BFA in Acting for the Stage and Screen
69-77 units
APU’s Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting for the Stage and Screen program, located just 26 miles from Los Angeles, the entertainment capital of the world, is an innovative acting degree program providing real-world connections, professional on-camera credits, and an industry showcase of film and live performances for seniors. It is also one of the first programs in the country to train actors for equal excellence in on-camera and stage acting.
In addition to core courses, students must choose either the 6-unit theater elective option or the 14-unit musical theater emphasis. Auditions are required for admittance to the BFA program, as well as for admittance to the musical theater emphasis. All BFA students take core acting, voice, and movement courses together, but then students in the theater elective option take a selection of electives, while those in the musical theater emphasis take core musical and dance performance classes and voice lessons.
Program Policies
- If students are involved in other campus clubs, athletics, choirs, etc., they must understand that BFA expectations for courses and production responsibilities take priority over other commitments.
- Students must attend all scheduled rehearsals and tech days for productions in which they are cast or are crewing.
- Students must receive written approval from the College of the Arts to participate in the Industry Showcase if they become part-time students during their senior year.
- The BFA in Acting for the Stage and Screen is a sequential four-year cohort. Courses must be taken in sequence and progress cannot be expedited to allow for early graduation.
- Freshmen and sophomore BFA students must attend warm-ups (see the APU Student Handbook), and all BFA students must follow the standards listed in the Student Handbook or risk being put on probation, as per handbook policy.
Requirements
The BFA in Acting for the Stage and Screen is a four-year cohort degree program. All acting, voice, and movement courses have prerequisites, and students must take courses with their cohort in sequence.
Students must earn a 2.0 in each of their major courses and meet policies outlined in the Department of Theater Arts handbook. Failure to do so can result in probation.
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| BFA in Acting for the Stage and Screen Core Courses | ||
| Acting Courses | ||
| THTR 171 | Acting Fundamentals for the Stage | 3 |
| THTR 173 | Improvisation and Acting Fundamentals for the Text | 3 |
| THTR 271 | Intermediate Acting for the Stage | 3 |
| THTR 273 | Acting Shakespeare 1 | 3 |
| THTR 361 | Acting Fundamentals for the Screen | 3 |
| THTR 371 | Intermediate On-Camera Scene Study | 3 |
| THTR 471 | Advanced Acting for the Camera | 3 |
| THTR 472 | Business of Acting/Hollywood Showcase 2 | 3 |
| Voice and Movement Courses | ||
| THTR 200 | Beginning Voice for the Actor 3 | 3 |
| THTR 201 | Beginning Movement for the Actor | 2 |
| THTR 250 | Intermediate Voice for the Actor 3 | 3 |
| THTR 251 | Intermediate Movement for the Actor | 2 |
| THTR 260 | Advanced Voice for the Actor | 3 |
| THTR 301 | Advanced Movement for the Actor | 2 |
| THTR 400 | Advanced Voice and Movement Integration | 3 |
| Performance Course | ||
| THTR 216 | Performance Cast 4 | 6 |
| Film and Theater History Courses | ||
| THTR 225 | History of Theater to the Nineteenth Century 5 | 3 |
| THTR 226 | History of Theater: 19th Century to the Present | 3 |
| CINE 285 | History of Film 1 | 3 |
| Technical Theater Courses | ||
| THTR 217 | Technical Theater Practicum 6 | 2 |
| THTR 218 | Production Crew 7 | 1 |
| THTR 223 | Theatrical Makeup | 3 |
| Total Units | 63 | |
In addition to core courses, students must choose either the Musical Theater Emphasis (14 units) or Theater Elective Option (6 units).
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Musical Theater Emphasis 8 | ||
| THTR 216 | Performance Cast 9 | 3 |
| THTR 440 | Musical Theater Workshop | 3 |
| MUS 111 | Applied Voice 10 | 8 |
| Total Units | 14 | |
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Theater Elective Option 11 | ||
| Select two of the following: | 6 | |
| Theatrical Sets and Properties | ||
| Theatrical Lighting and Sound | ||
| Introduction to Stage Management | ||
| Theater for Social Change 12 | ||
| Writing 3: Playwriting 13 | ||
| Directing | ||
| Musical Theater Workshop | ||
| Total Units | 6 | |
- 1
Meets the General Education Humanities: Fine Arts requirement.
- 2
Meets the General Education Integrative and Applied Learning requirement.
- 3
Taking THTR 200 and THTR 250 meets the General Education Oral Communication requirement.
- 4
All BFA students are required to take a minimum of 6 units of THTR 216. Students who are cast in a production must be enrolled in THTR 216.
- 5
Meets the General Education Intercultural Competence requirement.
- 6
Students are required to take 1 unit of THTR 217 in the fall AND spring semesters of their freshman year in the program.
- 7
Students are required to take 1 unit of THTR 218 in EITHER the fall or spring semester of their sophomore year of the program.
- 8
Students must audition for admittance into the Musical Theater Emphasis.
- 9
All Musical Theater Emphasis students must take 2 units of THTR 216 Performance Cast: Cabaret and 1 unit of THTR 216 Performance Cast: Dance to fulfill the 3 units of THTR 216 Performance Cast in the emphasis.
- 10
Students must take the Music Theory Diagnostic before starting the program. If they do not pass, they will take MUS 120 before MUS 111.
- 11
In order to satisfy the 120-unit requirement to graduate, students who take the Theater Elective Option may be required to take additional undergraduate units.
- 12
Meets the General Education Civic Knowledge and Engagement requirement.
- 13
Meets the General Education Writing 3 requirement.