Theatre
Find Your Stage Here
Raise the curtain on your acting career in Kirkwood’s Theatre interest area. With opportunities to study acting, technical theatre, theatrical design, and play analysis, you can fully explore the discipline of theatre firsthand alongside award-winning faculty and local professionals within the theatre field.
Studying theatre at Kirkwood will give you a solid foundation of course work and experience that prepares you to continue your passion for the performing arts. In addition to engaging course work taught by faculty experienced on and off the stage, you’ll have the opportunity to participate in three major productions each year.
By starting at Kirkwood, you have leadership opportunities not often available to freshman and sophomores at four-year colleges and universities. Here you can have a starring role, serve as a stage manager, or be the lighting designer during your first two years of college.
There are many options for a rewarding and exciting career in theatre. A background in theatre helps prepare you for career opportunities in traditional theatre-related fields like booking agencies, advertising firms, television, film, recreation, and academia, as well as related fields like marketing, advertising, motivational speaking, and journalism.
Theatre classes give you a broad vision within the liberal arts. You’ll gain valuable experience and skills in a hands-on, learn-by-doing environment. Kirkwood can help you explore all of your career options — and provide exciting experiences in and out of the classroom to help you find the best path.
Resources:
Get to know our faculty and theatre production staff that help bring performances to life.
The Theatre interest area at Kirkwood is part of our Liberal Arts program. You will work closely with the Visual and Performing Arts advisor, as well as theatre faculty in choosing the classes that interest you the most. Our theatre faculty are recognized experts who can help you explore future education and career options within the field of theatre.
Course requirements are not only limited to theatre classes, but also include foreign language, math, and science. With so many options to choose from, the advising process will help you find the path that matches your passion for theatre.
Theatre students will begin the journey toward an amazing career by taking the following required courses:
- Introduction to Theatre
- Introduction to Play Analysis
- Forms of Literature: Drama
- Acting I and II
- Technical Theatre
- Introduction to Design for Theatre
Additional recommended courses include:
- Cultural Anthropology
- Introduction to Sociology
- Introduction to Psychology
- College Algebra
- College Physics
Scholarships
Take advantage of your share of more than $3 million in scholarship opportunities. At Kirkwood, we make it easy. You only need to apply once, even if you are eligible for more than one scholarship
Specifically, Visual and Performing Arts offers nearly $140,000 in scholarships each year. Awards range from $500 to $2,000 per semester and students enrolled in any of Kirkwood’s career and college transfer programs are encouraged to apply.
Some Visual and Performing Art scholarships may require an audition as part of the award eligibility. Fill out the form below to request an audition and the appropriate faculty will contact you to schedule an audition date and time. To audition, you must have a minimum 2.5 GPA.
Scholarships for Theatre Students
- Must be pursuing an A.A. degree with career interest in art, music, or theatre.
- Must have a minimum 2.5 GPA.
- Must demonstrate financial need.
- Must be a graduate of a high school in Linn County, Iowa, with preference for Cedar Rapids Community School District graduates.
- Must maintain at least eight semester hours, including at least one course in a subject other than music, theatre, or art.
- An initial audition and/or portfolio review is required.
- Applications are screened each term to determine continuing eligibility.
- Fine and Performing Arts scholarships are awarded to students pursuing an A.A. degree with career interest in music or theatre as well as those pursuing degrees with other academic interests.
- Must maintain a minimum 2.5 GPA.
- Must actively contribute to the music, theatre and/or art programs, including enrollment in ensembles and/or productions.
- Contact the Fine and Performing Arts Specialist at 319-398-4956 for application information.
- Must be enrolled in at least eight semester hours and pursing a degree with career interest in music, theatre, or art as well as degrees with other academic interests.
- Talent, reliability, grade point average, and level will be considered.
- Preference given to a student pursuing a degree with career interest in fine arts.
- Must have a minimum 2.5 GPA.
- Must demonstrate financial need.
- Contact the fine and performing arts specialist at 319-398-4956 for application information.
- Must maintain at least eight semester hours including at least one course in a subject other than music or theatre (need not be pursuing an A.A. degree with career interest in music or theatre to apply).
- Must maintain a minimum 2.5 GPA.'Must actively contribute to the music and/or performing arts program, including enrollment in ensembles and/or productions.
- An initial audition is required.
“Being from two hours away, I considered the community college near my hometown but decided against it after I saw Kirkwood. Campus really has the feel of being a larger university, but with smaller class sizes that I don’t feel like I get lost in.”
Lauryn Beeler,
Des Moines, Iowa