Perform stories that define human nature
Take center stage at Susquehanna and beyond in our theatre performance major.
You’ll grow artistically as an actor. From critical analysis of dramatic literature, to authentic and powerful acting on stage, you’ll develop in your craft beyond what you thought possible.
Explore characters that force you out of your comfort zone and learn something about yourself in the process. You’ll focus on the tools you need to improve your acting. Our intensive acting classes are supported by coursework in theatre history and dramatic theory, enhancing your performances. Adding one of our interdisciplinary minors, like arts administration and women’s studies, help you gain a better understanding of important topics in today’s world.
In ways more broad-based than fine arts degrees, you’ll gain a better understanding of human communication and culture.
Opportunities abound
The department follows a professional model, preparing you for the environment you’ll step into after graduation. Shows are produced by developing the strength of the ensemble, which helps you build collaboration skills with your fellow theater practitioners.
Our students often begin performing on the main stage in their first semester.
- There are four main stage productions each year, including a student-directed show and a major musical, and six second stage productions
- You’ll collaborate with the Department of Music on their annual opera program
- We offer a second stage season-experimental, edgy and fueled by students’ artistic desires
Our faculty will help you find the right internships in theaters across the country. You will develop your professional experience resume and build your network so you can pursue an advanced degree or employment opportunities in acting or related theater fields.
When you enroll at Susquehanna, you’ll be paired with an advisor and application tool to guide you in your course planning and scheduling. The following is an excerpt from the complete course catalog. Enrolled students follow the requirements of the course catalog for the academic year in which they declare each major and/or minor, consult with their advisor(s) and the Academic Planning Tool.
Learning Goals
- Students will develop proficiency in the methods of creating artistic and scholarly work and acquire abilities to integrate the study and practice of theatre.
- Students will learn how to create and contribute to the discipline of theatre by recognizing and employing relevant and worthy theatre, non-theatre and interdisciplinary sources to inform their creative and scholarly activities.
- Students will articulate artistic and scholarly vocabularies drawn from written, visual and physical texts that will support their continued practice and study of theatre.
- Students will learn how to reflect upon and assess their work in critical and constructive ways by applying concepts, theories and methods within academic and professional contexts.
Requirements for the Bachelor of Arts in Theatre
Susquehanna offers a major in theatre with three emphases: performance, production and design, and theatre studies. Majors complete university Central Curriculum requirements plus 52 semester hours of courses in one of the three theatre emphases. These include introductory courses and specific emphasis requirements. A grade of C- or better is required for any course to apply to the major or minor. Courses may count toward only one emphasis or minor. The department also expects theatre majors and minors to participate each semester in department theatre productions and activities supervised by department faculty.
Theatre Major Emphases
Students fulfill the university Central Curriculum requirements, participate fully in department productions and successfully complete the following courses:
24 Department Requirements
4 THEA-151 Acting Fundamentals
4 THEA-252 World Theatre 1
4 THEA-253 World Theatre 2
4 THEA-258 From Page to Stage
4 THEA-340 Stage Management and Theatre Operations
4 THEA-453 Dramatic Theory and Criticism
Students also choose one of the following options:
Option One: Performance Emphasis
Option Two: Production and Design Emphasis
Option Three: Theatre Studies Emphasis
28 Option One: Performance Emphasis
4 THEA-251 Acting II: Voice and Movement
4 THEA-351 Acting III: Period Styles
4 THEA-451 Directing
4 Four semester hours chosen from THEA-101 The Fall Musical, THEA-102 Student-directed Production, THEA-103 Acting Workshop, THEA-104 Advanced Acting Workshop, and THEA-105 Experimental Acting Workshop.
