What is Theatre and Performance Studies?

The Bachelor of Arts in Theatre and Performance Studies provides undergraduate students with a foundation in theatre and performance studies through the study of a variety of texts and styles, including classical and contemporary plays, musical theatre, folk and literary narratives, performance art, poetry, comedy improv, storytelling, solo performance, and personal narratives. Students choose between concentrations in acting, performance studies, musical theatre or design/technology. Internships with professional organizations and education abroad opportunities are integrated into the curriculum. An innovative season of diverse public performances offers students the opportunity to integrate classroom study with the highest standards of professional practice in research, performance, design, technical theatre, and the creation of original work. The program prepares students for entry into the profession or other related fields and for graduate study in theatre, performance studies, and related fields. 

a theatre student on stage with a yellow back-light

Geer College of The Arts

Learn More About Theatre and Performance Studies

Admission Requirements

If you are interested in becoming a theatre and performance studies major, please fill out the application. Auditions are not required for acceptance into the program. Students interested in applying to this program must meet the following program requirements:

  • A high school GPA requirement of 3.0 or higher is required for first-year freshmen applying to be theatre and performance studies majors.
  • A college GPA requirement of 3.0 or higher is required for entering transfers and currently-enrolled KSU students seeking a change in major

Sample Classes

  • This course is designed to help performers develop a healthy, expressive and flexible vocal technique equal to the demands of dramatic performance. Students learn to free their natural voices through physical exercises and by mastering the vocabulary of vocal mechanics. Breathing, posture, relaxation, and articulation are examined as key elements of voice and speech production.

  • This course is an introduction to musical theatre which surveys the major shows in musical theatre literature, through the study of the plots, scores, characters, and songs of the shows. Students explore the genre’s place and function in theatre history as both an art form and popular entertainment and its influence on culture in general.

  • Basic design skills including drafting, sketching and rendering. Offered in versions oriented specifically toward set design or costume design in alternating years.

  • Students will learn the fundamentals of directing for the stage. Emphasis is on non-realistic period and genre styles. Theoretical studies will be combined with the direction of selected scenes and observation of working directors.