THEATRE
Since the 1930’s, our nationally accredited theatre program has provided students with experience in all areas of theatrical production. Whether you want to be center stage or prefer working behind the scenes, there’s a place for you! Click here for more information About Us.
Whether performing for the campus community or traveling to regional schools with our touring theatre troupe, The Little Company, you are an ambassador for the performing arts when you step on stage with us. You can be a part of the tradition of excellence at MSU in productions like the classical Greek tragedy Medea or the iconic musical Grease in ether the state-of-the-art Lucille Caudill Little Theatre or our traditional proscenium stage at Button Auditorium. For more information about Theatre and Dance Productions, click here.
Recent Productions Include:
- Grease
- Art
- August: Osage County
- The Tempest
- Nunsense
- Medea
- Noises Off
- Chicago
- Napoli Milionaria
- Spitfire Grill
We will prepare you for a career as a performer, technician, designer or stage manager. Our alumni are successful on Broadway as well as in professional theatre companies as well as television and the motion picture industry. Others are continuing their study at esteemed schools like the National Shakespeare Conservatory and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Alum Steve Kazee recently received a Tony Award in 2012 for “Leading Actor in a Musical”. Since we are the only public university in Kentucky to offer a theatre program with teaching certification, we can also prepare you to teach theatre in the schools. Click here for more information about our Academic Programs.
Undergraduate Programs of Study
Production Opportunities
- Performance
- Main Stage Season
- Second Stage Show
- The Little Company
- Spring Directing Class Productions
- Costume, Set, Lighting, Sound, or Props Design
- Main Stage Season
- Second Stage Show
- The Little Company
- Directing
- Practicum
- Set, Costume, and Props Construction
- Running Crew
- Dramaturgy
- Stage Management or Assistant Stage Management
- Hair and Make-up
Admission & Scholarships
While formal auditions are not required for admission to the theatre programs, we request that you apply to MSU and complete the Theatre Admission and Scholarship Application on our department web site. Academic and talent-based scholarships, regardless of need, are available for qualified students. Review of scholarship applications begins March 1. Click here for more information about theatre admission and scholarships. Click here for more information for Prospective Music, Theatre and Dance Students.
Students need not be a Theatre Major in order to participate in the numerous production and class opportunities. We encourage all students to get involved in their very first semester!
Conference Activity
Each year students actively participate in the Kentucky Theatre Association Conference and screening auditions which prepare them for the South Eastern Theatre Conference general auditions. At SETC, students present their portfolios and audition materials to theatre professionals for summer employment. Our students have garnered positions as actors, managers, and technicians at theatres such as: Stage Door Manor, Stephen Foster Drama Association, Flatrock Playhouse, and Missoula Children’s Theatre.
All department shows are entered in the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival competition as either associate or participating productions. KCACTF is a national theatre education program wherein actors, designers, dramaturgs, and stage managers present their work for a response by a regional KCACTF representative and selected students are eligible to compete for recognition at the regional and national levels.
The Little Company
The Little Company is a touring troupe that performs a play and provides interactive workshops for schools in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, with the main focus being on the service region of Morehead State University. The Little Company visits up to 100 schools each year, performing for 15,000 to 30,000 students. While this program serves teachers and K-12 schools in the state, it also offers MSU students valuable career experience performing plays intended for young audiences, teaching workshops to K-12 students and working with a touring production. Click here for more information about The Little Company.
Guest Artists and Field Trips
In addition to the department faculty, the MSU theatre program occasionally offers special workshops given by guest artists. In the last two years, we have had two professional guest choreographers for our productions of Grease and Nunsense, a stage combat workshop, and a clowning workshop with professional actors from Le Petomane Theatre Ensemble.
Another important part of arts education at MSU is providing opportunities for students to see arts events in other venues. With this in mind, we occasionally arrange field trips to regional Museums and Theatres.
For more information contact Prof. Greg Carlisle at 606.783.2602.