A theater education at the award-winning ISU Department of Theater provides our students with:
- A philosophy that encourages initiative, collaboration, and experimentation
- The exclusive use of two theater spaces
- Options of majoring in one of three focus disciplines or minoring in theater
- Small class sizes with an energetic and accessible professional faculty
- Opportunities to engage with new theater works
- Creative and Performing Arts Scholarships available to talented high-school students interested in serious theater study
- Workshops and masterclasses with visiting theater professionals from around the world
- Opportunities for our students to work in tandem with professionals through Crossroads Repertory Theatre, the only professional theater company in the Wabash Valley of west-central Indiana produced by the university each summer.
We believe that students should have theater experience from their first day in the program--no waiting until junior or senior year to be considered for opportunities. First-year students are often cast in shows and work technical positions.
We are a small department, which means individualized attention for all students. With around 50 student, there is plenty of opportunity for students to be cast in shows as well as gain experience backstage. We have a 6-to-1 student-to-faculty ratio. This means that the faculty know every student. Most theater classes have less than ten students in them.
Indiana State University is home to Crossroads Repertory Theatre, a professional summer repertory theater company. Students can audition for the shows and apply to work in various production positions. Many even do both! Students can gain paid, professional theater experience before they graduate. As a part of Crossroads Rep, industry professionals (directors, designers, stage managers, and actors) are brought in to work with students--professionals come from all over the United States and sometimes from abroad. This network helps students build industry connections that benefit them once they graduate.
At least every four years (but often every other year) the Department of Theater takes a show on internatonal tour. Recent trips include Hungary, England, Croatia, Ireland, Vietnam, and China. Students experice touring a show internationally, are immersed in a different culture, and--the best part--pay little to nothing for the trip thanks to the Indiana State University Academic Advantage. First-time, full-time students and full-time, transfer students entering ISU in Spring 2023 may receive an Experience Grant. The value of the grant ranges from $1,000 to $3,000 for internships and other work-based experiences, study abroad, education abroad, research and creative activity, or a service trip. The experience is a one-time opportunity and will be available beginning the second year at Indiana State.
The Department of Theater has four dedicated theater spaces: a proscenium theater (Dreiser Theater), a thrust stage (Seventh Street Theater), a Blackbox theater, and the Performance/Tech Lab. In 2023, Dreiser Hall, home to Dreiser Theater and the Blackbox, reopened after a $18 million renovation. All new lighting, sound, and projection equipment means students learn on the best and newest equipment. The building is also home to the costume shop, which is filled with domestic and industrial machines, as well as new tools for costume construction and crafts.
Theater students have unique opportunities for significant participation in the innovative and exciting productions mounted by the department, beginning in their first semester on campus. Within the undergraduate-only curriculum, students are encouraged to collaborate, experiment, and take initiative - inside and outside of the classroom, onstage and off.
The Department of Theater is invested in producing new plays, by current and former students, as well as world premiere productions by established professional playwrights. Additionally, the department produces experimental and devised theatre work on a regular basis.
The Department is unique in its approach to and application of the latest entertainment industry technologies including digital lighting, sound and video equipment and techniques. Recent technology acquisitions include LED lighting, projection playback hardware and software (media servers) and digital sound mixing and editing equipment. These technologies and ideas are applied regularly in our produced work, preparing our students to enter the contemporary entertainment industry.
We are a small department, which means individualized attention for all students. With around 40 majors, there is plenty of opportunities for students to be cast in shows as well as gain experience backstage.