Theatre
What is theatre?
The theatre program at Virginia Tech offers a well-rounded education that also allows you to shape your experience by focusing on performance, design and technology, or a generalist track, all while engaging in hands-on production work and collaborative projects. Students are encouraged to experiment with all interests and possibilities. The curriculum emphasizes both artistic development and professional preparation, with coursework in acting, directing, stagecraft, and theatre history. By participating in mainstage productions, studio projects, and faculty- or student-led workshops, you’ll gain practical experience, build creative confidence, and graduate ready for a career in performing arts/entertainment or many other fields , as well as for further study in a graduate program.
Why study theatre at Virginia Tech?
- Join a tight-knit community with a low student-to-faculty ratio that ensures you receive personalized guidance and support.
- Build skills across all areas of production, including performance, directing, costumes, set construction, sound, projections, painting, props, and lighting.
- Audition for four mainstage productions each year, plus multiple undergraduate workshop productions.
- Hone your craft in our main performance space/studio theatre, Theatre 101, an experimental black box space, and perform in the Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre, a state-of-the-art venue in the Center for the Arts at Virginia Tech.
- Explore rotating upper-level courses that cover topics like sound technology, scenography, costume design and technology, lighting, acting, voice and speech, and movement.
- Work in a 3,500-square-foot scene shop equipped with industrial-grade woodworking, machining, and metalworking tools, plus a dedicated paint area.
- Create in a 1,200-square-foot costume shop with cutting and ironing tables, a fitting room, and sewing machines.
- Study abroad in Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare’s hometown, learning about his life, work, and legacy. You’ll tour historic sites, attend performances of Shakespeare’s plays, sit in on scholarly lectures, rehearse Shakespearean monologues, and engage with the actors, directors, and designers of the Royal Shakespeare Company.
- Skip the audition for admission as it’s not required, but do audition for merit-based scholarship opportunities.
What courses will I take?
To learn more about the courses you’ll take as a theatre major, review the Program Curriculum and course descriptions in the university catalog. You’ll have options to personalize your degree through the program’s three options: theatre general, theatre design and technology, and theatre performance.
Meet an alum
Dylan Bomgardner '18
“Virginia Tech was more than just an academic experience; it was a journey of self-discovery. The faculty not only helped me find direction but also instilled in me the belief that I could carve out a unique space for myself in the world of lighting. It was here that I learned how to merge my passion with professional purpose, and this combination has shaped every step of my career since then.”
What can I do with a degree in theatre?
- Arts manager
- Building carpenter or construction worker
- Costume designer, artisan, or technician
- Director
- Director of event planning or entertainment
- Lighting designer or technician
- Playwright
- Props artisan or craftsperson
- Set designer, painter, or artisan
- Sound designer or technician
- Stage manager
- Stage performer for theatre, cinema, or other area
- Technical director, assistant, or technician
What graduate programs could I pursue?
- Acting
- Arts administration
- Costume design
- Directing
- Lighting
- Performance studies
- Theatre design
- Scenic design
- Stage management
- Technical direction/production management
- Theatre studies
