Undergraduate Student Experience & Opportunities

Participation Eligibility / Admission to the Theater Arts & Dance Programs

The Department of Performance, Play & Design offers three degrees focused on theater arts and/or dance, in addition to welcoming the entire UCSC undergraduate student population to explore and experience the performing arts as part of their broad UCSC liberal arts experience.

Any student admitted to UCSC is eligible to participate in our staged productions and/or enroll in our classes!

There is no audition or portfolio review to pursue any of our degrees, nor do we require that students be declared in or affiliated with the department to participate in our productions and/or enroll in our classes, though all productions and some classes enroll via a competitive audition or interview process and some classes have prerequisites. Impacted classes may also give priority to students declared in Theater Arts, especially close to their graduation term.

Hands-on opportunities and classes in acting, directing, playwriting, dramaturgy, theater history, design and technology allow students to improve their skills and develop an intellectual understanding of these areas:

• Acting
• Dance
• Directing
• Playwriting
• Theater Design and Technology
• Dramaturgy and Theater History, Theory & Critical Studies

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FREE TICKETS FOR ALL UCSC UNDERGRADUATES

All UCSC undergraduates get a FREE TICKET to all PPD shows – just reserve online!

To reserve a ticket to a PPD show, undergrads:

1. Go to “UCSC Art Events” for PPD events on Evenbrite.com (app or desktop).
2. Select an event.
3. Click the “Get tickets” button.
4. Find the “UCSC Undergrad w/ ID” ticket option and select 1 ticket.
5. Check out: Confirm your @ucsc.edu email address.
6. Click the “Register” (or “Place Order”) button.
7. Save the ticket as soon as you purchase it. (Or log back in to your Eventbrite account to view it later.) If you will not use the complimentary ticket, please cancel the order from within Eventbrite (paid tickets are not refundable).

• A ticket/QR code is required for entry.
• Valid UCSC ID is required at the door.
• Please arrive 10-15 minutes before the advertised start time.

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Acting

Students interested in pursuing acting have a range of performance opportunities and courses available. Please check the current annual THEA Course Offerings list to plan ahead.

COURSESS IN ACTING

Lower division acting classes

• THEA 20 Introductory Studies in Acting – THEA 20 is a non-audition course designed for students with little or no previous experience in acting. 
• THEA 21 Acting Studio I: Psychological Realism * – THEA 21 is a smaller, more intensive class than THEA 20, intended for students with some acting experience. Students audition on the first day of class and learn that day if they will receive an enrollment permission number.
  
  • NOTE:
    • Either THEA 20 or THEA 21 may be used toward Theater Arts major declaration qualification (non-transfer students) and/or a major requirement (transfer and non-transfer students). 
    • THEA 20 is usually offered twice during the regular academic year and during the summer. THEA 21 is usually offered once a year, in fall quarter.
      
• THEA 23 Voice for the Actor

Upper division acting classes

• THEA 121 Acting Studio II: Shakespeare *
• THEA 124 Movement for Performers ** 
• THEA 126 Acting Studio III * /  ** 
• THEA 126M The Meisner Technique: A Practical Exploration *
• THEA 145R From Hamlet to Hamilton: Performing Rhythm and Rhyme in the Twenty-first Century

PRODUCTION OPPORTUNITIES FOR ACTORS 

The department stages 2-3 publicly presented shows each quarter (excluding summer). Productions are cast almost exclusively from student actors, most of whom are undergraduates, with an occasional casting of graduate students, professional, or faculty actors, giving students the chance to work alongside professionals from the field.

Acting students are encouraged to audition and act in as many productions as they feel they are able to during their time at UCSC. A requirement for the Theater Arts Major is participation in a 5-unit Theater Arts production class. Theater Arts minors may use an upper division production to satisfy a requirement. More about production classes and the major’s Production Requirement.

At least one production per quarter is directed by a faculty member or a graduate student. The student-run Barnstorm Theater Company and Rainbow Theater provide even more opportunities for students in most quarters.

