Train Deeply. Create Broadly. Build a Life in Theatre.
Belhaven University’s Bachelor of Arts in Theatre gives you the opportunity to study acting, directing, design, and production while putting your skills to work in campus productions. Through rigorous, hands-on training in a Christ-centered community, you’ll pursue artistic excellence while discovering how your gifts can contribute to the theatre profession.
All theatre majors begin in the B.A. in Theatre program. After two semesters, you can apply for a Performance or Production emphasis, or continue in the general B.A. where you gain the practical experience, professional preparation, and creative versatility to contribute across the theatre profession. Through small classes, individualized mentorship, and an ambitious production season, you’ll graduate prepared to enter the field, pursue graduate study, teach, or build a career that draws on your strengths as an artist, collaborator, and creative professional.
National Accreditation
The Belhaven University Department of Theatre is an accredited institutional member of the National Association of Schools of Theatre (NAST).
Why Earn a Degree in Theatre from Belhaven?
Develop Your Specialty
Build advanced skills through the Performance or Production emphasis and individualized preparation for auditions, portfolios, and professional opportunities.
Understand the Whole Production
Study acting, directing, design, stagecraft, theatre history, dramaturgy, and stage management so you can collaborate effectively with artists throughout the field.
Expand Your Possibilities
Explore another academic interest, pursue a minor, or add a second major. Belhaven's Fifth Year Free benefit makes the double-major opportunity especially compelling.
Prepare for a Dynamic Profession
Graduate as an adaptable theatre artist who can perform, create, lead, teach, and move confidently among different roles and settings.
100% Professional Preparation
All students develop audition materials or portfolios as career preparation
Dynamic Facilities
Fully equipped production shops and spacious Blackbox Theatre with 54'-square grid
1/3 Of Our Students
Major in the arts, signifying our commitment to these programs
3-4 Active Production Season
Apply your classroom training to develop material for your résumé, reel, or portfolio
One Degree. Many Ways to Work in Theatre.
Theatre is collaborative. Theatre professionals understand not only their own craft, but also how their work connects with every person who brings a production to life.
Belhaven’s Bachelor of Arts in Theatre combines focused, hands-on training with opportunities to explore the full theatrical process. Whether your primary interest is performance, design, production, directing, or another area, you’ll develop the versatility to follow your gifts and respond to new professional opportunities.
You won’t prepare for only one role. You’ll develop as an artist, collaborator, problem-solver, and creative professional—equipped to pursue a range of careers throughout theatre and the broader creative industries.
What Can You Do with a Theatre Degree?
Performance and Communication
- Actor
- Voiceover artist
- Teaching artist
- Drama therapist
- Spokesperson or presenter
Direction and Creative Development
- Director
- Dramaturg
- Literary manager
- Critic
- Playwright or creative writer
Design and Production
- Scenic, costume, lighting, sound, or projections designer
- Stage manager
- Technical director
- Props designer
- Carpenter, electrician, stitcher, or costume technician
Theatre Leadership and Arts Management
- Company manager
- House manager
- Box-office manager
- Arts administrator
- Marketing and public relations professional
Education and Graduate Study
- Theatre teacher
- Graduate theatre student
- College or community theatre professional
- Ministry or nonprofit arts leader
What Will I Learn?
- Collaboration and Teamwork
- Creative Problem-Solving
- Contemporary Scene Study
- Acting Styles
- Voice and Movement for the Actor
- Stage Combat
- Scenic Construction
- Lighting Design
- Sound Engineering
- Costume Design and Construction
- Principles of Theatre Design
- Visual Storytelling
- Dramaturgy and Theatre History
- Stage Management
What Are Belhaven Grads Doing Now?
- Acting in companies such as the National Players, Taproot Theatre, Trustus Theatre, New Stage Theatre, and off-Broadway theatres
- Designing and working backstage at companies such as the Alley Theatre, Synetic Theatre, Trinity Shakespeare, the Arden Theatre, New Stage Theatre, and Sight and Sound Theatre
- Teaching all ages and in all settings
- Appearing in television shows such as The Walking Dead: World Beyond and in national ads for companies like Amazon Prime
A Celebrated Haven for Arts Education
Only 39 universities in the U.S. are accredited in all major arts. Belhaven is one. That means master classes, great performances, and national competitions. When you study art, dance, music, or theatre here, you’re earning a degree from a nationally recognized school for the arts.