4 Four semester hours chosen from THEA-142 Stagecraft, THEA-143 Scenic Production, and THEA-144 Costume Technology.
8 Choose 8 semester hours from the following:
1 THEA-101 The Musical
1 THEA-102 Student-directed Production
1 THEA-103 Acting Workshop
1 THEA-104 Advanced Acting Workshop
1 THEA-105 Experimental Acting Workshop
4 THEA-152 Theatrical Design Fundamentals
4 THEA-240 Theatre and Violence
4 THEA-246 Scenic Design
4 THEA-254 African-American Theatre History
4 THEA-341 Costume Design
4 THEA-342 Stage Makeup
4 THEA-345 Lighting Design
4 THEA-452 Seminar in Theatre
14 Electives
The remaining 14 semester hours may be chosen from the courses below:
4 THEA-142 Stagecraft or THEA-143 Scenic Production or THEA-144 Costume Technology
4 THEA-246 Scenic Design or THEA-345 Lighting Design
4 THEA-342 Stage Makeup or THEA-341 Costume Design
4 THEA-251 Acting II: Voice and Movement
4 THEA-260 The Choreopoem
4 THEA-451 Directing
4 THEA-452 Seminar in Theatre (repeatable once with department head approval)
1 THEA-502 Dramaturgy (repeatable once)
1 THEA-501 Production Lab (repeatable once)
No more than 4 semester hours from the following may be included:
1 THEA-101 The Musical
1 THEA-102 Student-Directed Production
1 THEA-103 Acting Workshop
1 THEA-104 Advanced Acting Workshop
1 THEA-105 Experimental Acting Workshop
Honor Society
Students who meet the requisite national and local standards are eligible to join Alpha Psi Omega.
When you enroll at Susquehanna, you’ll be paired with an advisor and application tool to guide you in your course planning and scheduling. The following is an excerpt from the complete course catalog. Enrolled students follow the requirements of the course catalog for the academic year in which they declare each major and/or minor, consult with their advisor(s) and the Academic Planning Tool.
Minor in Theatre
Students are expected to participate in departmental theatre productions and complete 20 semester hours:
4 Choose 4 semester hours from:
THEA-151 Acting Fundamentals0
THEA-142 Stagecraft
THEA-252 World Theatre 1
THEA-253 World Theatre 2
16 Choose 16 additional semester hours from:
THEA-151 Acting Fundamentals
THEA-142 Stagecraft
THEA-252 World Theatre 1
THEA-253 World Theatre 2
THEA-240 Theatre and Violence
THEA-143 Scenic Production
THEA-144 Costume Technology
THEA-160 Theatrical Design Fundamentals
THEA-246 Scenic Design
THEA-251 Acting II: Voice & Movement
THEA-258 From Page to Stage
THEA-340 Stage Management & Theatre Ops
THEA-341 Costume Design
THEA-342 Stage Makeup
THEA-345 Lighting Design
THEA-101 The Musical
THEA-102 Student-Directed Production
THEA-103 Acting Workshop
THEA-104 Advanced Acting Workshop
Theatre Courses
Fundamental characteristics and function of the theatre. Includes basic roles of the playwright, director, actor, designer, technicians and other professions. 4 SH. CC: Artistic Expression.
An ensemble of singers, dancers, and actors that rehearses and performs a fully-realized musical theatre production. Prerequisite: Instructor’s permission, by audition. 1 SH.
An ensemble led by a student director that rehearses and performs a full-length production in the spring semester. Prerequisite: department permission, by audition. 1 SH. CC: Team Intensive.
A large ensemble of performers that rehearses and performs a full-realized, challenging piece of dramatic literature in the spring semester. Prerequisite: instructor’s permission, by audition. 1 SH. CC: Team Intensive.
A small ensemble of highly select performers who rehearse and perform a fully-realized, challenging piece of dramatic literature in the fall semester. Prerequisites: instructor’s permission, by audition. 1 SH.
This ensemble course will challenge students with demanding roles in a bare-bones acting environment to bring out their best talent in a no-frills, cutting edge performance experience. Prerequisites: instructor’s permission, by audition. 1 SH.
Students explore production process, management and leadership skills preparing scenery, properties, special effects, sound and costumes for university theatre productions. The course offers hands-on training, exploring practical applications of artistic and structural design, project management, team development, construction techniques, and resource coordination. Expectations are eight hours of lab each week with possible evening rehearsal and performance assignments. 4 SH. CC: Team Intensive.
Students explore the production process for executing theatrical designs for university theatre productions. This course focuses on scenic painting techniques and the installation and operation of theatre lighting equipment. Hands-on training. Expectations are up to eight hours of lab each week with possible evening rehearsal and performance assignments. 4 SH. CC: Team Intensive.
Students explore the production process for executing costume designs for university theatre productions. The model of a professional costume shop and its personnel is used in order to provide hands-on training in costume construction, costume shop operations, team building and organization, analyzing, and problem-solving. The course focuses on the practice of basic skills in costume production, repair, and maintenance all within a collaborative atmosphere. 4 SH.
This course explores a broad spectrum of skills in the creative process of acting. These skills (including expansion of vocal and physical abilities, emotional and sensory awareness, improvisational skills, etc.) will be focused toward introducing the prospective actor to the six basic steps in Stanislavski’s “System of Acting.” Prerequisite: Theatre major, theatre minor, or department’s permission. 4 SH.
