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Theatre Majors

  • Schuster Theatre at Gannon University

    About the Program

    Theatre Walls 1Gannon's theatre program strives to prepare its theatre students with in-class and real-world application of all aspects of theatre with a multitude of performance and technical opportunities. Students will work on stage, on-camera, and behind the scenes to create professional work during their time at Gannon. We strive to better Gannon and the Erie Community with works that will engage and resonate with the audience, while providing safe environments where students can experience professional quality shows. We work closely with theatres in the area (The Warner Theatre and The Erie Playhouse), to provide internship opportunities, and build connections with working professionals. Professors in the Theatre Program are dynamic, experienced scholars and practitioners with a passion for teaching.  

    The School of Communication and the Arts sponsors trips to New York City, London, and Edinburgh; tours of theatres in neighboring cities; and participation in the American College Theatre Festival Region II, the United States Institute for Theatre Technology conference, and the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival. 

    Students  have the option to pursue a BA in Performance for Media and Stage or a BA in Theatre Design and Technologies as well as a BA in Theatre and Communication Arts. These majors uphold the standards of Gannon's liberal studies core and broad based education, while offering strong professional experience in both the School of Communication & the Arts' core curriculum as well as each of the focused specializations  

    BA Performance for Media and Stage students are provided opportunities to participate in regular audition processes, as well as studying stage combat, acting, voice and diction, improv, and movement. BA Theatre Design and Technology students are provided opportunities to participate in the pre-production and production process of the technical side of the Schuster Theatre main stage. Lighting, sound design, set construction, scenic painting and graphic design are integral elements for a large scale theatrical program. Theatre & Communication Arts students are offered opportunities in both performance and technical theatre as well as communication opportunities such as graphic design, radio, and speech.

    For more information, please check out our fact sheets here:

    Theatre & Communication Arts

    Theatre Technologies & Design

    Performance for Media and Stage

     

     Special Associations 

    • Gannon University's Theatre Program was one of the original American College/University programs invited to perform at the International Collegiate Theatre Festival held in Edinburgh, Scotland in 2011.  Since that inaugural participation, Gannon returned in 2014 with WHIMSICAL GRIMM, an original work involving puppetry.  Gannon's Theatre program returned to Edinburgh in August 2017 to perform the new work APE/ESSENCE by Rev. Shawn Clerkin, based on the work by Aldous Huxley earning a prestigious four-star review from The British Theatre Guide.  

    • Students from the Theatre program have the opportunity to attend the United States Institute of Theatre Technology (USITT) conference with Gannon faculty. This conference enables our students to meet and interact with theatre design and technology professionals from across the country.  Students may attend various workshops, interview for internships, have their design portfolios reviewed, and meet with various theatre graduate programs during the week-long conference.  

     Schuster signAdmission Requirements

    For students wishing to be accepted for admission to Gannon University:

    • Completion of 16 academic units at the high school level, four of which must be English; remainder of units are to be comprised of social sciences, foreign language, mathematics and science.

    • Your academic course selection, grades, rank in class, school counselor recommendation and SAT/ACT scores will be carefully reviewed for admission consideration.
    • Demonstrate motivation and curiosity through interests and extracurricular activities.

     

    For students wishing to be accepted for admission to one of the  Theatre Programs:

    • Students wishing to be accepted to the BA in Performance for Media and Theatre will need to successfully complete an admission audition process.  

    • Students wishing to be accepted to the BA in Theatre Design and Technologies will need to successfully complete a portfolio review process.

    • Students wishing to be accepted to the BA in Theatre & Communication Arts are not required to complete and audition or portfolio review but are invited to in order to be eligible for a theatre scholarship.