Auditions & Interviews
What's on Stage
Acting Option
Dance Major (BFA)
Design and Technology Option (BFA)
Musical Theatre Option
Dance Major (BA/BS)
Design and Technology Option (BA/BS)
Directing and Stage Management Option
Theatre Education Option
Theatre Creation Option
Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre
https://www.youtube.com/embed/KjykOLrBfV8
Our acting option in the bachelor of fine arts (BFA) in theatre is an outstanding undergraduate-only, pre-professional training program within a liberal arts education. It was named one of the top 10 BFA in acting programs in the country by leading industry observer OnStageblog.com. This demanding option consists of innovative and varied course work, with a strong foundation in movement-based approaches, and an emphasis on synthesizing the body, voice, and mind. We challenge our actors to be motivated and dedicated theatre artists who will make a difference in creating the next generation's voice.
Ball State University is fully accredited by the National Association of Schools of Theatre and National Association of Schools of Dance.
The acting course work focuses on the whole theatre artist, allowing you to train as a creator of new material as well as an interpreter of existing material to help you discover the best version of yourself and the stories you want to tell.
Teaching methodologies include Lecoq, Suzuki, Grotowski, Rodenberg, and Stanislavski, as well as coursework in clown, devising, Shakespeare, and stage combat.
The curriculum allows you to participate in exciting immersive learning and study abroad opportunities.
You will have numerous on-campus workshops with professional casting directors and other industry professionals throughout your four years of training.
You will have the opportunity to audition for senior showcases in New York and Chicago, and an LA Experience in Los Angeles.
We are an active, award-winning participant in the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF).
The acting option in our BFA in theatre requires 85 credits, along with an additional 33 credits of core courses and two general electives that are part of the University Core Curriculum.
Download SAMPLE 8 SEMESTER PLAN (PDF) View Catalog
Our welcoming acting faculty will inspire you to approach learning with curiosity, empathy, courage, and joy. We challenge our actors to be thinkers, athletes, responsible citizens, and motivated theatre artists who will lead the charge to create the next generation's voice.
Our low student-to-faculty ratio will allow for your personal development as an individual artist.
You will receive hands-on advising and mentoring from a faculty of working artists with extensive experience in the professional world.
Every year, we host internationally renowned distinguished guest artists
Get to Know Our Faculty
Our dedicated, caring faculty will immediately welcome you into our community and guide you throughout your entire experience at Ball State. Our acting faculty have worked professionally in New York, Chicago, and regional theatre.
Performance and Work Opportunities
You will always have opportunities to work—both in and out of the classroom—to get you ready for the real world of professional theatre.
With as many as 20 performances each year in our mainstage, studio, and workshop spaces, you will have numerous opportunities to work on classic and contemporary plays, musicals, dance pieces, and works that are devised or not textually based.
You will be eligible to audition for productions the second semester of freshman year.
Professors will assist you in finding internships, professional work, and summer training opportunities all over the globe. Recent placements include Actors Theatre of Louisville, Berkshire Theatre Festival, Drury Lane Theatre, Mind the Gap in the U.K., Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, and Williamstown Theatre Festival, among many others.
Ball State acting alumni are ready to enter the professional world of theatre as soon as they graduate, and they love nothing more than helping each other and future graduates of the program.
Ball State alumni are working all over the country—on Broadway and Off-Broadway, in Chicago, on national tours, in regional theatre, and in film and television.
Ball State has active and supportive alumni networks in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and other major cities.
Recent acting alumni credits include Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 on Broadway, This is Our Youth at Steppenwolf Theatre Company, The Glory of the World at Brooklyn Academy of Music, The Christians at Mark Taper Forum, and television appearances on The Good Wife, Elementary, and Madam Secretary.
SEE THEIR ACCOMPLISHMENTS
In addition to faculty who are working theatre professionals, we bring in distinguished guest artists on a regular basis to work with you—in classes, workshops, and the production season. These seasoned practitioners will enrich your educational experience immeasurably, while also allowing for professional networking opportunities.
SEE OUR GUEST ARTISTS
Departmental Scholarships
On top of the many forms of financial aid Ball State offers, the Department of Theatre and Dance offers a wide variety of merit and need-based scholarships to our own students at all levels and in all areas. We provide tens of thousands of dollars in support to make the college experience more affordable.
Apply to the Program
Are you interested in the acting option of our BFA in theatre? You must audition for admission into the program. We hold on-campus auditions, and we participate in the National Unified Auditions in Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles.
You must apply for admission to the university prior to scheduling your audition. Audition requests are made by filling out the supplemental theatre application that is part of the online application to the university.
Audition for the Program
Apply to Ball State
Acting students receive coaching from 'Modern Family' star
Jesse Tyler Ferguson spent two days on campus working directly with a group of theatre majors. Read more.
We are committed to having an ethnically and culturally diverse, stylistically varied, and technologically enhanced production season that will enrich your education and allow for an extension of the skills you are learning in the classroom.
SEE OUR PRODUCTIONS
Arts and Communications Building, Room AC 306