Performance & Directing
Coursework in acting and directing prepares students for careers as performers, directors, and theatre artists.
Theatre at Batten University covers every facet of the craft — on stage, backstage, and in the classroom. Students engage with acting, technical production, directing, and dramaturgy alongside theatre history and dramatic literature, building both practical skill and critical perspective.
The major is built around ten courses spanning foundational performance and production training, theatre history, and upper-level electives that let students deepen their skills in a chosen specialty — acting, directing, design, or arts management. Students interested in teaching can pursue the Teacher Certification in Theatre Arts Education (PreK-12) track, which adds Education Department coursework and pre-service teaching placements.
Study abroad opportunities, both short-term travel courses and full-semester programs, extend the curriculum beyond campus. Theatre graduates go on to careers across a wide range of fields, applying the collaboration, communication, and creative problem-solving skills the major builds.
Students must also complete the Batten University Professional Education Program to receive a teacher certification in the State of Virginia, including pre-service placement in Elementary, Middle, and Secondary Schools. Pre-service placement and Professional Education coursework are provided through the Education Program.
Theatre coursework spans performance, technical production, directing, and theatre history, with hands-on practicum courses tied directly to Batten University productions, including the annual One-Act Play Festival. TH 304 can be repeated with a different topic each time, and a theatre internship offers professional, off-campus experience for upper-level students.
Theatre: A Hands-On Introduction
Students complete experiential modules in major production areas such as acting, tech, directing, and dramaturgy. Emphasis is given to the collaborative roles involved in creating, staging, and producing theatre. Offered every fall.
Rehearsal and Performance
Students perform in, stage manage, or provide technical support for a mainstage or studio play directed by a faculty member. Students are selected by audition and/or interview. Must be taken for 4 credit hours to fulfill the General Education requirement.
Acting I
An introduction to basic principles of acting in a workshop setting. Offered intermittently.
Technical Theatre
An in-depth study of the concepts, methods, materials, and equipment used in theatrical lighting, set design, stagecraft, costuming, makeup and safety. Students will gain practical knowledge through workshop and lab experiences. Students will receive additional in-depth experience by serving on technical crews for Batten University theatre productions. Offered every fall.
Theatre Practicum
Students gain experiential knowledge and skills in a chosen production area. Students will choose from the following production areas: stage management, production management, publicity and promotion, dramaturgy, scenic/lighting/costume/make-up design, technical direction, choreography/movement, or directing. May be taken and repeated for 2 or 4 semester hours. Prerequisite: consent. Offered every semester.
Script Analysis
A study of dramatic literature in relation to questions of style, theatrical convention, and interpretive theories. Prerequisite: ENG 105 with a grade of C or higher. Offered every spring.
Theatre Seminar, Advanced Seminar
Provides opportunities to study particular subject matter or to take advantage of special competence by faculty member in a given semester. Previous topics include musical theatre and improvisation. Topics change as needs and resources develop. May be repeated for credit as topics change. Prerequisite: varies according to the topic of the seminar. Offered intermittently.
Theatre History I
A study of the literature, architecture, performance styles, design, and cultural impact of theatre from the Ancient Greeks through French Neoclassicism. Prerequisite: Sophomore status or consent. Offered intermittently.
Theatre History II
A study of the literature, architecture, performance styles, and cultural impact of theatre from the English Restoration to the present. Prerequisite: Sophomore status or consent. Offered intermittently.
Exploring Theatre History
Students explore select theatre topics in detail as they evolve across time periods and geographic locations so that they can understand the value of the development of topics and the potential of the past to continue to speak to us today. Prerequisites: successful completion of ENG 105, WES 100, and WES 200. Can be taken multiple times. Offered each year.
Acting II
An advanced study of acting in a workshop setting. Features period style. Prerequisite: TH 210. Offered intermittently.
Images of Women in Theatre and Film
Students explore depictions of women in theatre and film over the past sixty years to gain an understanding and awareness of these media as powerful societal forces for the dissemination of gender ideology. They learn to apply feminist/gender theories and criticism to theatrical performance, dramatic literature, and films. Prerequisite: Sophomore status or consent. Offered intermittently.
Contemporary Voices in Theatre
Students explore the wealth of human perspectives and experiences present in contemporary theatre and performance. Using theories from across the liberal arts, students explore how historically marginalized groups express their perspective to contemporary audiences. Prerequisite: Sophomore status or consent. Offered intermittently.
Directing
This course provides students with an in-depth exploration of both practical and theoretical aspects of directing. Topics to be covered include concept, organizational methods, script analysis, rehearsal techniques, and director-actor communication. Each student, working closely with the instructor, will direct and produce the Batten University One-Act Play Festival. May be repeated for credit with change in One Act Project. Prerequisites: junior/senior status & consent. Offered every fall.
Senior Theatre Practicum
Fulfills the senior capstone requirement for theatre majors. Students gain advanced experiential knowledge in a chosen production area that may include acting, directing, stage management, production management, dramaturgy, and design. Students must have some experience in the chosen area. Prerequisites: senior status and consent. Offered every semester.
Theatre Internship
Offers upper-level students the opportunity for instruction and experience in an off-campus, professional theatre setting. Students have a minimum of ten contact hours per week with supervisors. Involves weekly journals, evaluations from supervisors, portfolio creation, and oral defense. Prerequisites: junior/senior status and consent. Offered every semester.
Advanced Theatre Research
CATALOG DESCRIPTION NOT FOUND IN SOURCE MATERIAL. Offered as a capstone option in the BA Theatre requirements but no description appears in this source file. Flagged for Academic Affairs.
Coursework in acting and directing prepares students for careers as performers, directors, and theatre artists.
The Technical Theatre sequence and production practicum prepare students for careers in stage management, lighting, set, and costume design.
The Teacher Certification track prepares students to teach theatre arts at the PreK-12 level in Virginia public schools.
Skills in collaboration, communication, and creative problem-solving built through the major translate broadly across business, education, and other fields.

Batten Professor of Theatre
Anne B. Shumadine Dean, Batten Honors College

Batten Professor of Theatre, Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies
Dean, Susan S. Goode School of Arts and Humanities

Director of the Susan S. Goode Fine and Performing Arts Center
Instructor of Theatre
