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Hamline actors in "Heathers"

Theatre and Dance ❘ Performance, Production, and Community Major

Bachelor of Arts

The performing arts are a fundamental form of human expression. Hamline University takes the typical major in theatre and dance and employs a unique emphasis on performance, production, and community, so your studies integrate aesthetic, humanistic, and social scientific perspectives.

What makes Hamline’s major, courses, and activities different than other theatre majors is that they are grounded in the belief in—and commitment to—the ability of performance to build, serve, and engage community (on our St. Paul, Minnesota campus and beyond).

At Hamline, the BA in performance, production, and community includes courses that are designed to serve all Hamline students, by providing: 

  • The production, performance, and community major for those interested in advanced study
  • Courses that are open to all students who wish to explore theatre or dance as an interest area
  • Co-curricular activities in our annual production season of plays, musicals, and the Hamline Dance Ensemble

The bachelor's degree is grounded in theatre and dance training and practice, and allows you to create across different areas of study. Your artistry and creative and critical problem-solving skills will expand through strategic collaborations across dance, theatre, and music disciplines, with additional opportunities to connect with other students in our BFA in creative writing, digital storytelling minor, as well as our digital and studio art major.

Theatre at Hamline, performers on stage

Performance, production, and community program details

Student Research
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Internships
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Career Paths
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Grad School
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Opportunities for engaged learning and student research

At Hamline, performance, production and community majors participate in research and community engagement with faculty as early as their first year, something usually reserved for graduate students at other institutions. You'll design and conduct your own research or performance project based on your individual interests and goals.

The list of possible engagement projects is as varied as our students. For example, picture yourself:

  • Researching the barriers and prejudices the disabled community have confronted when attending and/or participating in theatrical productions, and exploring efforts by artists and producers to create a more inclusive theatre experience
  • Examining how movements for social change have invented communication methods that integrate journalism and performance to engage contemporary audiences
  • Filming, editing, and designing visual and auditory effects for an experimental dance video
  • Compiling ethnographies on body image and cultural beauty standards to create a performance exploring bodily liberation from oppressive regimes of influence
  • Interrogating the intersection between video games and performance theory
  • Researching the intersections between and gender and queer theories and developing a company-created work of original theatre
  • Conducting dramaturgical analysis and directing a theatre production in our program's mainstage performance season

During your research process, you’ll collaborate with professionals at major institutions, publish your research in academic journals, and present your work at local, regional, and national venues.
 

Learn more about undergraduate research at Hamline 

Internships for performance, production, and community majors

We make sure you leave Hamline with theatre work experience on your resume, and the opportunities are boundless. Whether you want to explore set design, directing, education, acting, dance, or more, we have internship opportunities for you.

Examples of past student internships include:

  • Mixed Blood Theatre, community outreach intern
  • Penumbra Theatre, art for social change intern
  • Yellow Tree Theatre, marketing and box office assistant
  • Minnesota Fringe Festival, front of house coordinator
  • Children’s Theatre Company, educational apprentice

Explore internships

Explore career paths for performance, production, and community majors

Our innovative courses and one-on-one mentoring by faculty will give you the tools to succeed in a variety of jobs, such as:

  • Scenic and lighting designer
  • K-12 educator
  • Performer
  • Event planning and management
  • Stage director
  • Museum designer
  • Filmmaker and producer
  • Production stage manager
  • Librarian
  • Clergy
  • Box office coordinator
  • Technical director

You can put your degree to work in any number of fields, including:

  • Entertainment
  • Service industry
  • K-12 and higher education
  • Law
  • Finance and banking
  • Business administration

Take your studies further with graduate school

Our scholars have gone on to graduate schools across the country in the pursuit of further education. Examples of programs and schools include:

  • MFA in integrated media, University of Texas at Austin
  • MFA in directing, University of Washington
  • MFA in media design, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
  • MFA in costume design, University of Missouri at Kansas City
  • MFA in technical direction, California Institute for the Arts
  • MFA in costume design, Ohio State University
  • MFA in design and technology, University of Minnesota

Minneapolis and Saint Paul—a hub for the performing arts


The Twin Cities are home to one of the strongest regional theatre and dance communities in the nation, and Hamline is at the center of it. Guest artists feature in our classes and performances each season, and working professionals and teaching artists will enrich many of your courses with presentations and special workshops.

 

Minneapolis-Saint Paul
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Eden Fahy, theatre arts at Hamline University, MN

What drew me to Hamline is that it's a smaller school. I've had one-on-one time with my professors and a lot of opportunities that I don't think I would have had at bigger schools. I've been able to work so closely with my professors and with the design team for shows.

Eden Fahy '25, theatre arts; of Flagstaff, Arizona

Get involved

 

Hamline University Theatre Performances
 

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Hamline theater

 

Hamline University Theatre presents a variety of works every year, providing you with opportunities for mainstage and studio performances, as well as production work.

Check out the upcoming season and get info about auditions.

Hamline Dance Ensemble
 

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Dance at Hamline

 

Participate in advance performance work and choreographic opportunities. Student-directed, choreographed, devised, and designed performances are a regular feature of the department. 

Join our student organization

Hamline Performing Arts Community (HPAC) is a student organization focused on further preparing students for professional careers in the performing arts following graduation with workshops, collaborative events, and skill-building opportunities. We aim to help you build professional connections, community, and networking skills before you enter the industry. You'll get hands-on experiences and opportunities to grow in the performing arts in a number of ways, whether you hope to work as an on-stage performer or behind the scenes. HPAC also serves as a resource center to connect you to auditions, workshops, filming, and other performance and tech opportunities across the Twin Cities.

How to connect

Find us on Instagram @hamlinepac or visit our Presence page to keep up with our meetings and events! You can also contact us by sending inquiries to hpac@hamline.edu.

Follow Hamline theatre and dance on social

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Hamline University student Nolan Sherburne, Theatre Arts major

I had the opportunity to do lighting design in my first year. It was a dream come true to be thrown into it. It's great that there are faculty at Hamline who give those opportunities, especially to first years because it sets the pace for your college years.

Nolan Sherburne '23, theatre arts, digital media arts; master control specialist at the American Public Media Group in Saint Paul, MN

Performance, Production, and Community news

Kim Lartz, faculty in Performance, Production, and Community department at Hamline University
October 14 2024 / Inside Hamline News

Lartz Presents at Regional Conference

Kim Lartz , Technical Director and Production Manager for Performance, Production, and Community , presented a theatre design and creativity workshop at the Northern Boundary Conference, a regional section of the United States Institute for Theatre...
Laura Dougherty  762x320
October 7 2024 / Inside Hamline News

Dougherty Participates in Pedagogy Panel

Dr. Laura Dougherty of the Performance, Production & Community and Social Justice & Social Change departments was invited to participate in a panel reflection on the state of pedagogy at the Roots & Routes Colloquium: a 20-year retrospective on...
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Ian Olson, Performance, Production, and Community Major (Theatre)

The work study program in the theatre and dance department was the best learning experience of my college career. I learned how to problem solve and collaborate in all kinds of settings, and I gained a confidence that's helped me succeed in my career.

Ian Olson '21, theatre arts and digital media arts; videographer at New American Funding

Take your next step today

Interested in theatre and dance? We’d love to send you information, including more on arts and student life at Hamline.