Theatre
Make the world your stage.
As a student in Meredith’s theatre program, you will learn from and work with faculty who are professional actors, designers and directors. Our program provides a setting for technical skill development, creative exploration and artistic scholarship. Students are given individual attention and personal mentorship within our intimate class sizes. It is even possible for freshmen to be cast in main stage shows or assigned important technical positions. Meredith typically presents a musical, a theatre for youth production, a classical production and a contemporary play each academic year. In addition, several student-led productions are presented.
While earning a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre, majors can focus in Performance, Production or Musical Theatre. K–12 licensure in Theatre Arts is also offered for those who wish to teach.
Meredith is fortunate to have Stillwater Theatre, a professional theatre company in residence, which provides an array of hands-on learning opportunities for our students. Students in the theatre program also have the opportunity to work with guest artists and workshops with renowned professionals in the field, such as Tony award-winning alumna Beth Leavel, '77.
For students who are looking for more intensive training but who also want the rich educational foundation of the Bachelor of Arts, Meredith offers a Professional Performance Certificate. Open by audition to Meredith students who are currently pursuing a major in theatre, this intensive study at the upper level prepares students for work as professional artists.
By majoring in theatre, students are exposed to every component of theatre and have a solid background in the performing arts. As a Southeastern Theatre Conference casting director recently said to one of our graduates, “You are a Meredith woman. That means you can do anything.”
Meredith's theatre program offers numerous internship and study abroad opportunities - approximately 80% of theatre majors study abroad. Two recent graduates of the theatre program studied abroad in London and are currently living there, where they are starting their own theatre company. Another recent graduate had an internship with Conan O’Brien, which led to a summer job once he relocated to the west coast. Students also participate in local internships with companies such as Burning Coal Theatre Company and the North Carolina Theatre.
Other hands-on learning takes place through the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, a national theatre program involving 20,000 students from colleges and universities nationwide. Meredith's theatre program is also an active member of Theatre Communication Group, our national theatre conference, Southeastern Theatre Conference, and the North Carolina Theatre Conference (NCTC). In addition, Meredith hosted the NCTC High School Play Festival in the fall of 2011.
For students who are looking for more intensive training but who also want the rich educational foundation of the Bachelor of Arts, Meredith offers a Professional Performance Certificate. Open by audition to Meredith students who are currently pursuing a major in theatre, this intensive study at the upper level prepares students for work as professional artists.
A theatre degree prepares students for a wide array of potential careers as well as graduate study. Recent graduates are engaged in a range of professional and academic pursuits, including:
- Kiran Subramanium, '11, completed a post-baccalaureate program at the Kennedy Center this summer where she worked with noted playwrights such as Marsha Norman and Paula Vogel.
- Marilyn Gormon, '11, will be pursuing her MFA in acting at the Savannah College of Art and Design in fall 2012.
- Sara Croninger, '11, was an actor with a children’s theatre company in the summer of 2011 in New Hampshire and was cast in a national tour of A Christmas Carol for the fall/winter of 2011-12.
- Spencer Powell, '11, is an actor with N.C.’s prestigious outdoor drama The Lost Colony.
- Carlene Descalo, '11, is a costumer with Orlando Shakespeare Festival in Florida.
- Lormarev Jones is an actor with the Cincinnati Playhouse in Ohio.
- Elizabeth Newton recently completed her MFA in Scenic Design at the University of Mississippi.
The John Creagh Scholarship Endowment funds tuition and other related costs for undergraduate students of communication, theatre and literature who have demonstrated financial need and academic merit.
In addition, Meredith offers a range of merit and need-based financial assistance. Last year, Meredith coordinated $42.8 million in financial assistance.
Catherine Rodgers, MFA, Director of Theatre, is a professional actor/director who most recently played a leading role in Stillwater Theatre’s Right Place, Right Time. She was the faculty-in-residence for Meredith's Sansepolcro, Italy, program in spring 2011 and directed a study abroad experience in London this summer.
Steven Roten, MFA, is a professional actor/director who most recently played a leading role in Deep Dish Theatre’s Is He Dead? This summer he directed Ether Steeds for Stillwater Theatre.
Curt Tomczyk, MFA, professor of design, attended the United States Institute for Technical Theatre International Conference in Prague, Czech Republic, in the summer of 2011 and then spent a week in London to research current shows, such as War Horse.
For more information about this program, please go to the theatre website.
For information about other majors at Meredith, return to the Admissions majors page.
