Training Tomorrow’s Theatre Artists

Training in the Department of Theatre and Drama at Indiana University prepares graduates for professional careers in a world increasingly dependent upon the arts and humanities for its information, entertainment, and cultural enlightenment.

Approximately 200 students participate each year in the undergraduate program in Theatre and Drama on the Bloomington campus of Indiana University.  Whether acting in front of audiences in one of the three I.U. theatres, working on a student directed project, building or designing scenery, producing costumes for Greek tragedies or American musicals, or studying the plays of Shakespeare, undergraduate students at I.U. are guided in both the study and practice of theatre by a distinguished faculty of eighteen professors, a professional staff of eleven, and nationally known guest artists.

The study of theatre as a humanistic discipline and the practice of theatre as a performing art ensure that I.U. graduates are prepared for work in the theatre.  Our graduates are employed in colleges, universities and high schools throughout the United States, and Indiana is well represented among the ranks of professionals in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles as well as in regional theatres throughout the country.

Located in the Lee Norvelle Theatre and Drama Center, the Department presents at least eight on campus productions a year in the Ruth N. Halls Theatre (seating 453) and the flexible Wells/Metz (seating 246). These theatres provide students with the opportunity to work in state of the art performance spaces.  Students are also able to perform independent projects in a variety of additional spaces in the Theatre and Drama Center.  

The Department of Theatre and Drama provides further opportunities for production experience through the Brown County Playhouse.  The Playhouse is a 400 seat professional summer theatre company in Nashville, Indiana, with many IU students working as performers, designers and technicians.

The curriculum in Theatre and Drama at Indiana University is based on the belief that theatrical production and classroom study are of equal and complementary value.  Courses in acting, musical theatre, directing, dramatic literature, theatre history, design, playwriting, and theatre technology are all vital and interrelated aspects of the Theatre and Drama program, and give students the skills to analyze, produce and perform theatre.  Dramatic literature and theatre history courses provide perspective and theory which deepen a student’s understanding of drama.  Production and performance courses offer students the hands on experience of making theatre.  These two basic aspects of the program (theory and practice) work in tandem to educate students who will be the next generation of creative theatre artists in American Theatre.

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