This course is an overview and examination of the basic principles and elements of design and how they are related to and used in scenic, costume, and lighting design for theatre. Topics will include the design process, research methods, and practical considerations for executing designs. 4 SH
An introduction to world dramatic literature through study of the development of drama and its various forms with a focus on dramatic movements and theatrical innovations, as well as the cultural aesthetic, literary, and political contexts of individual works. 4 SH. CC: Literary Expression, Diversity Intensive.
Through the reading and analysis of various genres of play texts written by a diverse collection of playwrights, this course analyzes theatre’s unique ability to engage with both the agenda and the trauma of violence. Students in this course will learn to consider violence as a tool of oppression that reinforces power structures and as an expression of trauma by those un-empowered by the same societal power structures. Same as WGST-241. 4 SH. CC: Diversity Intensive, Ethics Intensive.
This course will concentrate on the scenic design process and will expose the students to the responsibilities and the role of the scenic designer in the production process. Students will be introduced to the art of scenic design through practical projects in script analysis, literary research, technical drawing, scenic rendering, and modeling. 4 SH.
An in-depth exploration of the basic principles of acting and the creative process introduced in Acting I. These skills (including expansion of improvisational skills, action and text analysis, character analysis and transformation, communion, etc.) will be focused toward advanced work in scene and monologue study, specifically dealing with early and contemporary realism. Prerequisite: Sophomore standing and THEA-151. 4 SH.
Historical survey from the fifth century B.C.E. to the mid-19th century and the rise of realism, studying the theatre and drama of Europe and its colonies, including (but not limited to) Canada, the United States and Mexico. Integrates the study of the history of the theatre through representative plays and their production. Students view live performances, tapes and films to gain an on-stage perspective. Field trips involved with some costs; waiver possible. CC: Artistic Expression. 4 SH.
Survey of the indigenous and postcolonial theatre and drama of Asia, Africa, the Middle East and the Americas, among others. Integrates the study of the history of the theatre through representative plays and their production. Students view live performances, tapes and films to gain an on-stage perspective. Field trips involved with some costs; waiver possible. 4 SH. CC: Artistic Expression, Diversity.
This course surveys the history of African American theatre as a reflection of the African American culture and experience. The course will examine the history of African American theatre and the African American practitioner’s role in theatre from slavery to modern times. Through the study of African American dramatic literature the course examines various dramatic genres (comedy, tragedy and melodrama), historic and contemporary themes and developments in African American theatre especially the body of plays that shaped the popular image of Black life in America and in many cases perpetuated negative stereotypes of African-Americans. 4 SH. CC: Diversity. Historical Perspectives.
An exploration of dramatic literature with a concentration in play analysis. The analysis will focus on the structure of dramatic art and how it can be applied by the theatre artist. Prerequisite: THEA-151. 4 SH. CC: Writing Intensive.
Inspired by the original choreopoem by Ntozake Shange, this course introduces the choreopoem form, investigating the concept of the living text as it applies to collaboration across multiple disciplines. Using literary analysis, creative writing, and theatre, students research the choreopoem form, write one as a class, and publicly perform it, reflecting on the tension of intention vs. impact in performance spaces. Same as WRIT-260 and AFRC-260. Sophomore or higher standing required. 4 SH. CC: Interdisciplinary, Diversity Intensive, Team Intensive.
Survey of stage management and theatre administration, exploring the relationship between the artistry of theatre as a fine arts discipline and the execution of management principles in theatre operations. Topics to be studied include stage management, theatre organization, professional unions, production management, publicity/marketing, and box office and house management. Prerequisites: Instructor’s permission and junior standing. 4 SH. CC: Interdisciplinary.
Portfolio projects in costume design beginning with script analysis and research and culminating with finished renderings and realized design components for the student’s portfolio. Prerequisite: sophomore standing or instrucotr permission. 4 SH.
Porfolio projects in make-up design, beginning with script analysis and research and culminating with realized and conceptual projects. Projects in make-up design will expose students to the techniques of traditional, prosthetic, and wig applications. Prerequisite: Sophomore standing or instructor’s permission. 4 SH.
This course concentrates on the lighting design process and exposes students to the responsibilities and the role of the lighting designer in the production process. Students are introduced to the art of lighting design through practical projects in script analysis, literary and artistic research, technical drawing, computer application, and hands-on production work. Prerequisite: THEA-160. 4 SH.
