BW alumna finds career success at renowned children's theatre January 8
Theatre acting and directing major Alli St. John credits BW for contributing to her growth as an artist.
Conservatory of Performing Arts
Explore your theatrical expression and develop the technical and narrative skills needed for a successful and rewarding career in acting and directing.
Baldwin Wallace's theatre major integrates extensive hands-on learning with comprehensive coursework. You'll build skills in acting, voice, movement, make-up, audition techniques, script analysis, directing, stage management and more.
Foundation courses in literature, history, performance, technical and collaborative studies help you develop analytical skills and insights into professional theatre. Small class sizes, individual attention and faculty mentoring are at the core of the program. You'll be encouraged to participate in professional apprenticeship opportunities nationally and abroad.
BW faculty are practicing professionals with contacts at Cleveland's Great Lakes Theater, Cleveland Public Theatre, Beck Center for the Arts and Dobama Theatre, as well as Idaho Shakespeare Festival and Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival.
Through these opportunities, you'll gain experience, earn Equity points, network and build an impressive resume. On campus, you can get involved in theatrical productions through performance, design and construction, production, management and marketing.
With both proscenium and black box theatres, BW offers traditional and contemporary audience settings that provide a variety of learning environments, including theatre in-the-round, thrust staging and more.
At BW, theatre majors can focus their studies in acting and directing, dance and movement, design and technical and stage management. All programs include a solid foundation of courses designed to give students a comprehensive overview of theatre.
Heighten your understanding and appreciation of British theatre through a study abroad experience. The program is a three-week, credit-earning immersion course in British theatre that includes a nine-day trip to London. It is led by BW theatre faculty.
BW theatre students have the opportunity to serve as standardized patients for BW's nursing program and physician assistant program. Student actors memorize symptoms and play characters so that healthcare students can practice newly learned skills and bedside manner.
Offered as a major and a minor, theatre offers four programs of study: acting and directing, dance and movement, design and technical and stage management. BW also offers a major in music theatre through its Conservatory of Music and a BFA in acting.
The theatre major provides a broad perspective of the literature, history and creative practices of the discipline. Courses prepare students to appreciate and participate in theatre at all levels of performance, production, direction, design and management.
You can study acting, directing, voice and movement, scenic and costume design, lighting, stage management, theatre history and more. You also can take special seminars in contemporary topics.
The theatre major prepares students to:
Experiential learning bridges classroom study with real-world opportunities. You can enhance your studies through theatre productions, internships, co-curricular activities and student organizations.
This organization supports student theatre artists and those interested in theatre on campus. It informs students of events and opportunities in theatre, maintains an open forum for student ideas and projects, and raises awareness of on- and off-campus theatrical events.
The BW student chapter of USITT is committed to strengthening the skills of technical theatre students while carrying out the mission of the national organization. USITT serves to create vibrant dialogue among practitioners, educators and students.
The Department of Theatre and Dance is located in Kleist Center for Art & Drama. It houses two theatres: Mainstage and Black Box Theatre.
The Mainstage Theatre is a large 512-seat proscenium theatre. The stage has a 67-foot fly loft with a counterweight system. The stage opening is 44' by 24' with an extended 15-foot apron, ample wings and depth measuring 30 feet. This facility also boasts a new lighting system installed by ETC. With over 200 dimmers, lights are operated on an Emphasis board including a WYSIWYG program.
The Black Box Theatre is a smaller, flexible theatre with seating between 100-250. This unique studio space is intended to provide a variety of seating arrangements, including proscenium, three-quarter-thrust and in-the-round. The theatre has a balcony around three sides and a lighting grid 23 feet above the stage floor. This space also boasts a new Strand Century Lighting system with a 520 series light board.
Baldwin Wallace's close proximity to Cleveland and its nationally ranked arts organizations offers outstanding learning and performance opportunities. BW students worked with many of them, including:
(440) 826-2239, theatre@kllkj.net
Andrew Nogasky
Chair, Acting and Directing Studies
Associate Professor of Acting
David Alford
Visiting Assistant Professor of Acting
René Copeland
Program Coordinator, BA Theatre: Acting & Directing
Assistant Professor of Directing
Matt Koenig
Program Director, BFA in Acting
Assistant Professor of Acting
Keira Lea McDonald
Associate Professor of Acting
Movement Specialist
Jessie Cope-Miller
Lecturer of Acting
Tesia Benson
Chair, Stage Design & Production Studies
Program Coordinator, BA Theatre: Design & Technology
Associate Professor of Costume Design
Maya Fein
Associate Professor of Lighting Design
Stephanie Orr
Assistant Professor of Costume Technology
Lindsay Webster
Assistant Professor of Scenic Design
Melanie Boeman
Lecturer
Dylan Fujimura
Lecturer
Nicki Steen
Program Coordinator, BA Theatre: Stage Management
Lecturer
Gregory Daniels
Program Coordinator, Dance
Associate Professor of Dance
Chistina Lindhout
Assistant Professor of Dance
Sabrina Lindhout
Lecturer of Dance
Sam McIntosh
Lecturer of Dance
Kelly Parks
Lecturer of Dance
Derek Alley
Conservatory of Performing Arts Assistant Technical Director
Melanie Boeman
Conservatory of Performing Arts Costume Studio Manager
Dylan Fujimura
Conservatory of Performing Arts Technical Director
Shelly Taylor
Theatre Office Manager