Major/Minor Requirements for Theater
It is recommended that those students intending to pursue a career in the field of Theater or related performing arts consider declaring a major in Theater. The major program of study is designed to allow students the flexibility of pursuing general theater studies while focusing on a particular emphasis within the Theater curriculum, such as acting, directing, history/criticism, playwriting, or production/design. If you wish to declare a Theater Major, you should follow this procedure:
1. Follow established College protocol. According to the OC Catalog, all students MUST declare a major before the completion of 56 credit hours. The Registrar’s office will notify you when you near the completion of this requirement and remind you that you need to declare a major. However: it is recommended that those students who enter Oberlin knowing that they intend to pursue some participation in the Theater Program schedule an advising appointment with an advisor in the program as early as possible for preliminary planning.
2. Schedule an Advising Appointment. If you’re planning to major in theater, you must first secure a faculty advisor. This should be an instructor in your area of intended concentration and would ideally be someone with whom you’ve already successfully completed intermediate level coursework. (For example, students wishing to declare a Theater major with a concentration in Acting would first successfully complete THEA 200: Introduction to Scene Study, and ask an acting instructor to be their advisor). You’ll then schedule an appointment with your advisor and work closely with them to design an individualized plan of study and acquire the necessary approvals. Upon approval, you will:
3. Officially declare the major. The form for this, which must be submitted to the Registrar’s office, is available from the Administrative Assistant for the Theater Program, Janice Sanborn.
Requirements For The Major
Students must complete ten full-semester courses, for a total of 30 credit hours minimum, in accordance with the following parameters. It must be noted that THEA 995: Private Reading, will not substitute for any major requirements.
1. The two semester course sequence in Western Theater History (THEA 252, 253)
2. Two full semester courses in Acting or Directing, chosen from:
THEA 100, Introduction To Acting
THEA 101, Introduction To Theater Arts
THEA 200, Introduction to Scene Study
THEA 202, Acting for The Camera
THEA 208, Directing 1
THEA 210, Movement For Actors
THEA 218, Stage Combat
THEA 268, Black Arts Workshop
THEA 269, Voice For The Actor
THEA 270, Speech and Dialects
3. Two full semester courses in Production and Design, chosen from:
THEA 172, Production Scenery
THEA 173, Production Costumes
THEA 174, Lighting Technology and Design
THEA 212, Stage Management
THEA 222, Introduction to Design
THEA 232, Costume Design
THEA 236, Scene Design
4. Two full semester courses in History, Criticism and Theory, chosen from:
THEA 254, Classical Asian Theater/Dance Forms
THEA 264, African American Drama
THEA 302, Non-Literary Theater
THEA 309, Theater of the Millennium
THEA 324, The Concept of The Avant-Garde
THEA 333, Stage to Screen
Additionally, any Dramatic Literature course offered by another department and approved by the Theater Program as suitable, may be counted toward this requirement (see recommended list in the catalog )
5. Two additional advanced-level (300 or 400 level) full semester Theater Electives in student’s area of concentration
Students concentrating in Playwriting may count CRWR 330, 470, or 480 as these concentration electives
Production/Design students may repeat THEA 320 for credit
6. Two Theater Production Labs (THEA 199). This is a non-credit bearing requirement, supplying much-needed crew service to the production program. The student must sign up at the beginning of the semester in which he/she intends to fulfill the requirement and attend the informational meeting held early in the semester. Failure to comply with the stated parameters of the assigned crew will result in non-fulfillment of the requirement.
7. NOTE: THEA 207, THEA 225, THEA 281, THEA 995 may all be counted as ELECTIVES, but cannot be substituted for any of the above-listed requirements.