Advanced training in acting with an emphasis on effective vocal/rhetorical techniques and on the use of poetic rhythm and imagery in creating a role psychologically as well as physically. Definition of style/language analysis, Greek period style, the comic impulse/Commedia Dell’arte, Renaissance/Elizabethan period style, 17th-century French farce, and Restoration/Georgian “Comedy of Manners.” Prerequisites: Sophomore standing and THEA-151. 4 SH.
Study of the basic processes of play directing, script selection, blocking, rehearsal procedure, casting, directorial function, and the history of directing. Direction of in-class scenes and presentations of a single all-class scene program at the end of the term for the public. Prerequisites: THEA-151 and either THEA-252 or THEA-258, or instructor’s permission. 4 SH.
Issues and topics in theatre. Emphasizes research and analysis. Prerequisite: instructor’s permission. 4 SH.
Students will engage in a focused examination of the major literary and theoretical movements found in drama, spanning the late 19th century to the present. Prerequisites: Senior standing. 4 SH. Capstone. CC: Diversity Intensive, Writing Intensive.
Applied projects in theatre design, technical production, or theatre management, completed in conjunction with Department of Theatre productions. The student and the supervising professor will determine and tailor projects to ensure both mastery of the student’s project (or assignment) and a general understanding of the complexities of theatre. All projects require departmental approval, are critically assessed by the supervising faculty member as well as the student, and must be completed to the satisfaction of the theatre faculty. Four semesters of Production Lab are required for graduation with the Production and Design emphasis of the B. A. in theatre (may be waived at the discretion of the department). 1 SH.
In-depth exploration of selected topics in theatre with faculty guidance allows students to focus on topics outside normal sequence of course offerings. Prerequisite: department-designated faculty director’s permission. May be repeated. 1-4 SH.
Independent study for candidates accepted into the departmental honors program. Candidates work under faculty direction, develop and submit a written or production thesis, and defend their thesis orally. 4 SH.
Supervised work in fields related to professional and/or not-for-profit theatre. Prerequisite: Junior or senior standing and internship coordinator’s permission. Variable credit.
Dance Courses
Development of strength and muscular endurance, as well as lengthening of muscle groups and release of unnecessary tension. 2 SH.
Fundamental technique, practice, and appreciation of jazz and tap dance. 2 SH.
Introduction to the technical skills, practice, and application of modern dance. Vocabulary, movement, floorwork, various dance patterns, and movement combinations included. 2 SH.
Fundamental technique, training, and appreciation of ballroom dances, including the foxtrot, the waltz, the rumba, the cha cha, and others. 2 SH.
Fundamental technique, training, and appreciation of historical partner dances, including the minuet, quadrille, polonaise, gavotte, mazurka, and others. 2 SH.
A contemporary dance class focusing on challenging improvisation, movement, and technical exercises, designed to introduce students to the demands of professional contemporary and modern dance in the context of supporting academic performance activity for majors and elective exploration for non-majors. Specific topics may vary from semester to semester. May be repeated once for credit. 2 SH.
In-depth exploration of selected topics in theatre with faculty guidance allows students to focus on topics outside normal sequence of course offerings. Prerequisite: permission of the department-designated faculty director. May be repeated but not for departmental major credit.
Recent graduates have gone on to school at:
Bowling Green State University
California Institute of the Arts
Florida State University
Kent State University
Illinois State University
The New School, New York City
Ohio University
Roosevelt University, Chicago College of Performing Arts
University of Arizona
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Houston
University of Maryland at College Park
University of Missouri-Columbia
University of Pittsburgh
University of Texas – Austin
University of South Carolina
Villanova University
The Yale School of Drama
Recent graduates have gotten jobs at:
Arden Theatre Co.
ArtsPower National Tour
Berkshire Theatre Festival
Cirque du Soleil
Delaware Theatre Company
Disney Cruise Lines
Glimmerglass Festival
Merry-Go-Round Playhouse
NetWorks Productions (Broadway tours)
New Jersey Shakespeare Festival
Playwrights Horizons
Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival
Portland Stage Co.
Syracuse Opera
Walnut Street Theatre
Weston Playhouse Theatre Company
Associate Professor of Theatre
Program Director of GO Czech Republic
Women’s Studies Coordinator
Department Head of Theatre
Phone Number 570-372-4664
Visiting Assistant Professor of Theatre
Email Address ruppel@susqu.edu
Phone Number 570-372-4671
Assistant Professor of Theatre
Email Address stroman@susqu.edu
Phone Number 570-372-4056