THEATRE
The Theatre Department involves immersive training in theatre and performance studies. Classes fall into four major categories: Acting, Performance Technique, Theatre Studies, and Production & Technical Theatre.
Theatre Department students gain a deep understanding of their strengths and weaknesses both as artists and as professionals working in the industry and beyond. They explore up to twenty topics in the discipline including stagecraft, directing, stage makeup, audition technique, and the business of theatre.
YOUR THEATRE TEACHERS
YOUR THEATRE CLASSES
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![Three actors on stage dressed in period costumes, engaging in a dramatic scene. The woman in the middle holds a hat, interacting intensely with the man on the right, while the young woman on the left looks on. Stage set includes a small table with a loaf of bread and a tray.]()
Introduction to Acting
New Theatre Department students develop foundational skills in text and character work.
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![Three performers wearing masks with exaggerated facial features and black clothing, engaging with an audience during a theatrical performance.]()
Intermediate Acting
This year emphasizes expanding students’ vocal and physical power through character exploration in contemporary plays.
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![A young man is passionately performing on stage, surrounded by a group of diverse young women who are watching him and reacting with excitement and amusement.]()
Advanced Acting
This advanced lab encourages deep psychological exploration of character through classical and contemporary texts. College audition preparation is a key component of this class.
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![A group of young actors on stage performing a play, some standing, some kneeling, with props and set pieces resembling a theatrical scenery.]()
Production and Design
This course allows students to engage with all the elements of a production, learning techniques in lighting, sound, projection, carpentry, and other production components.
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![Four young women on a stage with a British flag backdrop, two engaging in conversation, others observing.]()
Directing
This two-semester course engages students in dramaturgy and culminates in an evening of student-directed scenes.
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![Woman with braided hair looking pensively at a wall illuminated by green light, holding a lanyard or strap near her face.]()
Acting for the Camera
Students develop on-camera techniques for commercials, television, and film, focusing on adjusting performance style for the lens in today’s digital media landscape.
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![Children performing in a school play set on a decorated stage with furniture, plants, and theatrical props, including a person in a red monster costume and another in a blue dragon mask.]()
Stagecraft
This course introduces students to backstage terminology, safety practices, and technical skills. Students learn to operate power tools, create lighting and sound cues, and understand the technical components of theatre production.
theatre AUDITION
We are thrilled you are auditioning for The Chicago Academy for the Arts. Please remember: our number one goal is for you to be successful. That means that when you have questions, please ask them!
You can email Department Chair Ben Dicke at any time for more clarification.
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Applicants are strongly encouraged to bring a headshot and resume listing performance experience and training in PDF format, if applicable.
The material you choose should be well-prepared. Proper preparation means an understanding of the piece, the play it is from, as well as fully memorizing the material.
One Contemporary Acting Text (1 - 2 minutes in length)
You have two options for choosing your contemporary acting piece. The first is to choose a selection from Everybody by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. It’s a contemporary play adapted from the one of the oldest surviving English language plays called Everyman. We highly recommend giving it a read. We’ve chosen four monologues from the play for you to choose from and linked the pdf here. Go through them and pick one with which you really connect. The second option is to choose from this pdf of Suggested Audition Monologues. Plays for each of these pieces are readily found for purchase online or at your local public library.
One Piece of Your Choosing (1 - 2 minutes in length)
This portion of the audition is where you get to make some strong choices to help tell the faculty about who you are as an artist. For this portion of the audition, you have quite a few options. You could choose to perform a second monologue from the lists above, memorize and interpret a favorite poem, choose the lyrics from a favorite song and sing it acapella with a recorded track, or interpret it as spoken word, perform a poem or song or spoken-word piece that you wrote, or memorize and interpret a monologue or sonnet from Shakespeare. Our faculty is excited to hear from you about your artistic passions so, if you have another idea, don’t hesitate to ask us. It’s likely that it will be just what we’re looking for.
Here are a few other audition tips from the Theatre Chair to keep in mind as you prepare. Again, please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions.
See you soon and break a leg!
THEATRE NEWS
THEATRE EVENTS
Theatre Department FAQ
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In the Theatre Department, we train students to think about the entirety of the discipline of theatre-making and the expansive range of opportunities therein. Students who graduate from our program may want to pursue acting, directing, playwriting, devising, improv, stagecraft, production, stage management, or all of the above.
In the Musical Theatre Department, graduates gain the necessary tools to become performers in the genre of musical theatre with rigorous training in singing, acting, and dancing.
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Lots of things. Many of our students matriculate into schools that specialize in actor training while others pursue liberal arts colleges that have strong theatre programs. Supported by our strong academic program, students will also pursue a non-arts major in college. Occasionally, students will enter the business of acting and theatre straight from high school.
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In a typical week, you can expect to study in your department for a minimum of 15 hours and a maximum of 25 hours while in rehearsals for one of our productions.
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Our dedicated theatre faculty all have years of extensive training and professional work. Check out their bios below to find out more about them.
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Each play produced in the department (fall mainstage, spring mainstage, and Shakespeare Festival) is chosen with the current ensemble of actors in mind. By the time our students are seniors, our faculty is intimately familiar with their unique skills and talents. Our show selection and casting takes into account each year’s specific ensemble.