Bachelor of Arts Degree in Theatre Arts (Theatre Performance)

Stand in the limelight and let your voice be heard! With a BA in Theatre Performance, you will be instructed by industry professionals on how to let your inner light shine. A wide variety of coursework relies more on your efforts on the stage as well as in the classroom. Learn to build your knowledge while doing what you love with a degree in Theatre Performance!

Students who complete the Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre with a Technical Theatre emphasis are provided with the best available preparation for pursuing the craft of theatre. Enrollment in the Theatre Arts Technical area is designed to give students experience and training in theatre management, production, and organization. Those students with interests and abilities in directing, designing, construction, management, and playwriting will find opportunities for expression and growth.

The Theatre program offers students an opportunity for extensive and individualized instruction. Students obtain personalized instruction on state-of-the-art equipment in our fully-equipped Costume Shop, Scene Shop, and the rotating Little Theatre stage. In the department’s production organization, the Hampton Players and Company, students gain experience in every aspect of theatre, from box office operations to set construction. The faculty and students in the Theatre program hold memberships in and attend meetings at the Southeastern Theatre Conference, the National Association for Dramatics and Speech Arts, the Virginia Theatre Association, the American Theatre in Higher Education, and the United States Institute for Technical Theatre.

Study Abroad Opportunities

The Department of Music and Performing Arts has a history of travel abroad beginning in the early 1900s. Under the direction of Robert Nathaniel Dett, who served at Hampton from 1913 to 1932 and is credited with establishing the Department of Music and Performing Arts and was the director of the University Choir, students from the department traveled and performed extensively throughout Europe. More recently, the Marching Band was a guest performer in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. The University Choir was a guest performer in Medellin, Colombia. The Department of Music and Performing Arts responds to travel abroad opportunities that provide growth and exposure for our students.

Most recently, The Marching Force has performed at the Vatican in Rome, Italy for the 2021 New Year’s Day Parade. The Marching Force has also performed in the 2020 Honda Battle of the Bands in Atlanta, GA, and the Macy’s Thanks Giving Day Parade in 2021! The Force plans to expand its international travels as it looks towards France and England.