A Midsummer Night's Dream by Dr. Doug Powers

Theatre

Minor

Mercyhurst’s Theatre program helps students develop into engaged artists, impactful leaders, and compassionate members of a global community. 

An 18-credit minor is available to all Mercyhurst students. Courses in acting, theatre history, dramatic literature, and script analysis offer a breadth of knowledge about the discipline, while electives allow students to customize their program of study. Classes are small, enabling students to receive individualized instruction.

Our mainstage production season provides numerous opportunities for students to develop their skills as directors, actors, designers, and technicians in a wide repertoire of classic and contemporary plays and musicals. Recent productions include “Our Town,” “Saturday Night” (regional premiere), “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” “Lucky Stiff,” “She Kills Monsters,” “A Dickens of a Carol” (world premiere), “Anne of Green Gables” (world premiere), and “Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown.”   

Students work closely with guest artists who visit campus annually through the Mercyhurst Institute for Arts & Culture’s MIAC Live series. In the spring of 2024, Broadway stars Jessica Vosk and Gavin Creel taught master classes, and Mercyhurst artist-in-residence, Betty Buckley, legendary, multi-award-winning singer and actress, offered a weeklong workshop. Our students have also performed with Patti LuPone, Kristin Chenoweth, and Martin Short in the beautiful Mary D’Angelo Performing Arts Center.

Fast Facts

  • An 18-credit minor in Theatre is available to all Mercyhurst students. Courses in acting, theatre history, dramatic literature, and script analysis offer a breadth of knowledge about the discipline, while electives allow students to customize their program of study.
  • The Mercyhurst Institute for Arts & Culture (MIAC) offers free student tickets for all MIAC Live events, granting students unrestricted access to world-class performances by Broadway stars like Bernadette Peters; Leslie Odom, Jr.; Patti LuPone; and more. Additionally, each season, MIAC hosts workshops and master classes with guest artists. In recent years, students have studied with Jessica Vosk; Gavin Creel; and Mercyhurst artist-in-residence, Betty Buckley, legendary, multi-award-winning singer and actress.

Course Requirements

Students are expected to participate in departmental productions and complete 18 semester hours:

Four Required Courses:
  • THEA 110: Acting I (3 credits)
  • THEA 245: Script Analysis: From Page to Stage (3 credits)
  • THEA 290: Topics in Theatre History (3 credits)
  • THEA 401: Practicum (3 credits)
Two Electives chosen from the following courses:
  • DANC 100: Dance Appreciation (3 credits)
  • ENG 200: Literary Studies (3 credits)
  • ENG 316: Oral Interpretation (3 credits)
  • ENG 330: The English Drama (3 credits)
  • ENG 334: Shakespeare (3 credits)
  • ENG 356: Contemporary Drama (3 credits)
  • ENG 358: Modern American Drama (3 credits)
  • FASH 120: Contemporary Fashion Analysis (3 credits)
  • FASH 130: Introduction to Fashion Construction (3 credits)
  • FASH 330: Textiles I: Fiber to Fabric (3 credits)
  • FASH 410: Fashion Evolution (3 credits)
  • FREN 132: French Theatre in English Translation (3 credits)
  • ID 100: Design Basics (3 credits)
  • ID 220: History of Interior Design and Architecture I (3 credits)
  • ID 221: History of Interior Design and Architecture II (3 credits)
  • ID 380: Color and Light (3 credits)
  • MUS 104: Music History I (3 credits)
  • MUS 105: Music History II (3 credits)
  • THEA 140: Special Topics in Theatre (3 credits)
  • THEA 220: Acting II (3 credits)
  • THEA 330: Acting III (3 credits)

See You at the Theatre

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  • Dancing at Lughnasa

    By Brian Friel

    Dancing at Lughnasa by Brian Friel
  • The Drowsy Chaperone

    Book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar, music and lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison

    The Drowsy Chaperone, book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar, music and lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison
  • Dracula

    By Steven Dietz

    Dracula by Steven Dietz
  • She Kills Monsters

    By Qui Nguyen

    She Kills Monsters by Qui Nguyen
  • The Crucible

    By Arthur Miller

    The Crucible by Arthur Miller
  • The Government Inspector

    Adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher from the original by Nikolai Gogol

    The Government Inspector adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher from the original by Nikolai Gogol
  • The Seagull

    By Anton Chekhov, in a new version by Jean-Claude van Itallie

    The Seagull by Anton Chekhov, in a new version by Jean-Claude van Itallie
  • The Threepenny Opera

    By Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill

    The Threepenny Opera by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill