At Montevallo, we provide first-rate theatre training within the context of a well-rounded liberal arts education.
New students starting Fall 2024 check back soon for application for Theatre Scholarships and admission to BFA Degree tracks. For more information please click here.
Check out the links below:
African Dance & Culture experience through the Theatre 334 Dance Styles course with a focus on African Dance. Video created by Liam Nagle.
Dance Styles: West African – Student Impact Video
The University of Montevallo will be honoring the memory of alumna Rebecca Luker by naming the stage in its new Center for the Arts after her. Click here for more information and see the link below for the Broadway World article.
Broadway World – UM Alumna Rebecca Luker
The University of Montevallo Department of Theatre is proud to be recognized by OnStage Blog
as the top Theatre Program in the State of Alabama. We are proud to receive this recognition as we settle into our new home at The Center of the Arts and continue to grow and support our diverse student population.
UM Department of Theatre receives accreditation from National Association of Schools of Theatre
Article in Broadway World about our new Center for the Arts
Spotlight on our BFA Degree with a concentration in Musical Theatre from the 2020 College Musical Theatre Guide
Department of Theatre FACT SHEET
COFA CONNECTIONS: Fall 2020
Click the photo link below to view:
Faculty Engagement and Experience
If you study theatre here, you will be part of a highly personal department of approximately 115 majors. You will get to know your teachers well and work closely with them both in and out of the classroom.
We are active in professional organizations around the U.S. within our respective fields, but teaching is our first priority. Experienced faculty members teach all courses instead of graduate students, and enrollment in performance classes typically ranges from 8-20 pupils. We work hard to prepare students to directly enter the profession if desired, as well as pursue a variety of career options. The expertise of our full and part-time faculty allows us to offer a range of classes that can match the curriculum of much larger departments and universities.
The full and part-time theatre faculty bring a wide range of professional theatre experience to the classroom, having worked extensively in NYC, Philadelphia, Boston, Atlanta, Seattle and elsewhere on regional; Off-Off Broadway; Off-Broadway; and Broadway productions; as well as in TV and film. Faculty members have also worked professionally in Alabama as fight choreographers and stage managers for the AL Shakespeare Festival; actors and designers for City Equity Theatre; directors and technology consultants for Red Mountain Theatre Company; directors and designers for The Dane Theatre company and the Virginia Samford Theatre; and lighting designers and directors for Birmingham Opera.
Why Theatre at UM?
Degree Tracks
We offer the generalist B.A. and B.S. Theatre degrees, but also pre-professional B.F.A. degrees with concentrations in Acting, Musical Theatre and Design/Technology. All our majors are required to gain hands-on experience in a variety of performance and technical areas, regardless of concentration. At UM, you will receive excellent theatre training combined with a liberal arts education, and graduate prepared to compete in the entertainment industry; enter graduate school; or work in a variety of fields.
Studying theatre in college prepares students for a wide variety of professions that require critical thinking skills; creativity; time management; deadline accountability; leadership; and working effectively as part of a team. In addition to working in the entertainment industry, UM theatre alumni are also working successfully in business; management; banking; retail; real estate; editing; marketing and public relations; and for the Google Corporation, among others.
Graduates of the UM Theatre program can also pursue high school teaching (certification required for a public school after graduation) or on the university level if interested in attending an M.F.A. or Ph.D. graduate program in theatre.
Experience
UM students are constantly honing their craft in classes; applied theatre technical work; scene rehearsals; lab performances; class showcases; full productions directed by the faculty; professional guest artist workshops; internships locally and around the U.S.; and community and professional theatre and film productions in the Birmingham area. B.F.A. students also have opportunities to direct and design potentially in the production season and assist faculty directors, designers and technicians.
Professional Career Mentoring and Skills You Will Learn!
Our faculty prepare students for professional opportunities/auditions; conferences and competitions; and post-graduation pursuits including headshot/resume and portfolio presentation as well as graduate school and internship applications.
University of Montevallo’s Liberal Arts curriculum offers students a solid foundation in high demand essential skills
for a diverse range of career options- those known and those to be created in the future!
A Theatre degree at UM teaches you:
- Collaborative creative problem solving: Through the laboratory of productions, students learn teamwork and leadership in a variety of positions.
- Analytical thinking: in both Theatre and General Education coursework, students complete hands-on assignments that teach the in-demand critical thinking required of leaders in our industry and other fields.
- Community engagement: in addition to providing students with a solid repertoire, our play selections engage with current events bringing important discussions into the local and extended community.
- Organization: students are required to set and follow complex schedules between classes, productions, workshops, and extra-curricular opportunities.
- Confidence: through regular required auditions, interviews, portfolio reviews and class presentations, students learn to engage with peers and mentors confidently as well as learning how to present their goals and achievements effectively.
- Engaging diversity: UM students come from all backgrounds, and UM Theatre takes pride in encouraging respectful and informed discourse.
Guest Artists
Every year, you will work with visiting professionals from around the U.S. in theatre, dance, musical theatre, film and TV on campus. Past and recent guests have included Broadway performers Krystina Alabado (MEAN GIRLS) and Desi Oakley (WAITRESS; CHICAGO) coaching Pop/rock technique in Fall 2020; Eden Espinosa (WICKED; BROOKLY); NYC casting director/producer Tina Marie Casamento-Libby; NYC based performer Angela Birchett; NYC Choreographer Chip Abbott; Sound Designer Brett Moore (Paper Mill Playhouse); Stage Manager Andrea Cibelli (THE BRONX TALE); and Michael O’ Neill (Acting for the Camera).
Alumni Networking
Our graduates benefit from a strong alumni network across the country, including large cities such as NYC, Los Angeles, Chicago and Atlanta. Recent UM Theatre graduates have collaborated together on the creation of original musicals, plays, films and TV web series.
Diverse Production Season
We choose an unusually varied mix of plays and styles including provocative contemporary plays, two musicals a year, classical text and, on occasion, original student work. UM Theatre is known for staging an Alabama premiere production almost every season, as well as fresh interpretations of well-known shows.
Individualized Attention
While we are a dynamic, growing program of approximately 115 majors, students work closely with faculty and receive extensive hand-on training and advising. Faculty are available to meet with students just to talk informally or work on material outside of class throughout the school year.