Production Auditions

Most staged productions are cast at General Auditions at the beginning of each quarter. Details are posted on the department Auditions page as they become available. Very rarely, auditions are held at a different time and place from the General Auditions. If this is the case, information on those auditions will also be posted or linked to on the Auditions page.

Note that production auditions are different from auditions required for admittance into our by-audition or instructor permission studio courses (classes that involve creative practice but which do not include a public performance). Please see the By-Audition or Instructor Permission Studio Courses of the Undergraduate Handbook for more information.

Additional Opportunities

There are additional performance opportunities on the UCSC campus, including various improv and sketch comedy troupes. These opportunities and productions are not affiliated or sponsored by the UCSC Theater Arts program and will not count as course credit toward our degrees. 

Don’t hesitate to reach out to the Theater Arts Advisor with questions.

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Dance

The undergraduate Dance program at UCSC focuses on individual growth within the spectrum of related theater arts and a general humanities education.

Students have four options for taking part in dance in the department:

• Focus on dance within the Theater Arts major (this allows for up to two lower division dance classes and up to six upper division dance-focused classes)
• Pursue the separate Dance Minor degree
• Pursue both the Theater Arts major and Dance Minor, in which case some or all lower division minor requirements can be double counted
• Take dance classes without pursuing a degree in the department (students are not required to be declared in one of our degrees to take our classes or participate in our production classes)

Please meet with the Theater Arts Advisor to learn which path is best for you and to plan completion of your degree(s).

While dance classes are open to all UCSC students, because most dance studio classes are small and popular (especially lower division classes), priority may be given to juniors and seniors pursuing a degree in our department, and some upper division classes have a prerequisite or enroll by instructor permission (see the current Class Search for details). 

Prospective students do not need to audition into the department, nor is our department considered a pre-professional training program. Technical training in our program is intensive, but not at the expense of wide, maturing experience in the university environment. 

The department offers courses taught by world-renowned choreographers, dancers and guest artists and provides many opportunities to perform, including student- and faculty-directed dance productions. A very special opportunity in our department is the annual student-choreographed, student-performed, student-produced dance showcase Random: With a Purpose.

Our dance faculty do not aim to mold students into any particular system of dance which survives from strong individual artists or their second- or third-generation followers. Instead, they aim to provide students with the means to recognize the formation and effect of a variety of performance styles, to understand the uses of dance and movement outside the area of performance, and to develop their own choices in forming a personal style, liberating them to choose the paths they wish to follow. 

Dance in the department addresses three intertwined areas of study, including:

Contemporary Dance Technique & Choreography

Dance studio classes begin with an emphasis on contemporary dance and dance theater broadly defined: from the development of dance skill and performance to an emphasis on developing personal movement vocabularies through improvisation and choreographic tasks. 

Dance Drama & World Cultural Forms

Dance resides in numerous cultural communities on this campus. We have a number of diverse interests and organizations invested in dance, such as the Mexican Folklorico dance troupe. With our current faculty, we offer Indian and African dance forms. Through Porter College we direct our students to additional World dance forms including Filipino, Korean, and Sudanese.

Critical Dance Studies

Critical studies informs the theory and practice of dance at all levels. We offer a rigorous approach to dance in its socio-historical context and include courses in dance praxis (creativity studies, digital arts and new media, education, and community-based approaches).

Non-Academic Dance Opportunities

Students who wish to take dance classes for recreational (non-credit) purposes may find options in the UCSC Athletics & Recreation program. There are also non-academic student-run dance clubs and groups on campus.

• More about the Minor in Dance.
• More about the Random: With a Purpose annual student dance showcase.

Don’t hesitate to reach out to the Theater Arts Advisor with questions.

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Directing

If you are interested in pursuing directing, there is a range of opportunities and courses available to you. The department stages 2-3 publicly presented shows each quarter (excluding summer). At least one production each quarter is directed by faculty, and typically at least one is directed by students.

