Create, Collaborate, and Lead
If your passion is acting or theatre, we will help you create the career you dream of! In the School of Performing Arts, you will have an immense variety of courses and productions to engage in such as plays, films, audio shows, musicals, readings, and design and technology leadership opportunities.
As an Acting and Theatre Studies Major
- You will learn from nationally and internationally recognized faculty
- You will have opportunities to participate in classical and contemporary plays and musicals, in our three theatre spaces and work on camera through film projects.
- You can try your hand in all areas of production: costume, lighting, scenic/properties, management, directing and film
- You will create original work through classroom laboratories, production participation, student-driven projects and senior capstone projects
- You will work with America鈥檚 newest playwrights through our National Student Playwriting Competition and the writers that we bring to campus as part of our season
- You will have the opportunity to travel to conferences and workshops such as the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, Society of American Fight Directors, and annual trips to NYC.
- You get conservatory quality training at WSU鈥檚 competitive tuition rate
- You will follow in the footsteps of alumni who have worked as designers, performers and technicians with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, American Shakespeare Center, Casa Ma帽ana, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Cirque du Soliel, Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati, Goodman Theatre, Huntington Stage, Illinois Shakespeare Festival, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Utah Shakespeare Festival, and in Beetlejuice (2024), Sully (directed by Clint Eastwood, and television shows such as Unusual Suspects, Modern Family, True Blood, CSI: NY and more
All Degrees & Certificates in the Theatre Program
This program will give you the flexibility to develop a curriculum that is tailored to your personal interests in theatre. It offers generalized study in Theatre Performance, Design & Technology with additional areas of study in directing, scriptwriting, stage management, and theatre history.
You choose from a broad range of courses that blend theatre studies along with interests in areas outside of theatre. This degree is perfect for students who wish to focus on multiple areas of theatre or who are pursuing a double major or a minor in another department.
This program gives you immersive study in the field of performance including acting, movement, stage combat and voice & speech preparing you to become a professional actor. You gain experience on stage, on screen and in audio media such as voice over work and audio theatre.
The program includes a professional practices course to prepare you for the business side of the profession.
The certificate in directing provides an opportunity to focus on the practice of directing for plays, musicals and film. It consists of a balanced combination of required courses and practice that provides a wide range of knowledge and skills in directing and management, as well as practical training essential to directing. In addition to the classroom requirements, students are assigned directing responsibilities on productions.
It is offered as a value added credential in addition to bachelor's degrees in the School of Performing Arts.
To add this certificate to your plan of study:
- Log into the myWSU portal, find the Student Tools box (center of the page) and click "Change my Major/Minor."
- Click continue (this will show your current major and minor).
- Click continue, then click on "Add a certificate" and choose your certificate program. Click continue and submit request.
An undergraduate certificate in voice acting from Wichita State prepares you for a career as a voice actor in the art and entertainment industry, creating characters in animation, video games, audio books, audio shows, commercials and podcasts. You鈥檒l develop a wide range of acting and vocal skills necessary for crafting dramatic moments and characters in vocal storytelling, and gain fundamental knowledge of audio industry mechanics.
To add this certificate to your plan of study:
- Log into the myWSU portal, find the Student Tools box (center of the page) and click "Change my Major/Minor."
- Click continue (this will show your current major and minor).
- Click continue, then click on "Add a certificate" and choose your certificate program. Click continue and submit request.