Theatre: What You’ll Study
Bachelor of Arts in Theatre
With this degree, you can work as an actor, director, designer, or technician in professional or non-professional theatres. You can also teach at the secondary level or pursue graduate study in theatre.
Bachelor of Arts in Theatre (Performance Emphasis)
With this degree, you can work as an actor, director, or dramaturg. You can also teach.
- B.A. in Theatre (Performance Emphasis) – Even Start 4-Year Plan (pdf)
- B.A. in Theatre (Performance Emphasis) – Odd Start 4-Year Plan (pdf)
Bachelor of Arts in Theatre (Production Emphasis)
With this degree, you can work as a designer, stage manager, or technician. You can also teach.
- B.A. in Theatre (Production Emphasis) – Even Start 4-Year Plan (pdf)
- B.A. in Theatre (Production Emphasis) – Odd Start 4-Year Plan (pdf)
Minor in Theatre
This minor requires 18 hours of coursework in areas including acting, stagecraft, and theatre studies. You’re also required to participate in at least three theatre productions (on-stage or off-stage) while at Belhaven.
Theatre Scholarships
In addition to our Visit Scholarship, you can supplement your financial aid award with an academic scholarship from Belhaven's School of the Arts!
To qualify, you must be accepted for admission, submit your high school GPA and test scores, and complete your FAFSA. We'll assess your scholarship potential along with your audition or portfolio review when you're on campus for Arts Discover Day.
Onstage or backstage, it's time to raise the curtain for your new role as a Blazer!
The Belhaven Advantage
Your interests do not have to fit into one box. Belhaven's theatre major structure gives you room to connect theatre with other academic and professional goals such as...
- Theatre and Business for arts administration or producing
- Theatre and Creative Writing for playwriting and dramaturgy
- Theatre and Graphic Design for promotion and visual storytelling
- Theatre and Dance or Music for musical theatre
- Theatre and Biblical Studies or Ministry for church and nonprofit arts leadership
- Theatre and Communication for media, public relations, and content development
Belhaven’s Fifth Year Free benefit makes pursuing a double major even more attainable. Eligible freshmen who need a fifth year to complete two majors may receive that additional year’s tuition at no cost.
Auditioning for Theatre Admission
Prior to auditioning for the Theatre Department, you must be admitted to the university. For more information, contact an admission officer or apply now.
Join our community of artists! We can't wait to create theatre with you. Learn how to audition or present your portfolio.
Opportunities for Theatre Majors
Gain valuable experience and build your resume as you participate in our annual season of top-quality productions. Our ambitious and respected production season will provide you with material for your reels, portfolios, websites, and more.
Belhaven Theatre students are sought-after interns at New Stage Theatre, Mississippi's premier professional regional theatre. Our students have also been hired to work at Summerstock companies such as the Hangar Theatre; Ocala Civic Theatre; Tecumseh Outdoor Theatre; and The New London Barn Playhouse. Add professional credits to your resume before you even graduate.
Each semester, you’ll present your work to a jury of faculty and theatre professionals, receiving focused feedback that helps you strengthen your craft and prepare for your next opportunity. Production students build and refine a professional portfolio, while performance students develop and polish audition material. By graduation, you’ll have more than classroom experience—you’ll leave with a faculty-vetted portfolio and/or at least 10 audition-ready monologues and songs, giving you the confidence and professional materials to pursue auditions, internships, employment, and graduate study.
Contact Us
Office of Admission
Phone: 601-968-5940Mailing Address:
1500 Peachtree Street, Box 153
Jackson, MS 39202
For campus visit:
Jimmy Hood Welcome Center
855 Riverside Drive
Jackson, MS 39202
Fax: 601-300-2932
Verse of the Year
"Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit," says the Lord Almighty.
Zechariah 4:6