COURSES IN DIRECTING

It is recommended that students begin by taking our lower division directing course, THEA 40 Introduction to Directing (no prerequisites or previous experience expected), followed by THEA 141 Play Direction Studio I (admission-by-instructor permission, see details in the Class Notes section of the course in the current Schedule of Classes). These classes are typically offered once per academic year. Check the current annual THEA Course Offerings list to plan ahead.

DIRECTING FOR THE STUDENT-RUN THEATER COMPANIES

The student-run Barnstorm Theater Company and Rainbow Theater provide exceptional opportunities for students to direct in most quarters. Barnstorm and Rainbow are student-run and sponsored by the department. Barnstorm typically operates in fall and winter quarters and Rainbow Theater typically stages a show in spring quarter.

While it is advisable to take our directing classes to form a strong foundation in theory, technique and practice, students may submit proposals at any stage in their progress to direct for our student-run companies.

• More about:
• Barnstorm Theater Company
• Rainbow Theater
• New Play Festival

ASSISTANT DIRECTING

Students are encouraged to seek out Assistant Directing (AD) opportunities to work with a faculty member or graduate students.

Each quarter the department stages 2-3 productions in drama (there are also opportunities to direct for our student Random with a Purpose dance showcase). These shows are directed by faculty, visiting professionals, and advanced directing undergraduate or graduate students. Students interested in serving as an AD should contact the director of a particular show to inquire about opportunities. It is entirely at the discretion of the director to accept a student’s petition or not.

If a director accepts a student as their AD, the student will enroll in the production as a class (e.g., THEA 151 or 151A). Serving as AD to a faculty member can fulfill the Production Requirement for the Theater Arts Major or an Upper Division Studio Requirement for the Theater Arts Minor. The role of ADs on a production is determined by the director. Certain productions may have multiple ADs, fulfilling different needs of the production. The duties and responsibilities of an assistant director can range widely, depending upon the production and the student’s level and range of experience and ability. Duties can include note-taking during meetings and rehearsals, being on-book, running errands for a director, making copies, leading actor, dancer, or singer warm-ups, video editing, dramaturgical work, running lines, etc.

The director may request an AD’s presence at auditions and callbacks, or even at preliminary production meetings which may take place during the quarter prior to the production. Therefore, it is highly recommended that a student AD arrange to meet with the director as early as possible, and at the very latest before the first rehearsal, in order to determine the director’s expectations and assignments.

OTHER OPPORTUNITIES

The UCSC Theater Arts program and the Theater Arts faculty have strong ties to the major theater companies operating in the Monterey and San Francisco Bay Areas. The support offered by the faculty and department has often allowed UCSC undergraduate students to secure competitive professional internships during the summer.

Don’t hesitate to reach out to the Theater Arts Advisor with questions.

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Playwriting

The department offers classes and a number of unique opportunities for students interested in learning and developing playwriting skills.

COURSES IN PLAYWRITING

Specific to playwriting, the department offers THEA 157 Playwriting and THEA 159 Advanced Playwriting. These two courses fulfill upper-division studio requirements for the Theater Arts Major or Minor. These classes are typically offered once per academic year. Check the current annual THEA Course Offerings list to plan ahead.

The department also offers courses in theater history, theory, critical studies and dramaturgy focusing on specific theatrical movements, themes or influential playwrights and artists. These classes give writers a deeper understanding of human nature and the cultural and societal dynamics and context of their work, enabling them to create more believable and authentic characters and settings and more nuanced and compelling narratives.

Examining the interrelationship between drama and other arts, the structure and common elements found throughout both contemporary and “classical” theater as we know it, these courses have included Black Women and Diasporic Theatrical Expression, Theater in the Chicano Power Movement, Irish Theater, Yiddish Theater, Women in Theater, Asian Theater, Queer Theater, and more. Courses focusing on the work of individual playwrights have explored the work of Ibsen, Chekov, Artaud, Shakespeare, and more. These courses fulfill upper-division critical studies requirements for the Theater Arts Major or Minor. Also see the Dramaturgy and Theater History, Theory & Critical Studies section of this page.

