Program Overview

The Department of Theatre Arts offers one of the most successful theatre training degree programs in Colorado. Theatre Arts majors choose from four distinct concentrations in the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Theatre Arts (Acting/Directing, Design/Tech, Dance, or Music Theatre), or a concentration in the BA (Theatre Arts), and acquire a sound understanding of the performing arts in state-of-the-art facilities.

The BFA in Design/Technology exposes students to the visual and technical aspects of Theatre, including Costume, Lighting, Sound, Scenery, and Stage Management. The first-year centers on courses that develop aesthetic sensitivity and technical proficiency. Subsequent years are devoted to studio work that continues to develop a student’s visual storytelling, creative problem solving and collaborative processes. Coursework focuses on the development of the student as a theatre professional, whether they lean toward technology or design areas, and will include classroom and hands-on production experiences in drafting, rendering, scenic and costume construction and craft work, and other methods of communicating, collaborating, and contributing to the theatrical production process. The program culminates in a final design or technology project during the fourth year.

Students can expect personalized instruction and supervised "hands-on" design experiences that stretch from designs on paper to fully realized Black Box and Mainstage productions. Graduates of the Design/Technology concentration will have the necessary skills for success in graduate studies or the professional theatre.

For more information on what you can do with this major, visit Career Services’

What to Do with a Major?

All CMU baccalaureate graduates are expected to demonstrate proficiency in specialized knowledge/applied learning, quantitative fluency, communication fluency, critical thinking, personal and social responsibility, and information literacy. In addition to these campus-wide student learning outcomes, graduates of this major will be able to: