Willkommen, bienvenue, welcome...
...to the WKU Department of Theatre and Dance web site
We're glad you found us! This site is intended to provide some insight into the study and practice of Theatre and Dance at Western Kentucky University. Here are some of the highlights...
The Department of Theatre and Dance at WKU offers three majors and three minors, all designed to with a thoughtful balance of theory and practice in mind.
Our interdisciplinary B.F.A. in Performing Arts provides intensive pre-professional training in all aspects of theatre and dance production and performance, with concentrations available in:
Acting
Dance
Directing
Drama/Playwriting
Music Theatre Performance
Theatre Design and Technology
We also offer two traditional liberal arts BA degrees; a B.A. in Dance, and a B.A. in Theatre. Both are designed to provide a solid foundation in the discipline, while leaving room enough in your schedule to include a required minor (or double major) in another discipline. And finally, if you want to seriously pursue your passion for theatre or dance, but would prefer to major in another subject, we offer three minors: the Theatre Minor, the Dance Minor, and the Performing Arts Administration minor.
(To explore these degree in more detail, select the T&D Degree Programs link from the menu on the right margin of this page.)
And regardless of the degree program you choose, our focus is on your education and training. In our department teaching take center stage, and you can count on taking most - if not all - of your theatre and dance classes directly from our full-time faculty, all of whom are active, working, professionals in their fields, as well as accomplished teachers.
But "taking classes " isn't the whole story. At WKU we believe that hands-on experience is the key to mastery. What happens in production is every bit as important as what happens in the classroom, and our intensive production season offers plenty of opportunities to work side by side with faculty and guest artists to produce a steady variety of high quality theatre and dance events. On average, we produce 15-20 productions per season, including…
2-3 Mainstage play Productions
1-2 Mainstage Music theatre Production
2 Music theatre cabaret productions
2 Mainstage Dance Concerts
A Student Dance Concert
5-10 Children’s Theatre productions
4-8 student play festival productions
We also appreciate that establishing a career as an arts and entertainment professional takes extraordinary talent, discipline, and luck. And while no performing arts program can honestly offer iron-clad job placement guarantees, we so take this very seriously, and work hard to help our graduates put their best foot forward as they take their next steps after college, with courses like Audition Prep Workshop, Performing Arts Career Seminar, and Independent Study Co-ops that allow students to earn college credit while working with a off campus professional arts organizations. Students can also take advantage of our Performing Arts Career Resource Lab, where up-to-date information about graduate and professional training programs, internships, apprenticeships and employment opportunities is just a mouse-click away.
As you browse through this site, other questions may come to mind; please feel free to get in touch with me. If I can't answer your quesions, I'll do my best to get you in touch with someone who can. If you would like to arrange a tour, or find out more about admission to the University, scholarships, loans, grants and housing, please call the university's Office of Admissions at 270-745-5422.
Thanks for your interest in Theatre and Dance at Western Kentucky University; we hope you enjoy your browse through our website.
Scott Stroot, Department Head
Department of Theatre and Dance
(270) 745-5845
scott.stroot@wku.edu