PRODUCTION OPPORTUNITIES FOR PLAYWRIGHTS

The UCSC Theater Arts program is unique in the number and quality of opportunities it offers playwriting students to see their work performed and/or read on stage.

The playwriting and supervising faculty are very supportive of student playwrights, and available to offer advice and walk playwrights through the process of collaboration, compromise, and editing to see a script be staged.

DHARMA-GRACE FOUNDATION CREATIVE WRITING AWARD

In select years, the department is able to offer the Dharma-Grace Foundation Creative Writing Award to one junior or senior undergraduate student dramatist in good academic standing. Established in 2005, this endowed award fund is exceptional amongst theatrical undergraduate programs in that it not only supports the development of an undergraduate student-written work, but also fund a staged public production. The selected play will be paired with a professional director, dramaturg, student actors and other artists as needed to develop the play for presentation on the Theater Arts Center Mainstage as part of the PPD theatrical season. Finalists will be considered for a staged reading in the New Play Festival. 

Eligible candidates are selected by a faculty committee of the Department of Performance, Play & Design and recommended to the Dean of the Division of Arts for final approval. The faculty committee will determine the amount of the award.

Playwrights can work with the director, designers, and actors – within the discretion of the director – at all stages and levels of rehearsal and production, and gain invaluable insight into the process of transforming an original script into an independent production.

For more information, please see the he Dharma-Grace Foundation Creative Writing Award page.

PLAYWRITING FOR THE STUDENT-RUN THEATER COMPANIES

The student-run Barnstorm Theater Company and Rainbow Theater provide exceptional opportunities for playwrights in most quarters. Barnstorm and Rainbow are student-run and sponsored by the department. Barnstorm typically operates in fall and winter quarters and Rainbow Theater typically stages a show in spring quarter.

• More about:
• Barnstorm Theater Company
• Rainbow Theater
• New Play Festival

ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

The UCSC Theater Arts program and the Theater Arts faculty have strong ties to the major theater companies operating in the Monterey and San Francisco Bay Areas. The support offered by the faculty and department has often allowed our students to secure competitive professional internships. 

Playwriting students can gain valuable insight into the professional process for a playwright by interning under the literary or artistic management departments of a professional company.

Student playwrights also find opportunities within the department working as dramaturgs for faculty directors. Dramaturgy work can guide a playwright in examining the formation of a theatrical world, and can give them the opportunity to assist in the creation of a new play. Additionally, interning as a dramaturg or dramaturgy assistant for a professional company can provide insight into the translation of scripts to productions and at times can give a student the opportunity to work on the development of a new play in production.

Within the UCSC Theater Arts program, there are numerous faculty members who are also published and working playwrights. The faculty are fully available for consultation, guidance, and support to student playwrights, their education, and independent studies or projects they may pursue.

Don’t hesitate to reach out to the Theater Arts Advisor with questions.

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Theater Design and Technology

Students interested in design and technology have many opportunities to develop skills in stage management, set design, costume design, lighting and other areas through taking classes and engaging in hands-on production work. 

COURSES IN THEATER DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY

While some courses have prerequisites, any UCSC student is welcome to enroll in these classes. These classes are typically offered once per academic year or once every other year. Check the current annual THEA Course Offerings list to plan ahead.

Lower-Division Technology and Design Courses 

The program offers a variety of other lower-division studio design classes, including those listed below. These introduce students to a range of backstage areas, providing foundations to advanced courses and preparation for hands-on production work:

• THEA 10 Introduction to Theater Design and Technology
  • (THEA 10 is required for the THEA BA; may be used for the THEA Minor)
• THEA 12 Stage Management
• THEA 14 Introduction to Drawing
• THEA 17 Costume Construction
• THEA 18C Drafting-Computer Aided
• THEA 19 Design Studio: Lighting Studio A (introduction to lighting design)
• THEA 50: Fundamentals of Theater Production (2-units; see more about this class below and here)

