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Baylor > Theatre Arts > About Us
About Us
The Baylor University Department of Theatre Arts is an elite program combining an excellent liberal arts education with rigorous training in both academic and artistic fields of theatre study. The department is ranked among the top 20 undergraduate theatre programs in the United States and is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Theatre.
Maintaining a cap enrollment of 125 undergraduate majors, and a select group of graduate directing students, the department provides small, focused classes, and ample opportunities to excel in areas including acting, design, direction, dance, management and craftsmanship.
Prospective students are accepted through an audition/interview process. Students may direct their studies through a selection of degrees and elective courses offered, but all students are grounded in a holistic theatre education with required courses in theatre history, literature, performance, and a full range of hands-on technical elements. Courses are also available in specialized areas such as playwriting, stage combat, and acting for the camera.
The following Theatre Arts degrees are offered: the Bachelor of Arts in Theatre, the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Performance, the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Design, and the Master of Fine Arts in Directing.
Through limited acceptance, the department maintains a low student/teacher ratio allowing the faculty to create a nurturing yet professional environment. Faculty members know each student by name and are able to provide individual attention as students develop the skills required in the classroom, on stage, and in the shops.
The department supports teaching disciplines with ongoing research and artistic activities. The faculty engages a larger community of theatre scholars and artists through their extensive publications and through their work as professional actors, directors, designers, dancers, playwrights, and stage managers.
The department produces five mainstage plays and two to three summer graduate plays each year in which students perform and fill a variety of production positions. These plays include at least one musical theatre offering each year and a range of contemporary and period pieces.
A weekly workshop, attended by the entire department, provides another showcase for student work, one which often encourages artistic risk and exploration.
The mainstage production season is accompanied by the Baylor Theatre Lecture Series, in which invited guests provide an interpretative view of each play through interdisciplinary history and criticism.
In alternate years the Baylor Theatre sponsors the Horton Foote American Playwrights Festival, a celebration of American playwriting. At each festival, a different playwright is honored with an award named for our visiting distinguished dramatist, Horton Foote, one of America's foremost playwrights and screenwriters.
In addition to staged readings and an academic symposium, a play by the honoree is produced (in addition to the usual mainstage season) under the auspices of the American Actors Company, bringing professional actors and designers to the campus. This unique offering draws national attention and provides valuable interaction between students and veteran theatre artists. The first festival production, a revival of Mr. Foote's TheTravelingLady, was recently restaged Off Broadway, garnering critical praise for the department and a nomination for the prestigious Dramadesk award.
Historically, the Baylor Theatre has always drawn prominent theatre artists to Waco, Texas, since the days when celebrated actors and directors such as Charles Laughton and Burgess Meredith worked with students. This tradition has continued with more recent guest artists such as playwrights Romulus Linney and Arthur Giron, and actors such as Samuel L. Jackson, Estelle Parsons, Ellen Burstyn, Austin Pendleton, and Kathleen Chalfant.
In turn, alumni such as Beau Gravitte and Sherri Parker Lee have earned renown on Broadway and in film and television venues, while other alumni are engaged in rewarding academic and artistic careers throughout the nation.
The Baylor Theatre operates within the exceptional Hooper-Schaeffer Fine Arts Center on campus. This state-of-the-art facility houses three working theatre spaces: the Jones Theatre, a 300-seat proscenium; the Mabee Theatre, a 250-seat thrust; and Theatre 11, a multi-form space, with movable seating and masking and an extensive lighting/sound grid.
In addition to theatres, Hooper-Schaeffer is home to a dance studio, faculty offices, fully equipped costume and scenic shops, a design/computer lab, a technology-ready classroom, green room, dressing and makeup rooms, and a box office. The Baylor Art department is housed in a separate wing of Hooper-Schaeffer and works cooperatively with the Baylor Theatre by opening their adjacent galleries for viewing during theatre productions.
The Mission of Baylor University is to educate men and women for worldwide leadership and service by integrating academic excellence and Christian commitment within a caring community.
The Mission of the Department of Theatre Arts is to prepare students for theatre arts related fields by integrating excellence in traditional scholarship and artistic creativity with a Christian worldview. The mission of Baylor Theatre is to act as a cultural laboratory which engages the university, the larger community of artist scholars, and the world.
For more information, or to purchase tickets to Baylor Theatre plays and events, the department may be contacted through the following numbers:
Box Office: (254) 710-1865
Administratrive Offices: (254) 710-1861
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