Theatre
Fall admission only
Theatre programs are designed to inspire and prepare students to enter Canada’s rapidly evolving performing arts culture. We value creativity, imagination and critical thinking, and support an entrepreneurial approach capable of meeting the demographic, technological, multicultural, funding and related challenges and opportunities of the years to come.
Students explore a wide range of past and present approaches to theatre combining traditional and innovative research through courses and creative projects that encourage the development of basic skills in acting, creative and theoretical research, production, design, playwriting, theatre for social change, and broad based arts literacy courses for the wider university community.
Instructors are active at scholarly conferences, in professional theatre, publishing, innovative research and cutting edge approaches to teaching and pedagogy. The Department fosters close links between teaching, research and creative activity to provide students with opportunities to explore their potential, and to intern and train with faculty members and artists.
Graduates are grounded in basic theatre skills and knowledge, and demonstrate enhanced research and problem solving skills. They are well prepared for future training, competitive for entry to graduate schools and are sought out as interns and assistants by established theatre practitioners.
Design for the Theatre
Specialization in Design for the Theatre — 60 credits
This program invites students to become actively involved in the complex process of conceiving, communicating and realizing the visual framework for theatrical works. Emphasis is placed on design as a highly creative discipline which, though comprised of a number of specialties — lighting, costumes and set design — makes its greatest expressive contribution to theatre when a designer has a firm grasp of the potential of each constituent part, together with an understanding of the many other aspects of production.
Students progress from exploring the nature of the design process, to the co operative nature of theatre work, to developing refined insights and skills involved in the imaginative and technical aspects of the various streams of theatre design through group projects and individual portfolio development. Senior students work on advanced individual projects, which provide them with a rich understanding of the role designers play in contemporary theatre.
Sample courses include:
Lighting Design, Costume Design, Set Design, Scene Painting, Stage Properties
Admission Requirements
Design for the Theatre (BFA - Specialization) requirements: Minimum cut-off averages, admission statistics and program requirements.
Theatre
Major in Theatre — 48 credits
Directed towards students who seek a general understanding of theatre, the program offers a balance between academic study and practical experience, and between artistic and organizational concerns. The program provides an introduction to many aspects of theatre, from theatre history and theory, to stage management, directing and theatre administration, and can serve as the basis for graduate work in the field, or for future involvement in the creation and running of theatres.Minor in Theatre — 24 credits
(minor has been suspended for 2013-14)
Designed as a general introduction to the field of theatre, the minor is available to all students in any Faculty. It can serve as an excellent complement to more advanced studies in other areas. There are no additional requirements for the Minor in Theatre.
Sample courses include:
Script Analysis, Theatre History, Acting, Current Canadian Theatre, Dramaturgy, Directing
Admission Requirements
Theatre (BFA - Major/Minor) requirements: Minimum cut-off averages, admission statistics and program requirements.
Theatre and Development
Specialization in Theatre and Development — 60 credits
Theatre and Development (TDEV) focuses on the history, theory, and practice of drama and theatre from the perspective of art’s capacity to inform and effect social change. Specific applications such as developmental drama, drama in education, and drama therapy are examined for their educational, therapeutic, and rehabilitative efficacy. On a broader social level, the program is concerned with points of intersection between traditional theatre and popular forms such as collective and collaborative approaches to play building; theatrical events specifically created by, for, and about particular communities or populations; and political or educational theatre which is either overtly interventionist or educational in intent.
The program is vitally concerned with developing group skills and leadership, and preparing students to assume entrepreneurial roles within the Canadian theatre milieu. Students have access to a wide range of practical classes in areas such as acting, design, playwriting, production and administration. In the upper levels, TDEV supports fieldwork in areas of personal specialization such as working in schools, working with populations with special needs, developing large scale community arts projects, and apprenticeships with community based theatre companies.
Sample courses include:
The Artist in Community, The Audience and the Performance Event, Theatre with Diverse Populations, Storytelling: Oral Histories and Identities, Popular Theatre: Theory and Practice, Theatre with Young People, Special Projects in Theatre and Development
Admission Requirements
Theatre and Development (BFA - Specialization) requirements: Minimum cut-off averages, admission statistics and program requirements.
Theatre Performance
Specialization in Theatre Performance — 60 credits
A strong and challenging program that trains students to be performers and creators at ease with the many forms of today’s theatre and live performance. Dedicated students will gain profound knowledge from the program which they can apply either directly to the stage or use as a strong foundation for graduate/specialized studies.
The first year centres on a broad base of theatre making aspects intended to build a vocabulary for future collaborative projects and productions. Subsequent years involve specialized performance classes, guest artists and directors. Students also have the opportunity to participate in the student play festival (SIPA) and in directing classes.
Sample courses include:
Acting, Character and Text, Theatre Movement, Acting Styles, Voice and Speech, Acting Elizabethan Text
Admission Requirements
Theatre Performance (BFA - Specialization) requirements: Minimum cut-off averages, admission statistics and program requirements.
Playwriting
Major in Playwriting — 48 credits
Provides an introduction to all elements of the theatre, from acting and designing to administration and aesthetics, as well as the necessary writing skills. Playwriting courses centre around specific areas of study each year, beginning with the basics of the craft, then on to more focused skills such as the study and writing of different genres. Third year students work on projects that are consistent with the needs and abilities of their peers within the program.
Graduates will leave the program with an entrepreneurial sense of what is required in order to write seriously for the stage. Interested students from other Theatre programs may enrol in all of the playwriting courses as electives, thus creating a beneficial fusion of talents and vision within this major.
Sample courses include:
[Playwriting I, II], Playwriting Workshop' Directing' Script Analysis
Admission Requirements
Playwriting (BFA - Major) requirements: Minimum cut-off averages, admission statistics and program requirements.
Facilities
The Department boasts well equipped facilities on both campuses. New acting studios and design classrooms (including a lighting lab) are located downtown near the D.B. Clarke Theatre, a traditional 380 seat proscenium theatre. Students have access to costume, prop and scene shops and other production spaces. Departmental productions are regularly performed on the Loyola Campus in the Cazalet, a black box theatre with flexible seating, and in the intimate F.C. Smith Auditorium. All students having the necessary prerequisites are eligible to participate in student initiated or department productions.
See the BFA degree description for information on the core and elective requirements. For a complete list of courses: Undergraduate Calendar
Undergraduate admissions guidelines: For information on international admission, required documents, proof of language proficiency, the university admissions timetable, selection and notification process.
