Theater Arts, B.A.

Overview

Theater is one of the oldest and most resilient art forms. It demands presence and brings people together.

Students rehearsing for the production, American Idiot, Clark University

At Clark, the theater arts major is built on a conviction that a liberal arts education broadens the perspective of an artist. The critical thinking, historical knowledge, and cross-disciplinary perspective you develop alongside your craft training are exactly what distinguish working theatre artists from those whose study is limited to technique. Clark graduates compete with conservatory-trained peers. They also go places and do unexpected things the field.

The major offers three areas of concentration:

acting and directing,
technical theater and design,
and playwriting.

Each area has unique course offerings, professional trajectory, and set of skills — but all three are grounded in the same foundational understanding of how theatre works and why it matters. You’ll study the history of dramatic literature from the Greeks to the contemporary stage, learn to analyze scripts from multiple perspectives, and develop your practice in a program that takes both craft and ideas seriously.

And you’ll build a portfolio of work. Every semester, the program mounts professionally directed productions — Theatre Practicums that are part of the curriculum — giving students real experience in performance, design, and production from the start.

“The interdisciplinary approach to an arts education I received at Clark has helped me consistently work in my field, and has made me competitive with my peers who have attended conservatories.”
Alison Russo ’14, member of Actors’ Equity Association

Actors dance in a rehearsal of Sense and Sensibility, Clark University

Why study theatre arts at Clark?

In the Theatre Practicum, one of the most distinctive features of the program, students mount a fully produced, professionally directed production each semester as a curriculum course.
Three concentrations mean three different paths through the major. Whether you’re drawn to performance, the technical and design work, or the writing, the curriculum is adapted to your interests.
The New Play Festival, a biennial event where student playwrights present original work at Clark’s Michelson Theatre, provides a public platform for student writing — and an opportunity for undergraduates to see their work fully realized on stage.
Every winter, theater arts majors have the opportunity to attend the Kennedy Center American Collegiate Theatre Festival — a regional and national gathering of collegiate theatre programs that connects Clark students to the wider professional world and to peers from across the country.
The Little Center, home to theater arts at Clark, houses the Michelson Theater — a 120-seat black box — and the Experimental Theater, a 30-seat space used for student productions, read-throughs of new plays, and workshop performances.

Featured courses

TA 144

Theatre History 1: Greeks to Shakespeare

Surveys the traditional dramatic canon of western literature with a focus on historical context and analysis. Course readings will include plays by Sophocles, Euripides, Jonson, and Shakespeare.

TA 223

Theatre Practicum

Audition to join the acting track or apply to join the tech track to experience the full process of putting up a fully produced show. Script analysis, collaborative work, and critical engagement with the text are balanced by the thrill of live performance and extensive faculty mentorship in this team-taught course.

Rehearsal for an interactive theater performance, Clark University

TA 112

The Creative Actor

Through a series of workshops, the student becomes familiar with the basic tools necessary to the art of acting. The approach is based on the techniques of Stanislavski, Viola Spolin, Joseph Chaikin, Robert Cohen and original exercises, including an introduction to basic voice and movement for the actor.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need prior theatre experience to major in Theatre Arts?

Prior experience is helpful but not required for all concentrations. The core courses — The Creative Actor, Introduction to Technical Theater, and The Play and its Stages — are designed to build foundational skills from the ground up. Students with significant prior experience will find those courses deepened and complicated by the analytical and historical frameworks the program brings. What matters most is genuine commitment to the work. Prospective students are encouraged to reach out to the program director with questions about fit.

What is the Theatre Practicum?

The Theatre Practicum is a professionally directed, fully produced theatrical production mounted each semester as a curriculum course. Students join either the acting track (through audition) or the technical and design track (through application) and earn academic credit for their participation. Three practicum formats are available: the Shakespeare Practicum, the general Theatre Practicum, and Advanced Production Projects. The practicum is one of the program’s most distinctive features — it’s where classroom learning meets the demands of a real production, with a real audience.

Can non-majors participate in theater productions?

Yes. Theatre Practicum productions are open to all Clark students through audition or application. All courses and seminars in the program are open to qualified non-majors, and students whose primary major lies elsewhere can declare a minor in theater arts.

What facilities are available to theater arts students?

The program is based in the Little Center, which houses the Michelson Theater — a 120-seat black box used for all program productions — and the Experimental Theater, a 30-seat space for student productions, read-throughs, and workshop performances. The building also contains a costume design shop and a set-building workshop.

Department of Visual and Performing Arts