BA in Theatre

About this program

Carroll College's Theatre BA is housed in the Fine Arts department of a small, private Catholic liberal arts college ranked #1 among Regional Colleges in the West by U.S. News & World Report for 11 of the past 12 years. The program lives by the philosophy that students learn theatre by doing theatre — not just watching it — and every student participates in every aspect of production work from their first semester. With a 12:1 student-to-faculty ratio, students receive one-on-one attention from faculty who are working professionals. The degree offers two concentrations: Performance and Technical Theatre. The Performance concentration builds acting skills through a four-course acting sequence (Intro to Acting, Acting Methods, Voice & Movement, and Period Styles), supplemented by dance, production work, and elective courses in film acting, stage combat, musical theatre performance, stage dialects, puppetry, improvisation, comedy, and Shakespeare. The Technical Theatre concentration develops scenic design, lighting design, digital media design, costuming, and stagecraft skills through a structured course sequence capped by Advanced Design. Students may also pursue both concentrations simultaneously. All majors — regardless of concentration — must be involved in some capacity in every Carroll production and are required to attend 75% of all department activities including workshops and showcases. December productions are directed and produced entirely by theatre majors and minors. The season consists of four productions annually, always including at least one musical, one classical play, and one Theatre for Young Audiences production with sold-out school day matinees. Productions take place in the FLEX Theatre, a flexible on-campus black box space. Beyond campus, Carroll students are welcomed at Helena's professional and community theatres including Grandstreet Theatre, Raven's Feather Productions, the Last Chance New Play Fest, and Helena Avenue Theatre — enriching both student experience and the Helena arts community. An annual Ed Noonan Scholarship is available to incoming freshman theatre majors, awarded through a competitive video audition or portfolio review and interview. Additional annual scholarships include the Artist Scholar Award (for declared majors/minors with a 3.0 GPA and involvement in two productions), the Dorothy Harper Award (for excellence beyond expectations), and the Jake Shearer Award (for financial need and faithful participation).

Audition & application overview

• Requires a dance audition