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Bachelor of Arts in Theater (BA)

Direct Your Future with a Theatre Degree

Marywood's Theatre program will prepare you for a career in contemporary theatre by providing professional instruction in acting, directing, and design.

Students participate in all aspects of production, broadening their knowledge and developing an understanding of the diverse skills necessary to produce modern theatrical shows. Our small class sizes ensure that you receive personalized instruction. Courses are taught by faculty who are working professionals in the entertainment industry.

Productions

Each year Marywood University mounts theatrical and musical theatre productions on the main stage of the 1100-seat Sette LaVerghetta Center for Performing Arts. Students build the scenery, construct costumes, hang and focus lights, and perform in these productions.

Recent productions have included Godspell, To Kill A Mockingbird, Songs for a New World, Our Town, Measure for Measure, Dead Man’s Cell Phone, A Little Night Music, Crimes of the Heart, Miss Julie, Proof, Once Upon a Mattress, The Fantasticks, Elegies, Sunday in the Park with George, and All in the Timing.

Top Employers

  • Freelance Playwright
  • Theaters
  • Motion Picture/Video Industries
  • Dance/Theater Studio

Top Career Paths

  • Actor
  • Stage Manager
  • Director
  • Theatrical Designer

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If you have any questions about this program, we're here to help. 

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Undergraduate Admissions Requirements

  • Completed application
  • Official transcripts
  • Letter of recommendation
  • Official SAT and/or ACT test scores (Marywood is test optional)
  • Essay (optional)

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All Undergraduate & Transfer Students

Acceptance by the University is required before an audition can be scheduled. 

  • Apply to University.
  • FAFSA Deadlines for financial aid: February 15 (fall entry) and November 1 (spring entry).  

General Guidelines for All Auditions

Prospective theatre majors should contact Dr. Timothy Pyles (tpyles@maryu.marywood.edu) to arrange an acting audition or interview.

Theatre Facilities

The Theatre program is designed to cultivate the next generation of theatre artists and professionals, offering facilities that foster creativity, collaboration, and technical expertise. Our campus is home to a range of spaces equipped to support every aspect of theatre production and education, from acting and directing to design and technical work.

The front of the Marywood Sette Laverghetta Center for Performing Arts

Sette LaVerghetta Center for Performing Arts

2300 Adams Avenue
Map & Directions

The Sette LaVerghetta Center for Performing Arts is a three-story structure that houses the Music, Theatre, & Dance (MTD) department. The facility includes a 1110-seat performance space which contains a proscenium stage, orchestra pit, dressing rooms, box offices, control room, backstage area and the ability to fly scenery. Other features include sound and lighting boards, a 9-foot Steinway grand piano and 7-foot Steinway grand piano (on stage), a Mason & Hamlin grand piano (orchestra pit), and large Allen electronic organ. The facility also houses several studios, classrooms and practice rooms, a music therapy lab and clinical observation room, recital room, dance studio, electronic music lab, piano lab, and a Black Box Theatre.

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The rustic inside of the Marywood Black Box Theater with dark wooden floors, plants, and objects hanging from the walls

Black Box Theatre

2300 Adams Avenue
Map & Directions

Black Box Theatre, located on the terrace level of the Sette LaVerghetta Center for Performing Arts, is a laboratory theatre designed with flex staging to accommodate student-directed productions and to support experimental theatre.

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Scholarships

Morris K. Udall Scholarship

The Udall Foundation seeks future leaders across a wide spectrum of environmental fields, including policy, engineering, science, education, urban planning and renewal, business, health, justice, and economics. The Foundation also seeks future Native American and Alaska Native leaders in public and community health care, tribal government, and public policy affecting Native American communities, including land and resource management, economic development, and education.

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Tuition

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Hoffenberg, Dr. Rick

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Fox, Allison M

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Pyles, Dr. Timothy A

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Till, Sophie E

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Houser, Ryan Michael

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80+ opportunities for you to find the right fit with 50+ undergraduate degrees and 30+ graduate and certificate courses.

MTD Student Handbook

The information in this handbook is designed to familiarize you with university and department policies specific to the MTD degree programs.
Please save this handbook, as it will provide guidance throughout your studies at Marywood. Bring this handbook to all academic advising sessions.

Student Handbook

From #DayOne, Marywood is here for you each step of the way.

Marywood Players: The Marywood Players is the only official student-run theatre club on campus. Students have opportunities to be involved both onstage and backstage in faculty-directed mainstage productions, as well as student-directed workshops and showcases in the Black Box Theatre. We work closely with the Theatre Program but students of all majors are welcome to join our ensemble. If you are an actor, technician, or theatre enthusiast this is the club for you!

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