Upper-Division Design Courses 

The Theater Arts major and minor require students to take a certain number of courses from the category of Upper Division Studio. The program has offered many courses in this category. The following list shows a sampling of these courses that have been offered regularly in recent years:

• THEA 114 Sound Design and Engineering for the Theater
• THEA 115A Design Studio: Scenic Design 
• THEA 117 Design Studio: Costume
• THEA 117A Advanced Costume Construction 
• THEA 119 Design Studio: Lighting Studio B 
• THEA 158 New Play Festival

In addition to production and studio courses, the department offers upper division history and theory courses in design. The Theater Arts major and minor require students to take a certain number of courses from the category of Upper Division History, Theory & Critical Studies. Here are some recently offered design-related classes in that category:

• THEA 113 The History of Design for Theater
• THEA 116A History of Clothing and Costume

PRODUCTION OPPORTUNITIES FOR DESIGNERS AND TECHNICIANS

In addition to classroom courses, students have many opportunities to gain hands-on experience doing production work and as designers or assistant designers on fully staged faculty-directed and student-directed productions. 

Lower-Division Productions

A great way for beginners and others to gain direct hands-on experience is with the student-run Barnstorm Theater Company (THEA 55A/B) and Rainbow Theater (THEA 56R) which provide exceptional opportunities for students interested in stage management, scenic design, lighting design, sound design, costume design, etc. Barnstorm typically operates in fall and winter quarters and Rainbow Theater typically stages shows in spring quarter.

THEA 50 Fundamentals of Theater Production

THEA 50 Fundamentals of Theater Production is a two-unit practicum course in which basic backstage training is offered during work on a fully staged upper division production. Theater Arts majors are required to take three quarters of THEA 50, and minors are required to take one quarter. Any UCSCS student may take THEA 50 and no previous experience is required. Because spots in the class are limited to the number people needed to support a production, priority is given to students who are enrolled before the first class meeting and may be given to juniors and seniors pursuing a degree in our department. 

• Important enrollment information and other details about THEA 50 for current students can be found in the THEA Undergrad Handbook.

Upper-Division Productions

All designers and assistant designers for our staged productions are assigned via the Tech Grid, posted in the Theater Arts Center A-building downstairs hallway near the Green Room. The majority of assignments on the Tech Grid for upper division productions (THEA 151, 151A, 139, etc.) are determined at the Technical Interest Meeting held toward the end of spring quarter every year for the upcoming year’s season of shows. If you miss the meeting or are just entering the program, you may still apply to work on upper division productions by submitting a Technical Interest Form and speaking to the Operations Manager, or Student Production Liaison. Students interested in design work should also speak with design faculty in their area(s) of interest to learn about possible opportunities and for guidance.

Assignments are determined based on interest and experience. Previous design experience, practical experience working in the shops or on crews in THEA 50, stints as technical directors or master electricians, etc., will be taken into consideration. Generally, beginning design students are assigned as assistants to more advanced design students, faculty designers or visiting professionals before being assigned to design their own show.

The department faculty includes professional designers who teach courses in their areas of focus and are available as mentors. Many faculty have ties to professional theater companies throughout the Monterey and San Francisco Bay Areas, and beyond that have led to professional internships, overhire work, and even professional employment for talented and ambitious UCSC students.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS OF ALL EXPERIENCE LEVELS

In addition to production opportunities in the above fully staged shows, the upper division studio class THEA 158 New Play Festival is a staged reading workshop class which provides students with little or no experience a basic understanding of the elements of the roles of design and technical work in productions.

More about:

• Barnstorm Theater Company (including the the Barnstorm Tech Interest Form)
• Rainbow Theater
• New Play Festival
• THEA 50 Fundamentals of Theater Production
• Technical Interest Form (for upper div productions)

Don’t hesitate to reach out to the Theater Arts Advisor with questions (theatergradprogram@ucsc.edu).

