Bachelor’s Degree in Musical Theatre
-
Overview
When the stage is calling, William Peace University’s Musical Theatre program will prepare you to answer.
With a BFA in Musical Theatre from WPU, you will have the skills and confidence to work in professional theatre or in any number of other careers in which performance skills are an asset. As a Musical Theatre major, you will study under and be mentored by an accomplished faculty and guest artists with impressive academic achievements as well as Broadway, television and film credits. The performance-oriented program is a demanding one, featuring rigorous training in acting, voice, dance, musicianship, history and technical theatre. The curriculum requires theatre internships. In addition, you may choose to study abroad, and our senior trip to New York will give you the opportunity to take part in professional auditions.
Note
Our BFA in Musical Theatre requires an audition to be accepted into the program. All theatre majors are eligible to audition for theatre scholarships. Those interested in auditioning for the B.F.A. program should prepare 32-bars of two, contrasting songs and a monologue that is one minute in length. Selected material should showcase the actor’s range and strengths. Auditions are made by appointment only via email: theatre@peace.edu.
Work with industry veterans to develop and hone your skills, experience, connections and confidence -
Courses
The courses listed below are for the Academic Catalog and are subject to change. Please reference the Academic Catalog for further information and course descriptions. If you are a current student, please reference the catalog in which you come under.
Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre
*Liberal Education Curriculum: Under the Liberal Education requirements, Theatre majors must take THE 112: Introduction to Acting in place of COM 101.
GENERAL ELECTIVES
-
Faculty
Associate Professor of Musical Theatre and Theatre
Program Director of Theatre; Professor of English -
Careers
Musical Theatre majors develop strong singing, dancing and acting skills needed to make a mark on the professional and wonderful world of theatre. WPU students perform in William Peace Theatre productions throughout their careers as students, where they build vocal technique, repertoire and musicianship through private lessons focused specifically on current musical theatre style.
WPU graduates go on to various careers in areas such as costume design, directing, set design, producing, acting and teaching.
Recent Peace internships include:
- North Carolina Theatre
- Theatre in the Park
- Opera House of Wilmington
- Southern Appalachian Repertory Theatre
- Hot Summer Nights at the Kennedy
- Raleigh’s Village Idiots
Recent employment:
- Last Comic Standing
- Chelsea Lately
- North Carolina Theatre
- Theatre in the Park
- Groundlings
Recent graduate school acceptances:
- Harvard University
- The Juilliard School
- Virginia Commonwealth University
- AMDA
- UCLA
-
Performances
2018-2019 Season
Main Stage Productions
- Speech and Debate
- Disney’s Beauty and the Beast
- Julius Caesar
- Hair
- WPU Dance Concert
SECOND STAGE PRODUCTIONs
- 24-Hour Playfest
- Senior Recitals
- One Night Only (Student-Directed Cabaret Evenings)
2017-2018 Season
MAIN STAGE PRODUCTIONS
- An Evening of Edgar Allan Poe
- The Wild Party
- Five Women Wearing the Same Dress
- Assassins
- King Lear (Partnership with Honest Pint Theatre Company)
- WPU Dance Concert
SECOND STAGE PRODUCTIONS
- 24-Hour Playfest
- WPU Singers Choral Concerts
- Senior Recitals
- One Night Only (Student-Directed Cabaret Evenings)
2016-2017 Season
MAIN STAGE PRODUCTIONS
- Kiss Me, Kate
- The Laramie Project
- Noises Off
- Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
- WPU Dance Concert
SECOND STAGE PRODUCTIONS
- The Pillowman (Student-Directed Production)
- Finding Clara (Student-Directed Staged Reading)
- One Night Only (Student-Directed Cabaret Evenings)
- 24-Hour Playfest
- WPU Singers Choral Concerts
- Senior Recitals
2015-2016 Season
MAIN STAGE PRODUCTIONS
- The Music Man
- The Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom
- Twelfth Night
- American Idiot
- WPU Dance Concert
SECOND STAGE PRODUCTIONS
- Macbeth (Staged Reading for Shakespeare Marathon in partnership with NC Museum of History and Burning Coal Theatre)
- One Night Only (Student-Directed Cabaret Evenings)
- 24-Hour Playfest
- WPU Singers Choral Concerts
- Senior Recitals
Peace TV
- FlickrFlickr
- Twitter
“Raleigh Little Theatre and WPU have been two of my artistic homes for several years. It’s wonderful to have such a great collaboration between these two organizations.”
