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About the BA in Theatre Degree

Why Study Theatre at Cedarville?

Are you looking for a theatre program that will prepare you for a wide variety of career options while embracing a distinctly Christian approach? Cedarville's highly regarded BA in theatre program is designed for you! At Cedarville, we do theatre differently, carefully selecting plays for each season to reflect Cedarville's Christ-centered community. From  Greek plays and musicals to Shakespeare and the modern era, the diverse range of theatrical genres you'll study offers countless opportunities to hone your skills and grow exponentially as an artist.

When you graduate, you'll have the excellent training and hands-on experience to work as an artist who glorifies God in the competitive world of theatre. You'll leave Cedarville ready to take on a number of positions in the theatre field, including acting, directing, designing, stage management, dramaturgy, arts administration, and much more. Whether onstage or behind the scenes, you'll be equipped to use your God-given talent and passion to become an excellent, relevant, and God-honoring theatre artist.

If you're passionate about theatre but pursuing another major, Cedarville also offers a theatre minor designed to fit your unique interests and goals. You'll gain foundational theatre skills while customizing your experience by choosing from a range of theatre electives.

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Theatre Program Highlights

Program Overview

Program Highlights

Abundant Opportunities — With three main stage productions, a senior theatre project, in-class scene performances, and more, you’ll have dozens of opportunities to get hands-on experience in all aspects of theatre.

Award-Winning, Mentoring Faculty — Our faculty and staff have received many local and regional honors, and they stay active as professional performers, designers, directors, choreographers, scholars, and consultants.

Outstanding Facilities — You will learn and perform in the DeVries Theatre, an impressive 400-seat theatre with modern technology and staging, as well as a movement studio, makeup suite, computer design lab, scene shop, costume shop, and dressing rooms. Student capstone productions utilize the facilities in Alford Auditorium.

DeVries Theatre | 360 Facility Tour

What Can You Do With a Theatre Degree?

Theatre graduates have a multitude of career possibilities:

  • Acting/Directing/Coaching
  • Arts Administration
  • Casting Direction
  • Dramaturgy and Literary Management
  • Ministry and Missions
  • Scenic/Lighting/Costume/Sound/Prop Design
  • Stage/Company/Event Management
  • Technology Direction
  • Theatre Education
  • Theatre Management
  • TV and Film Production and Direction

Our theatre graduates have been accepted into conservatories and graduate programs at schools such as:

  • E15 Acting School in England
  • University of Alabama
  • Carnegie Mellon
  • Gaiety School of Acting in Ireland
  • Mary Baldwin University
  • The Ohio State University
  • Regent University
  • Stella Adler School of Acting

Our graduates have found exciting, fulfilling work in professional, educational, and ministry settings such as:

  • The Contemporary American Theatre Company, Columbus, Ohio
  • The Human Race Theatre Company, Dayton, Ohio
  • Minneapolis Children's Theatre
  • Steppenwolf Theatre, Chicago, Illinois
  • The Walt Disney Company
  • Williamstown Theatre, Massachusetts

Placement Success

We're proud of our successful graduates! 92.59% of recent art, design, and theatre graduates were employed or in graduate school within six months of graduation. Check out Cedarville's other placement rates.

Cedarville's Placement Rates

Opportunities to Learn Outside the Classroom

Mainstage Productions — Audition for a mainstage production or work behind the scenes with props, costumes, lighting, hair/makeup, set construction, or run crew.

DeVries Theatre Mainstage Productions

Senior Theatre Capstone Projects — As a graduating senior, you will have the chance to act, direct, design, or even write your own full-length, fully-produced capstone project in the Alford Theatre Lab Series. You could also choose to complete a pre-professional capstone internship to gain outside experience that aligns with your specific interests and abilities.

Alford Theatre Lab Series

Masterclasses and Workshops — Learn about specialized areas of theatre from exciting guest experts on topics like voice over and dialect work, commedia dell'arte, professional auditioning, and period acting styles and movement. You'll also get to attend annual festivals offered by the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF) and the Southeastern Theatre Conference (SETC) to learn from acclaimed experts in the industry through workshops and masterclasses.

Dramaturgy — Help advise one of the main stage directors as a dramaturg, create an educational user guide about the production, and facilitate a talkback for the audience following a performance.

Study Abroad Program — Through Cedarville’s Study Abroad program, you can travel to places like London or Prague to experience theatre internationally.

Explore Study Abroad Opportunities

Professional Internships — Gain real-life, resume-building experience through various internship opportunities locally or in a major U.S. city. Our students have interned at:

  • Ahmanson Theatre/Mark Taper Forum, Los Angeles, California
  • Asolo Theatre, Sarasota, Florida
  • Williamstown Theatre Festival, Williamstown, Massachusetts
  • Texas Shakespeare Festival, Kilgore, Texas
  • Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida
  • Bay View Music Festival, Petoskey, Michigan
  • Contemporary American Theatre Company, Columbus, Ohio
  • Dayton Ballet, Dayton, Ohio
  • Limelight Theatre, St. Augustine, Florida
  • Muse Machine, Dayton, Ohio
  • CultureWorks, Dayton, Ohio
  • Victoria Theatre Association, Dayton, Ohio
  • Sight and Sound Theatre, Ronks, Pennsylvania

Theatre Festival Field Trips — Travel with other Cedarville theatre students and faculty to see productions in some of North America’s best theatres, such as the Stratford Festival in Ontario, Canada, and multiple Broadway tours. You can also attend regional and national conferences to grow your professional network, audition for theatre jobs, interview for graduate programs, and compete for scholarships.

