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School of Theatre Arts

Acting

The Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting at IWU is a well-rounded curriculum that focuses on each student’s individuality, and prepares them to enter the profession upon graduation. Students will take a variety of courses in acting, movement and voice, as well as dramatic theory, theatre history and literature. This highly personalized training is applied during an active season boasting six high caliber productions and numerous other workshop and performance opportunities, on stage and on camera, throughout the academic year.

 

Program Features

  • Small class sizes enable close, individualized, actor training for stage and film. 
  • Weekly master class in Monologue Presentation for Audition, for four years. 
  • Flexibility allows for secondary areas of study including filmmaking, dance, theatre design/technology, directing, play/screenwriting, and dozens of other minors across the university curriculum.
  • Students are encouraged to study abroad at one of several closely related programs, particularly in London, U.K. and Dublin, Ireland.

 

Casting Opportunities

  • Diverse casting opportunities on stage in laboratory, and mainstage productions.
  • Multiple opportunities to act in original short films, directed by faculty, and submitted to film festivals throughout the United States and around the world.    

 

Preparing for the Profession

  • Graduates receive a professional demo-reel, showcasing their diverse film roles.
  • Upper-level students are assisted through the professional audition process.
  • Annual Professional Chicago Senior Showcase features work on stage and film.

 

Major Sequence in Acting:

21 units required for the major, including:

  1. THEA  105Y  and/or THEA  106Y  (14 enrollments)
  2. THEA  110,  112,  180, 181, 184, 185,  220,  241, 280, 284, 371,  372, 380, 383, 384, 385, 481, 483, 484
  3. Four additional upper-division units in Theatre Arts or Music Theatre
  4. One unit from the following: ENGL 170 or 370 (when content is focused on dramatic literature), ENGL 393, 394, GRS/THEA 212, 214 or LC 377 (when content is focused on dramatic literature)

BFA Acting Course Plan Course Descriptions Apply to SoTA

Tom Quinn - Professor of Theatre Arts

Department - School Of Theatre Arts

(309) 556-3982