Theatre at Adams State University

students standing in the theatre
The College Tour

With a State-of-the-Art theatre building, award-winning productions, and innovative community outreach, Adams State University Theatre is redefining the role of live theatre on a university campus.

From classics to new works, comedy improv to social change, our goal is to prepare our students for a lifetime of opportunity while providing exciting and relevant entertainment for the San Luis Valley.

Bachelor of Arts in Theatre

with areas of emphasis in

  • Design and Technology
  • Collaborative Creation
  • Performance
  • History / Literature

Bachelor of Arts in Theatre

Secondary English Licensure

This one-of-a kind degree features a hybrid program in which you will take courses in both Theatre and English.  Upon completion, you will be fully qualified and licensed to teach secondary English and Theatre. Graduates with this degree have a high rate of success in gaining employment as teachers.

Theatre Minor

The minor in theatre arts is offered for those who wish to be more effective in communicating the knowledge of their major. The minor is highly relevant and practical in combination with other majors such as business, government, sociology, English, guidance and counseling, music, journalism, education, speech correction, health, physical education and recreation, and all pre-professional studies. Courses are to be selected in consultation with the program chair.

 

Theatre Program Outcomes

98%
Graduates are employed in either theatre, arts or education fields after graduation
39%
Graduates have pursued or obtained an advanced degree

Adams State University Theatre offers an intensive generalist program with a growing national reputation designed for the student who wants to experience everything college theatre has to offer. One of the greatest points of the program is its small class size and personal attention that each student receives.

Graduate Schools

We can help you get into top graduate schools across the county. Below is a list of some of the graduate school our alumni have attended.

University of California, Davis
University of Kansas City, Missouri
Penn State University
Emerson College
Central Washington University
The Ohio State University
University of Louisville
University of Hawaii

Careers

Actors
Writers
Set Designers
Theatre
Teaching
Entertainment business
Film
TV technicians
Arts Administrators
Directors
State Management

Adams State north campus

Theatre Program Faculty

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Dr. John Taylor
Director, School of Visual and Performing Arts, Chair, Theatre Program

I believe art matters and theatre can have a real and lasting impact. The classroom and the stage should be at the forefront of efforts to examine our personal beliefs and the major societal issues of the day. Most importantly, each can be a site where a multiplicity of voices can be heard in discourse.

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Ms. Jenna Neilsen, MFA
Coordinator of Theatre

I received my BA from Ohio Northern University and my MFA in theatre pedagogy from Virginia Commonwealth University. Every year that I spend working with actors and theatre creators I become more acutely aware of the reason why I was drawn to theatre in the first place.

George-McConnell-Ph.D
George McConnell, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor

I’m very excited to use my expertise to continue developing the Collaborative Creation emphasis within the Theatre Program alongside the History/Literature, Performance, and Design/Technology areas. I am a theatre artist, educator, and scholar who is fully committed to exploring and activating the etymological root that theatre and theory share—theatre as a seeing place and theory as ways of seeing.