Bachelor of Fine Arts [B.F.A] [Acting] From Syracuse University

Students are immediately immersed in a program of pre-professional study in their first year, devoting as many as 18 hours of class time per week to various theater arts. Students who are interested in directing and playwriting may elect to take additional courses in these areas under drama support requirements. All students are required to take coursework in writing.

Although first-year students are not permitted to perform on stage for the public, they work on productions behind the scenes in a wide variety of jobs, ranging from running crews to assistant stage managing. From the second year on, students may audition for roles in: faculty-directed productions and scenes and plays directed by students; films produced by undergraduate and graduate film students; and productions outside the department, including Syracuse Stage productions in appropriate roles or as understudies where union rules permit the use of non-Equity actors. Equity points may be earned through work with Syracuse Stage. As many as 20 to 30 productions may be produced in the theater complex in one year.

Students are encouraged to become proficient in more than one area of theater and may take courses in theater management, design, and stage crafts, some of which are taught by Syracuse Stage professionals.