Theatre
Mercyhurst’s Theatre program helps students develop into engaged artists, impactful leaders, and compassionate members of a global community.
An 18-credit minor is available to all Mercyhurst students. Courses in acting, theatre history, dramatic literature, and script analysis offer a breadth of knowledge about the discipline, while electives allow students to customize their program of study. Classes are small, enabling students to receive individualized instruction.
Our mainstage production season provides numerous opportunities for students to develop their skills as directors, actors, designers, and technicians in a wide repertoire of classic and contemporary plays and musicals. Recent productions include “Our Town,” “Saturday Night” (regional premiere), “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” “Lucky Stiff,” “She Kills Monsters,” “A Dickens of a Carol” (world premiere), “Anne of Green Gables” (world premiere), and “Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown.”
Students work closely with guest artists who visit campus annually through the Mercyhurst Institute for Arts & Culture’s MIAC Live series. In the spring of 2024, Broadway stars Jessica Vosk and Gavin Creel taught master classes, and Mercyhurst artist-in-residence, Betty Buckley, legendary, multi-award-winning singer and actress, offered a weeklong workshop. Our students have also performed with Patti LuPone, Kristin Chenoweth, and Martin Short in the beautiful Mary D’Angelo Performing Arts Center.
Fast Facts
- An 18-credit minor in Theatre is available to all Mercyhurst students. Courses in acting, theatre history, dramatic literature, and script analysis offer a breadth of knowledge about the discipline, while electives allow students to customize their program of study.
- The Mercyhurst Institute for Arts & Culture (MIAC) offers free student tickets for all MIAC Live events, granting students unrestricted access to world-class performances by Broadway stars like Bernadette Peters; Leslie Odom, Jr.; Patti LuPone; and more. Additionally, each season, MIAC hosts workshops and master classes with guest artists. In recent years, students have studied with Jessica Vosk; Gavin Creel; and Mercyhurst artist-in-residence, Betty Buckley, legendary, multi-award-winning singer and actress.
Course Requirements
Students are expected to participate in departmental productions and complete 18 semester hours:
Four Required Courses:
- THEA 110: Acting I (3 credits)
- THEA 245: Script Analysis: From Page to Stage (3 credits)
- THEA 290: Topics in Theatre History (3 credits)
- THEA 401: Practicum (3 credits)
Two Electives chosen from the following courses:
- DANC 100: Dance Appreciation (3 credits)
- ENG 200: Literary Studies (3 credits)
- ENG 316: Oral Interpretation (3 credits)
- ENG 330: The English Drama (3 credits)
- ENG 334: Shakespeare (3 credits)
- ENG 356: Contemporary Drama (3 credits)
- ENG 358: Modern American Drama (3 credits)
- FASH 120: Contemporary Fashion Analysis (3 credits)
- FASH 130: Introduction to Fashion Construction (3 credits)
- FASH 330: Textiles I: Fiber to Fabric (3 credits)
- FASH 410: Fashion Evolution (3 credits)
- FREN 132: French Theatre in English Translation (3 credits)
- ID 100: Design Basics (3 credits)
- ID 220: History of Interior Design and Architecture I (3 credits)
- ID 221: History of Interior Design and Architecture II (3 credits)
- ID 380: Color and Light (3 credits)
- MUS 104: Music History I (3 credits)
- MUS 105: Music History II (3 credits)
- THEA 140: Special Topics in Theatre (3 credits)
- THEA 220: Acting II (3 credits)
- THEA 330: Acting III (3 credits)
Brett Johnson, Ph.D.
Program Director, Theatre
Office: Performing Arts Center 105