Theatre Productions

Each academic year, there are multiple opportunities to participate in theatre productions including thought-provoking dramas, hilarious comedies, and lively musicals.

DeVries Theatre Mainstage Productions

Alford Theatre Lab Series

Male actor talks with small boy

Theatre Scholarships

Student actors sitting around a table in a theatre production.

We are pleased to offer theatre scholarships to new and continuing theatre majors, ranging from $1,000–2,000. Awards are based on your audition or design portfolio review, theatrical experience, academic merit, and financial need.

View Application

Program Curriculum

As a theatre major, you'll take courses to make you a well-rounded artist. Having a good understanding of performance, design, stage management, and directing will lead to better collaboration in whatever area you choose to pursue. You can also tailor your elective coursework to match your unique career goals, or even add a specialized minor in performance or design.

Building on your general education liberal arts and Bible minor courses, your theatre coursework is structured to allow you to be active in main stage shows, senior capstone productions, and class projects. If you want to further customize your education, you'll have room to add a second minor or even major.

Sample Courses:

  • Acting II
  • Advanced Theatrical Design
  • Musical Theatre Techniques
  • Stage Management
  • The Christian in Theatre

Program Format and Related Programs

Cedarville offers graduate and undergraduate programs with flexible completion options. You may also want to consider these related programs as you choose the degree or program that is the best fit for you.

Program Level and Format

  • Undergraduate
  • 4-Year
  • Residential
Professor Stratton leading a theatre rehearsal onstage.

From Our Students:

  • One of the greatest strengths of this program is the emphasis on teamwork and collaboration. In a highly competitive and often cut-throat field, it’s refreshing to view your classmates not as competition, but rather as partners. I also loved my professors who went above and beyond to make sure I left the program in the best possible position. Not only did they encourage me in my coursework, but they would even sacrifice their own time to look over and critique my personal projects. This has helped me gain confidence and hone my skills in the areas I was most passionate about. While the program may be small, I truly believe it has the potential to become an unparalleled place to study the art of theatre through a Christian worldview. There is a desperate need for a program like this one that not only takes the implementation of faith into the arts seriously, but also respects the arts as more than just 'entertainment.'
    Samuel Acosta '23
    Samuel Acosta.
  • My time at Cedarville was instrumental in any and all success I’ve since had. I’m currently working as a professional theatre actor/artist in Chicago, Illinois. Over the course of the years since graduating, I’ve utilized nearly every area of training that the Cedarville theatre program provided me, even more so than the MA I received after Cedarville. That graduate program was helpful, but it didn’t provide the hands-on, real-life experience that Cedarville provided. It is not an exaggeration to say I would’ve gotten nowhere in this field without Cedarville’s training. Whether it be directing, acting, stage managing, lighting, ushering, playwriting, prop work, and numerous situations for which I recalled past problem-solving, I can thank Cedarville for nearly everything about my success.
    Hunter Johnson '21
    Hunter Johnson.
  • The variety of roles and jobs within the major allowed me to receive a well-rounded education and hands-on experience in my chosen career field. Since graduating, I have had weekly Gospel conversations with people who are searching for beauty in this world full of chaos and confusion. I am more thankful for the education experience in Cedarville’s theatre program everyday as I recall quotes from professors, materials from my classes, and truths from conversations. Above all, the program honors God as the greatest Creator. The professors are lovely people who care for you both as an artist and a Christian. I was accepted into multiple BFA programs, but in the end I went with the one in the cornfields because of the people. The smaller environment ensured that I had ample opportunities to learn and gain experience in almost every area of production and received a personalized education experience.
    Riley Howell '23
    Riley Howell.
Job and Grad School Placement

Program Faculty

Photo of Chad Kennedy

Chad Kennedy, MFA

Assistant Professor of Theatre

Contact

Photo of Stacey Stratton

Stacey Stratton, MFA

Associate Professor of Theatre, Theatre Program Director

Contact

Program Staff

Photo of Tim Phipps

Tim Phipps

Theatre Production and Technical Director

Contact

Photo of Debbie Izer

Debbie Izer

Administrative Assistant - Art, Design & Theatre

Contact

Department of Art, Design, and Theatre
School of Arts and Humanities

Program News

  • Hands playing a keyboard.

    Bringing Light to Broadway

    From Cedarville University to Broadway, Dani Lee Hutch is using her gifts and faith to make an impact. As a musical director for productions like Wicked and Suffs, she shows how excellence and Christ-centered conviction can shine anywhere.
  • Abigail King with animals at Sight and Sound.

    Sheep, Stage Lights, and Scripture

    Abigail King followed her childhood dream of combining animals and theatre, leading her from Cedarville University to Sight and Sound Theatres in Branson. There, she brings Bible stories to life as an animal trainer, living out a faith-filled calling.