Theatre Dance Styles
• THEA 3463 Musical Theatre History and Literature I
• THEA 3473 Musical Theatre History and Literature II
• THEA 3523 Scene Design: Background and Practice
• THEA 3533 Costume Design
• THEA 3993 Independent Study in Dance
• THEA 4003 Playwriting Workshop
• THEA 4013 Meisner Technique
• THEA 4014 Narrative Film Production I
• THEA 4022-3 Advanced Stage Management
• THEA 4024 Narrative Film Production II
• THEA 4033 Diction and Dialects for the Stage
• THEA 4201 Audition Techniques Lab
• THEA 4202 Audition Techniques
• THEA 4333 Directing I
• THEA 4353 Styles of Acting
• THEA 4363 Advanced Scene Painting
• THEA 4373 Musical Theatre Performance II
• THEA 4413 Contemporary Theatre and Drama
• THEA 4433 Acting Shakespeare’s Folio
• THEA 4463 Homosexuality and Musical Theatre
• THEA 4513 Advanced Lighting Design
• THEA 4523 Advanced Scene Design
• THEA 4533 Advanced Costume Design
• THEA 4553 Projection/Media Design
• THEA 4561 Special Topis in Theatre
• THEA 4561-3 Special Topics in Theatre
• THEA 4562 Special Topics in Theatre
• THEA 4861-2 Special Topics in Dance
• THEA 4973 Senior Seminar: The Collaborative Process
• THEA 4991-3 Independent Study