Musical Theatre

As a musical theatre major at Wilkes, your intense training in acting, voice and dance will be grounded in the liberal arts and sciences. Our bachelor of fine arts program focuses on preprofessional training to give you a competitive edge.

Program Snapshot

Program Type Format Credit Hours
Major On Campus 122

Why Study Musical Theatre at Wilkes?

The musical theatre program at Wilkes provides robust, preprofessional, conservatory-style theatre training grounded in the liberal arts and sciences. We are committed to small class sizes, individual support for each student and our program’s mission to create a skilled, accomplished theatre artist.

Our performers showcase their craft on our main stage in the Dorothy Dickson Darte Center for the Performing Arts and also explore innovative works in the intimate setting of our black box theatre.

We stage a variety of productions, including Broadway musical hits, relevant modern dramas and Shakespearean classics, so you’ll perform in a variety of acting, voice and dance styles. 

What Will You Learn as a Musical Theatre Student?

  • Train with a musical theatre focus in an intensive course of study of acting, voice, and dance, with a well-rounded foundation of technical theatre skills.
  • Accept feedback with confidence and use it to enhance your growth as a theatre artist.
  • Work as part of a team to bring excellence to the stage.
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Contact Us

Alison K. Morooney
Assistant Professor, Performing Arts
alison.morooney@wilkes.edu

Upcoming Audition Dates

Once you’re an admitted student, you must schedule an audition for admission to any theatre program and to be eligible for scholarship awards.

Find out more about requirements and schedule your theatre arts audition.

Schedule Your Audition

Program Highlights

Get on Stage

We have a low student-to-faculty ratio and a collaborative, cohesive department that’s about the size of a small repertory company. Our musical theatre BFA students have ample opportunity to practice their craft on the main stage starting with their first year on campus.

Business Focus

As a preprofessional training program, we prepare students for the business side of the profession and ready them to navigate the complex entertainment industry. Our students also have advantage over the competition through extensive audition training, coaching and experience.

Networking

Our students and productions earned recognition from the American College Theatre Festival sponsored by the Kennedy Center. The annual festival is only one of the industry networking opportunities available to our majors.

It’s nice because it’s small. You’re not a number. Your professors know you.

Brianna Rowland '21
4

main stage productions each year, including two musicals

6

black box productions annually

478

seats in the Darling Theatre of the Dorothy Dickson Darte Center for the Performing Arts

Wilkes University Theatre stages four main stage productions each year, two musicals and two non-musicals, plus multiple black box productions.

Our main performance space, the Darling Theatre in the Dorothy Dickson Darte Center for the Performing Arts, features a 34-foot-deep proscenium stage and 480 seats.

The theatre boasts a hydraulic orchestra pit, state-of-the-art lighting, a 36-line set and a scene shop with the most modern safety standards, as well as extensive costume and prop facilities.

You can create smaller, innovative work in our intimate black box theatre or explore a range of movement styles in our dance space.

The Darte Center, also known to the Wilkes community as the DDD, also hosts several rehearsal rooms for you to get your work up on its feet. As a musical theatre major at Wilkes, you have plenty of space outside the classroom to hone your talents.

Careers & Outcomes

The entertainment field is one of the largest industries in this country and offers a wide variety of opportunities that both include and extend beyond the stage and screen production space. A musical theatre BFA prepares you for a variety of career opportunities in front of audiences, behind the scenes, or as part of the production process. Graduates from our program have gone on to pursue careers in performance, as well as writing and directing, film and theatrical production, and arts education.

Job Titles

  • Screenwriter
  • Playwright
  • Voice and Speech Trainer
  • Drama Therapist
  • University Professor
  • Lighting Designer
  • Set Designer
  • Costume Designer
  • Sound Designer
  • Film and Commercial Actor
  • Casting Director
  • Wardrobe Supervisor
  • Carpenter and Scenic Artist
  • Company Manager
  • Print Modeling
  • Agent
  • Stage Manager
  • Voiceover Artist
  • Box Office Manager
  • Stitcher/Draper
  • Wedding/Event Planner

Employers

  • Eagle Theatre - New Jersey
  • Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center - Connecticut
  • Charleston Stage - South Carolina
  • Showplace Ice Cream Parlor - New Jersey
  • Thin Air Theatre Company - Colorado
  • Disney World - Florida
  • NiCori Studios and Productions - New Jersey