Storytelling has many benefits, from promoting empathy to teaching lessons to providing entertainment. Using live performance to tell stories that reflect and inspire our community, the Theater Arts Program is a creative scholarly company of artists who immerse themselves in collaborative performance practices, the development of new work, and community engagement. Students train with faculty and guest artists and have opportunities to take on leadership roles in various areas.
As a theater minor, you’ll explore all aspects of theater, from acting and dance to dramaturgy, directing, and playwriting, while you also:
Our faculty are leaders and innovators in their fields, bringing both deep professional experience and academic rigor to the classroom.
An exploration of dramatic literature, theory, and performance as reflective of and responsive to surrounding society and culture. Course will emphasize connections between classical theater and ritual, and the evolution of these connections from ancient Greece through the late 18th century.
An intensive acting course that focuses on the methodologies of 20th century actor training, including: Biomechanics, Michael Chekhov technique, Meisner, Viewpoints, etc. Students will engage with physically-based scenework as well as the demands of post-modern and contemporary dramatic texts.
Analytical and experiential study of the practice of dramaturgy. Dramaturgy focuses on the study of dramatic literature with an emphasis on questions of composition, structure, staging, performance, and audience, employing literary analysis, performance analysis, and historiography. Texts include dramatic literature from various times and places, covering categories such as classical drama, contemporary drama, and musical theater. Students will have hands-on experience, engaging in dramaturgical practice in relation to a production staged by the University Theater program, among other projects.
This course explores, through the integration of theory and practice, theater as a means for inciting social change. Coursework will consist of readings and performance viewings drawn from a variety of theatrical phenomena and traditions, including: Happenings, Street Theater, Theater of the Oppressed. Additionally, students will work directly with specific community populations in order to translate the experience and stories of others into devised community performance.
The University of New Haven offers a wide variety of in-depth courses that create a transformational educational experience for our students. To view the complete list of courses you'll take while pursuing a minor in Theater Arts, check out the Academic Catalog:
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