Bachelor of Arts in Theatre

Undergraduate Degree Offered:

• B.A., Theatre

 

Department Programs

The B.A.degree program is designed to enrich the student’s aesthetic and intellectual needs in the areas of theatrical production, theatre history, literature, and criticism, and to provide pre-professional training. As a lab for the formal training in the classroom, undergraduate students are required to participate in department sponsored production activities each semester. Theatre CSUN functions as the department’s formal producing organization. Eight or more full-length productions of dramas, musicals, and operas are cast, rehearsed and mounted annually by faculty, staff, students and guest artists. These productions are available for student participants on an audition or volunteer basis. All aspects of the program are carefully coordinated with the theatre curriculum. Three minor options in theatre are designed to provide an organized program in theatre arts for students who wish to augment a major in another field.

The B.A. degree in Theatre prepares a student for advanced study in a pre-professional (M.F.A.) or academic (M.A.) program. It also serves as preliminary study for a performance and/or production career in live theatre as well as the allied industries of television and cinema. The interpersonal and collaborative skills learned in the program will serve the graduate well in a variety of related disciplines including the fields of education (both as teacher and administrator), psychology, law and a variety of private and governmental positions where a well-rounded liberal arts education will provide the flexibility and broad base of knowledge likely to be required in future careers.

 

Student Learning Outcomes of the Undergraduate Program

The learning outcomes of the undergraduate program are:

1. The student will know and be able to process sensory information and respond to sensory information through the language unique to theatre.
2. The student will know and be able to apply their knowledge of artistic and theatre processes through production participation.
3. The student will know and be able to apply historical, cultural, and literary understandings to the creation of theatre.
4. The student will know and be able to apply appropriate criteria to make informed assessments of quality in works of theatre.
5. The student will know and be able to develop intra and interpersonal skills essential to the collaborative process in theatre.
   
   

Requirements for the Bachelor of Arts Degree

To obtain the B.A. degree with a major in Theatre a student must have at least a 2.0 grade point average in all upper division theatre courses (including courses transferred from other institutions and applied towards the requirements in the major), and must have taken at least 18 units of upper division theatre courses in residence. Students may not receive credit for more than 72 units of theatre courses (including courses transferred from other institutions and applied towards the requirements in the major). Any exceptions to this limitation must be individually approved in writing by the student’s advisor and the Department Chair before registration will be allowed.

1. Total Units in the Option: 52
2. General Education Units: 48
3. Additional Units: 20
4. Total Units Required for the Degree: 120

 

1. Lower Division Required Courses (16 Units)

• TH 102 Theatre: Form and Content (3)
• TH 142 Introduction to Theatre Performance (2)
• TH 142A Introduction to Stage Voice and Movement (1)
• TH 191 Production Practicum (0-0-0)
• TH 242 Basic Acting Technique (3)
• TH 242A Basic Stage Voice and Movement Technique (1)
• TH 261 Fundamentals of Scenery and Properties Technology (2)
• TH 262 Fundamentals of Costume Technology (2)
• TH 263 Fundamentals of Lighting and Sound Technology (2)

 

2. Upper Division Required Courses (36 Units)

• TH 322A World Theatre and Drama I (3)
• TH 322B World Theatre and Drama II (3)
• TH 322C World Theatre and Drama III (3)
• TH 350 Cultural and Historical Perspectives for Theatre (3)
• TH 355 Principles of Stage Design (2)
• TH 381 Management Techniques for the Theatre (1)
• TH 391 Production Practicum (0-0-0)
• TH 444 Principles of Directing (3)

Select a minimum of 3 units from the following:

• TH 339 Improvisational Comedy (3)
• TH 342 Intermediate Stage Movement (2)
• TH 343 Intermediate Stage Voice and Speech (3)
• TH 348 Acting the Text (2)
• TH 376 Production Preparation and Performance: Theatre for Young Audiences (3)
• TH 384 Touring Theatre (3)
• TH 390 Theatre Production Participation [Acting] (1)
  or TH 490 Theatre Production Participation [Acting] (1)
• TH 545 Advanced Directing (3)

Select a minimum of 3 units from the following:

• TH 361A Intermediate Scenery and Properties Technology (2)
• TH 361B Intermediate Scenic Art Techniques (2)
• TH 362A Intermediate Costume Technology (2)
• TH 362B Intermediate Costume Crafts (2)
• TH 363A Intermediate Lighting Technology (2)
• TH 363B Intermediate Sound Technology (2)
• TH 382A-C Theatre Management Practicum (1-3)

Select one course from the following (3 Units):

• TH 422 Theatre and Drama of Greece and Rome (3)
• TH 423 Theatre and Drama of the Middle Ages and Renaissance (3)
• TH 424 Theatre and Drama of the 18th and 19th Centuries (3)
• TH 425 Theatre and Drama of Europe and America from Naturalism to the Mid 20th Century (3)
• TH 426 Contemporary Theatre and Drama of Europe and America (3)
• TH 427 History of Costume (3)
• TH 432 Theatre and Drama of the United States (3)
• TH 433 The Musical Theatre in the United States (3)
• TH 475 Theatre and Drama for Young Audiences (3)
• TH 530 Theatre and Drama of Latin America (3)
• TH 531 Theatre and Drama of Asia (3)
• TH 535 Theatrical Theory and Criticism (3)

3. Theatre Production Participation Or Electives (0-9 Units)

• TH 390 Theatre Production Participation (1-2-3)
  or TH 490 Theatre Production Participation (1-2-3)
  or Electives selected from any 300, 400 or 500-level courses for which prerequisites have been met.