Act, direct, design, write, study—you can do it all.
Students graduate from our program able to produce excellent work in all areas of theatre: acting, directing, design, management and dramaturgy. Our curriculum trains students as theatre generalists who possess the full range of skills for a career in theatre. Broad training is supplemented by concentrated study in one of the following areas: acting, design and technology, or dramaturgy.
Theatre training provides essential skills.
57% of business leaders surveyed in 2018 said they believed soft skills were the most important. Perhaps that’s because soft skills translate to any career path and most aspects of being a great employee, teammate, and leader.
In 2019, LinkedIn named it “the most important skill in the world.” The World Economic Forum (WEF) placed it third on a list of the “10 skills you need to thrive in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.” Surprisingly, it is not data science or artificial intelligence, but something much softer: creativity.
According to Entrepreneur Magazine, “as the COVID-19 outbreak became more and more serious, companies learned a valuable lesson: the difference between success and failure is creativity…creativity has not only become highly valuable, but a way to survive…Creatives are the ones who are keeping brands afloat.”
Critical and Creative Thinking and Problem-Solving
Organization
Time Management
Personal and Professional Initiative
Personal and Professional Resilience
Collaboration
Communication (Speaking and Listening)
Imagination and a Growth Mindset
Cultural Awareness and Appreciation
Self-Confidence
Want to teach theatre? We do that, too.
In addition to a theatre major, we offer a theatre education major for students interested in becoming theatre teachers. Broad training in theatre is supplemented by coursework in education.
<blockquote class="callout-quote"><div class="callout-quote-text"><p> “Because it is such a small department, each professor takes the time to really help and get to know you as a person, actor and student.”</p></div><footer class="callout-quote-footer">Emma Wohlstadter ’23</footer></blockquote>
For majors and non-majors alike.
While many students choose theatre, our program also offers opportunities for students in other majors who want to continue to perform, direct, design or crew. Many of our theatre students also take advantage of opportunities at Monmouth in music and art.
As a special benefit of our program, all theatre majors receive a free professional headshot. See samples and meet our current majors below.
Theatre professor Todd Quick previews Spoon River Project, a musical adaptation of the Edgar Lee Masters classic. See it April 7-10 at Wells Theater. Buy tickets here.
The LeSuer Nature Preserve provides opportunities for field classes and research.
Rolling hills split by a small stream offer upland grassland, forest, riparian, and aquatic habitats for study. Restoration of the entire area to pre-settlement conditions, hello native prairie grass, provides abundant opportunities for student research. Water quality monitoring and aquatic ecology studies are also possible in the stream.
Summer Opportunities for Intellectual Activity (SOFIA)
SOFIAUNDERGRAD RESEARCH.
Summer Opportunities for Intellectual Activity (SOFIA)
Add valuable undergraduate research experience to your resume before starting your undergraduate degree.
A unique program for incoming freshmen held three weeks before the fall semester starts. Faculty-led small groups present their research on a topic to the Monmouth community. Research and creative projects span a variety of academic departments. Past projects: Chemistry of Baking (Chemistry), External Struggles & Internal Identities (Psychology) and Inside Ancient Greece Athletics (Classics).
