Theater and Performance Studies
Why Major in Theatre & Performance Studies?
Theatre and Performance Studies dynamically connect us with stories, presentational skills, audiences, and cultural transformation. Theatre and performance studies develop an understanding of human experience, theatre production, and the role of performance in culture.
Theatre and Performance Studies students will be able to pursue a broad range of careers in professional theatre—acting, directing, stage managing, playwriting, and designing—as well as careers in teaching, ministry, radio, TV, and film, storytelling, teaching and more.
At North Park University, we emphasize learning all aspects of theatre, understanding drama as a crucial human experience, understanding performance as a broad range of cultural expressions, and the role of theatre and performance in personal, spiritual, and social transformation.
The Theatre & Performance program prepares students:
- To gain skills in all aspects of theatre and performance, including acting, directing, writing, management, design, and building, and other presentational skills
- To understand the extensive range of performance in culture—including theatre, storytelling, dance, ministry, teaching, politics, and other presentational forms
- To understand and experience personal, artistic, spiritual and social transformation
- To attend a wide range of theatre productions on a regular basis
- To gain broad skills in critical thinking and writing
- To gain crucial professional experience through an internship.
Chicago is one of the top theatre centers in the whole country. With over 200 producing theatre companies, Chicago is world renowned for its storefront theatre experience—theatre in intimate settings. While there are several leading theatre schools in the Chicago area to train actors, directors and designers to work in large spaces (The Goodman, Steppenwolf or Chicago Shakespeare), only North Park trains students to work in small and intimate environments—to develop skills in all aspects of theatre and performance.
Our classes are small, allowing for intensive work with instructors on analytical and performance skills. Opportunities in the co-curricular Theatre Program include: open auditions for all productions; a One-Act Festival directed and designed by students; stage managing; dramatic writing; technical theatre, and adapting ethnographic stories for performance. Film studies opportunities are offered through a one-semester program at the Los Angeles Film Center.
We urge all students to do an internship. Students have recently completed internships at The Lookingglass, Goodman Theatre, Stage Left Theatre, Live Bait Theater, and Barrel of Monkeys.