Theatre Concentrations
Acting Concentration
The mission of the Acting Concentration is to provide rigorous actor training in a liberal-arts context. At Greensboro College, we develop young artists as individuals through fostering and sharpening their imaginations, challenging them in a variety of experiences, and focusing on bringing honesty and truth into their acting. We are interested in actors from a diverse range of backgrounds and abilities, who share a common enthusiasm for learning to work hard, and who strive for the best in anything they do.
The actors here bring sincerity to their work and are able to work with professionals. They are able to think creatively and collaborate efficiently with colleagues. Students are able to perform in shows immediately and begin the 7-semester actor training core program as soon as they arrive. Actors, besides acting, receive training in voice & movement (Alexander technique, Linklater), impulse-training (Meisner), script analysis, playwriting, auditioning, on-camera acting, Shakespearian theatre, and several other electives.
The professors are dedicated to helping the actor make the next step into a graduate program or acting internship upon leaving college. Technical aspects such as resume and monologue repertoire are treated very seriously. Greensboro College Theater’s diverse show seasons consist of contemporary comedies, period pieces, Broadway-style musicals, modern dramas, and many more.
In order to apply the knowledge gained from the studio, classroom and shop, acting emphasis majors will:
- Audition and participate either onstage or backstage on ALL theatre productions.
- Audition, participate, and interview at conferences such as the N.C. Theatre Conference, the Southeastern Theatre Conference, the American College Theatre Festival, and the University/Resident Theatre Association.
- Audition and interview for summer theatre apprenticeships, internships and performance venues.
Stage Directing & Management Concentration
The stage directing/management program at Greensboro College is unique in the Southeast. Students, from the moment they walk into the department, tackle directing, stage management, and theater management. The courses are taught by GC professors and local theatre professionals. Triad Stage, Greensboro’s premier Equity theatre, trains students on-site at a professional theatre.
You have opportunities to direct, stage-manage, and production-manage shows in the department, even in your first year here. You will have ample opportunity to apply your classroom learning into creating fully-realized productions. Through these opportunities and with internships at Triad Stage, Barter Theatre, and the Berkshire Theater Festival, Greensboro College Theatre prepares directors and management students for opportunities in professional theatre or graduate school.
In 2010-2011, senior directing student Ben McCarthy became the first student in GC Theatre’s history to direct the season’s main-stage musical, “Little Shop of Horrors.” This opportunity is infrequent in other colleges’ programs. Students have directed all manner of productions since. The theatre department here treats student-directed work with no less importance than that of a show directed by a faculty member. We are all here to collaborate and create quality, honest work while being educational all the while.
Design & Technical Theatre Concentration
Greensboro College Theatre offers a multitude of opportunities for the students to build, design, light, paint and make themselves heard through the creative process — and ultimately carve out all the artistic sensibilities they don’t know they possess. Undergraduates are the focus of our Design/Tech Concentration in theatre training, curriculum, productions, and most everything we do.
Students learn the art of design and technical production with experienced faculty, facilities, and equipment that mirror the regional professional production experiences they will face after school.
Greensboro College offers students the opportunity to specialize in a variety of technical theatre areas. Individualized programs allow the students to focus on their main interest and to acquire the skills to compete in the professional world upon graduation.
Areas of study in the Stage Design/Technical Concentration for the B.F.A.:
- Scene Design
- Technical Direction
- Lighting Design
- Sound Design
- Scene Painting
- Property/Craft Artisan
Class work and production assignments allow students to acquire and put into action the following skills:
Design (Scene, Lighting, Properties, Sound)
- Design Process — including research
- Drafting — pencil, pen, and CAD (Computer Aided Design)
- Sketching — figure, architectural, lighting, shadow, shading
- Rendering — small-scale painting
- Scenic Painting — large-scale painting
Technical
- Problem solving, budgeting, materials and resources
- Scenic production, operations and techniques
- Lighting production, operations and techniques
- Sound production, operations and techniques
- Properties, operations and techniques
Cognitive Awareness
This emphasis will allow for a growing awareness of:
- Spatial relationships
- Color use
- Lighting properties
- Aural perceptiveness
- Visual communications
- Principles of communication
- Emotional accessibility
Marketing
- Portfolio Creation
- Resume
- Interview Skills
- Self-Analysis
Application of the above knowledge will be demonstrated backstage or onstage in all theatre productions, at theatre conferences, workshops and professional interviewing situations.
Costuming Concentration
The Costuming Concentration focuses on learning skills that are crucial to all costuming environments. Hands-on work cutting, draping, sewing, serging and patterning are realized in garments that are used in yearly productions. Students learn the design process, including costume plots, renderings, and costume-shop management. Each costuming-concentration student gets selected to be the costume designer for at least one show each year. These shows include student-directed one-acts; student-directed, full-length shows; and main-stage productions directed by theatre faculty.
Theatre Education Concentration
The goal of the Theatre Education K-12 Concentration is to provide opportunities and experiences for students to acquire the attitudes, knowledge, skills and competencies to perform effectively in the schools. Successful completion of the program grants not only a degree but also the necessary credentials to teach in North Carolina and most other states. The program works jointly the Education Department at Greensboro College, providing classroom instruction in general teaching techniques as well as those skills that are unique to teaching theatre.
The program will prepare the prospective teacher to develop and demonstrate:
- Skills in acting, creative dramatics, directing, design, and technical production to acceptable levels.
- A comprehensive knowledge of theatre history and literature, play analysis and playwriting.
- The ability to teach others in the development of performance and technical skills.
- The ability to diagnose performance and technical problems of students and prescribe solutions.
- One’s own philosophy of theatre education.
- The ability to use computers and related hardware as a creative instructional tool in theatre.
- Methods of conveying one’s own understanding of theatre to culturally and educationally diverse student populations.
- Fair and useful methods of critiquing and evaluating.
- An understanding of the need for continuing education and professional development.
- The learning and teaching process and current trends in theatre teaching methods, materials and equipment.
BFA in Musical Theatre Concentration
The Musical Theatre students are supported by a faculty of professionals within the Greensboro College Theatre, Dance, and Music Departments.
In addition to the training received on the Acting track, the Musical Theatre students also study one semester each of Ensemble and Cabaret Performance. (Yes! You write and perform your own one-man show) For the Musical Theatre Seminar class, taken in the junior year, each student studies two roles from the American Musical Theatre canon. (Yes! Another one-man show in your Junior year!) And, while not a program requirement, many of our Musical Theatre students will also offer a senior recital. Also required is the popular course American Musical Theatre History and Literature.
Dance training includes the core classes of Ballet, Tap, and Jazz. Additional dance courses offered include Modern, African, Ballroom, Dance Auditions, Renaissance Dance and Choreography. The musical theatre curriculum also includes the research and study into the work and style of a specific musical theatre choreographer. Included within the curriculum of the BFA in Musical Theatre is a Dance Minor. Students also have the opportunity to serve as Dance Captain or Assistant Choreographer on the Mainstage.
The Music Department provides Instruction in Sight Singing, Music Theory, Piano Proficiency and Private Voice. Our majors also receive additional time each week with our Department Accompanist. A monthly “Vocal Rep” class offers the opportunity to highlight the vocal progress of each student.
Some of our Musical Theatre students find the time participate in the Music Department vocal ensembles, and even with the Campus Chapel Band.
The Greensboro College Theatre Department Mainstage season always includes at least one book musical and one musical revue.
