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Answer the call of the stage

Highly personal theatre training on Florida’s Gulf coast

Love the magic of live theatre? So do we. Eckerd’s Bachelor of Arts in Theatre introduces students to acting, directing, design and technical theatre, while our 2+2 Bachelor of Fine Arts focuses on performance.

Regardless of the program, you’ll have the chance to intern at dozens of area theatres, network with professionals — even produce your own work.

Only@Eckerd

A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree

Eckerd offers a 2+2 BFA program with Circle in the Square Theatre School, located in the Broadway district of New York City. You’ll spend two years at each location, taking part in showcases with professional producers and agents in NYC at the end.

The right place

Our location in the Tampa Bay area means you’ll have a shot at internships, apprenticeships and jobs with Norwegian Cruise Lines, Disney, American Stage Theatre Company, freeFall Theatre and other area professional theatres.

A history of success

Graduates of our program go on to work in professional theatre, enroll in graduate school or start their own companies.

In Their Own Words

“Mentors are essential to guide you through this stage in your education and early professional career and no one does the mentoring program better than Eckerd. The sense of trust and community fostered within Eckerd’s theatre department spans from first-year students to alumni. As a first-generation college student, I am so grateful for Eckerd’s community atmosphere and supportive professors. They made sure I knew I wasn’t alone; I had guidance throughout my college career and beyond.”
—Hannah Hockman ’21, Theatre Director

Beyond the Classroom

Theatre and Musical Theatre majors get to work with the pros before they graduate. You could be a:

Faculty direct at least two productions per year. Under the supervision of faculty and staff, students also have the opportunity to direct plays. A few recent productions:

More theatre productions

You could find yourself volunteering backstage for Studio@620, Arts Conservatory for Teens and multiple area schools where they perform shows and engage students.

Service Pics on Flickr

In addition to 3-week Winter Terms in NYC studying how Broadway works and a Spring-into-Summer course Bears to Cats: London Theatre History, theatre majors have left campus to study at:

Other acting majors have done exchange programs in Scotland and Australia; a few who were focused on theatre design and tech have studied in Italy.

Our student newspaper reviews what it’s like behind the scenes of an Eckerd College theatre production

Popular classes

Acting for the Camera

An experiential course replicating a working film set where camera acting is taught through acting exercises, readings, and filmed and edited scenes shot on digital cameras.

Performance and the Environment

What do performance and the environment offer each other? Students critically evaluate environmentally themed performances across media (such as ecodrama, dance, public presentation, and ecocinema), as well as create public performance projects of their own.

Facilities

Eckerd has two theatre spaces in Bininger Center for Performing Arts: a 324-seat proscenium theatre with state of the art sound system and an intimate black box studio space.

Bininger Theatre at Eckerd College is a tall building with modern architecture

Outcomes

What can I do with a theatre degree?

  • Actor
  • Artistic director
  • Costume designer
  • Director
  • Educator
  • Film maker
  • House manager
  • Lawyer
  • Lighting designer
  • Playwright
  • Puppeteer
  • Scene designer
  • Stagehand
  • Stage manager
  • Technical director
  • Theatrical agent
  • Therapist

Where our theatre majors go to grad school

  • Long Beach City College
  • Pace University
  • Sacred Heart University
  • St. Petersburg College
  • University of South Florida

Where our theatre majors go to work

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