First-Year Theatre Core
All first-year BFA–Theatre students are admitted into the Theatre Core curriculum for either Performance or Design, Production & Management. The Theatre Core helps establish a common vocabulary, instills the School of Theatre’s core values, and encourages students to acquire tools and practice techniques that sharpen inherent instincts and intellects, encourage creativity, and open them up to broader levels of awareness, imagination, and expression. By acquiring a base of artistic, expressive, and collaborative skills, students begin to discover the breadth and depth of what it means to be a professional theatre artist today and explore all facets of theatre making before committing to a specific area of study.
At the end of their first year in the program, each student declares a major. This decision is reviewed by all members of the School of Theatre faculty before a student is officially enrolled in their major.
Successful completion of the Performance Core will result in the choosing of a major for advancement in:
- Acting
- Theatre Arts–Performance
Successful completion of the Design, Production & Management Core will result in the choosing of a major for advancement in:
- Costume Design & Production
- Lighting Design
- Scene Design
- Sound Design
- Stage Management
- Technical Production
- Theatre Arts–Design & Production
Learning Outcomes
- Demonstrate a foundational understanding of the art and craft of theatre through its historical significance and contemporary impact.
- Demonstrate the ability to think, create, and collaborate in the art and craft of theatre making.
- Demonstrate a basic understanding of visual communication and collaborative storytelling within all aspects of Design, Production & Management (Design, Production & Management Core only).
- Demonstrate the ability to embody the interconnectedness of intellect, emotion, voice, body, and context as a self-aware theatre artist (Performance Core only).
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Requirements
All BU undergraduate students, including both entering first-year and transfer students, will pursue coursework in the BU Hub, the University’s general education program that is integrated into the entire undergraduate experience. BU Hub requirements can be satisfied in a number of ways, including coursework in and beyond the major as well as through cocurricular activities. As part of the Theatre Core, CFA theatre students will begin to fulfill BU Hub requirements, ordinarily including at least two writing courses in the Communication area, as well as requirements in Philosophical Inquiry & Life’s Meanings, Aesthetic Exploration, Historical Consciousness, Oral and Signed Communication, Ethical Reasoning, Individual in the Community, and the Intellectual Toolkit. Remaining BU Hub requirements will be satisfied in the second, third, and fourth years through coursework within and outside the major or, in some cases, through cocurricular experiences.
Program of Study
First-Year Theatre Core: Performance
| Theatre Core | 1st | 2nd |
| CFA FA 100 Doing, Making & Knowing: The CFA Experience^ | 2 | – |
| CFA TH 136 Theatre Collaboration 1: Equitable & Inclusive Theatre Practice | – | 2 |
| CFA TH 171 & 172 Language & Craft of Theatre 1 & 2 | 2 | 2 |
| CFA TH 101 Introduction to the Study of Theatre & Performance | 3 | – |
| CFA TH 104 Dramatic Literature 1: Beginnings of Theatre to the Early 19th Century | – | 4 |
| First-Year Writing Seminar (e.g., CAS WR 120) | 4 | – |
| Performance Core | ||
| CFA TH 121 & 124 Acting 1: Personal Approach to Acting & Acting 2: Intro to Scene Study | 3 | 3 |
| CFA TH 131 & 134 Movement 1: Expressive Human Instrument & Movement 2: Expressive Human Instrumentalist | 2 | 2 |
| CFA TH 111 & 114 Voice and Speech 1: Experiencing Voice & Voice and Speech 2: Exploring Voice | 2 | 2 |
| CFA TH 142 Somatic Practice 1 | – | 1 |
| CFA TH 146 Artists in Community 1 | – | 1 |
| Total credits | 18 | 17 |
First-Year Theatre Core: Design, Production & Management
| Theatre Core | 1st | 2nd |
| CFA FA 100 Doing, Making & Knowing: The CFA Experience^ | 2 | – |
| CFA TH 136 Theatre Collaboration 1: Equitable & Inclusive Theatre Practice | – | 2 |
| CFA TH 171 & 172 Language & Craft of Theatre 1 & 2 | 2 | 2 |
| CFA TH 101 Introduction to the Study of Theatre & Performance | 3 | – |
| CFA TH 104 Dramatic Literature 1: Beginnings of Theatre to the Early 19th Century | – | 4 |
| First-Year Writing Seminar (e.g., CAS WR 120) | 4 | – |
| Design, Production & Management Core | ||
| CFA TH 165 DP&M Community Forum 1: Discovering Theatre through History |
2 | – |
| CFA TH 166 DP&M Community Forum 2: Contemporary Theatre Makers |
– | 2 |
| CFA TH 157 Introduction to Design 1: Storytelling & Collaboration for Live Performance |
3 | – |
| CFA TH 158 Introduction to Design 2: 2D & 3D Design Fundamentals |
– | 3 |
| CFA TH 173 2D Drafting & Visual Communication 1 |
2 | |
| Drafting Elective* | – | 2 |
| Total credits | 18 | 15 |
^CFA FA 100 is not required for transfer students.
*Drafting electives:
- CFA TH 174 2D Drafting & Visual Communication 2 (recommended for students intending Scene Design as their major)
- CFA TH 333 Figure Drawing (recommended for students intending Costume Design & Production as their major)
- CFA TH 353 AutoCAD (recommended for students intending Technical Production as their major)
- CFA TH 391 VectorWorks (recommended for students intending Lighting Design or Sound Design as their major)
