Department of Theatre and Dance

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What we do

Middle Tennessee Department of Theatre and Dance aims to equip students with the knowledge and skills necessary to successfully enter professional fields of Theatre, Dance, and live entertainment within the context of a comprehensive liberal arts education. Our training programs emphasize performance and production, with students playing key roles–both onstage and off– in Department and student produced productions and events.

The Department of Theatre and Dance boasts an array of courses unmatched by most other undergraduate training programs including:

• Performance and Directing
  • Multiple Levels of Acting, Directing, and Musical Theatre Performance, Meisner Technique, Script Analysis, Acting for the Camera, Voice for the Actor, Dance for Theatre and special topics such as Unarmed & Armed Stage Combat, Dialects, Performing Shakespeare, and Directing New Works.
• Production
  • Introductory and Advanced Costume / Makeup / Scenic / Lighting Technology & Design, Theatrical Design Concepts, Stage Management, Theatrical Drafting, Automated Lighting for Arts & Entertainment, and special topics such as Rigging for Arts & Entertainment, Scenic Painting, Costuming for Dance, Special Effects Makeup, Design & Technology of Cirque du Soleil
• Dance
  • Multiple levels of Ballet, Modern/Contemporary, Jazz, Tap, Choreography, Dance Kinesiology, Dance History & Theory, Somatics
• Education
  • Theatre in Education, Methods for Using Drama in the Classroom, Methods & Assessment of Theatre in Secondary Education, Teaching Creative Movement for Children, Theory & Practice of Teaching Dance.

The Department of Theatre and Dance also brings regional, national, and internationally renowned artists to campus each semester through our guest artist program and Tucker Theatre events. The faculty and staff help position students for opportunities on and off campus, including paid student staff positions, internships, study abroad trips featuring performance tours to international destinations, and participation in regional and national conferences in all areas of performance and design. Full programs of study culminate in either a Bachelor of Science (BS) in Theatre or a Bachelor of Science (BS) in Dance. Additionally, minors are available in Theatre, Dance, Musical Theatre, and Entertainment Arts Design.