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Dramaturgy and Theater History,
Theory & Critical Studies

Courses focusing on theater history, theory, critical studies and dramaturgy emphasize not only the theater arts fields of design, dance, and acting, but also literature, music, studio art and art history as well as the interrelationship between drama and other arts. These are primarily structured as lecture courses, though several are hybrid in nature, including elements of creative practice. 

COURSES IN DRAMATURGY AND THEATER HISTORY, THEORY & CRITICAL STUDIES

Lower-Division 

Theater Arts majors are required to take the three-course lower-division THEA 61 theater history series. Theater Arts minors are required to take any one course from the series that they choose. These courses introduce students to issues and methods in analyzing historical and contemporary performance practices from a variety of disciplinary perspectives while reviewing the broad history of theater and performance. Course readings contextualize theatrical objects and offer theoretical tools for analyzing, interpreting, and making performances from them.

Each class is offered consistently once per year as noted below:

• THEA 61A Ancient & Medieval Drama (offered in Fall only, every Fall)
• THEA 61B Drama from the Renaissance to the Modern Age (offered in Winter only, every Winter)
• THEA 61C The Birth of the Modern: Drama and Performance After the Renaissance (offered in Spring only, every Spring)

In addition to the THEA 61 courses, the program offers a variety of other lower-division lecture-based classes, including those listed below. These may be used to satisfy the lower-division elective requirement for the major. As almost all fulfill a General Education requirement, these courses are also popular among the wider UCSC undergraduate population. These classes are typically offered once per academic year. Check the current annual THEA Course Offerings list to plan ahead.

• THEA 56D Rainbow Theater Cultural Studies
• THEA 80A Introduction to African American Theater
• THEA 80C Monsters
• THEA 80L Muppet Magic: Jim Henson’s Art
• THEA 80N Walt Disney
• THEA 80P Pixar – Story Matters
• THEA 80R Bollywood Dance and Culture in India and Indian Diaspora
• THEA 80U Everybody Dance Now!

Upper-Division 

The Theater Arts major and minor require students to take a certain number of courses from the category of Upper Division History/Theory/Critical Studies. Some of these classes are typically offered once per academic year, and some are offered every 2-3 years. Check the current annual THEA Course Offerings list to plan ahead. The following is a list of courses in this category that have been offered fairly regularly in recent years:

• THEA 113 The History of Design for Theater
• THEA 116A History of Clothing and Costume
• THEA 143 Ecofutures (cross-listed as ARTG 143)
• THEA 161B Black Women and Diasporic Theatrical Expression (new class; will appear in the 2025-26 catalog)
• THEA 161M Sexuality, Gender & Performance
• THEA 161P Theater in the “Chicano Power” Movement (cross-listed as LALS 161P)
• THEA 161Q Queer Theatricks: Representations and Sensibilities 
• THEA 161R Theater of American Cultures: Fighting Oppression (Theater of the Oppressed)
• THEA 163A Shakespeare
• THEA 164 Issues in Dance History and Theory
• THEA 165 Dance Modernism
• THEA 166 Ballet: A History
• THEA 168 Disability and Performance

Within this category, the program offers two course specifically focused on dramaturgy:

• THEA 160 Dramatic Theories – this course is required for all Theater Arts majors and may be used toward a Theater Arts minor requirement. This course is offered every Spring quarter (and only in Spring).
• THEA 161 The Art and Science of Dramaturgy (formerly Advanced Dramaturgy) – this course may be used toward a Theater Arts major or minor requirement. It is typically offered once per academic year. Check the current annual THEA Course Offerings list to plan ahead.
  
  • Taking both THEA 160 and 161 best prepares students to undertake dramaturgical work on theatrical productions.

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Also see our GET INVOLVED page to learn about all of these exceptional opportunities:

• Auditions in Theater Arts & Dance
• African American Theater Arts Troupe
• Barnstorm Theater Company
• Dharma Grace Creative Writing Award
• New Play Festival
• Rainbow Theater
• Random: With a Purpose (dance showcase)

Don’t hesitate to reach out to the Theater Arts Advisor with questions (theatergradprogram@ucsc.edu)!

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