Theater - Acting | University of the Arts

Whether your goal is the stage, film or television, if you have a strong drive to perform, the best place to start is the Ira Brind School of Theater Arts at the University of the Arts.

With a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting from the Brind School, you'll be taught by professional, working actors. You'll attend classes in the middle of one of the nation's largest thriving artistic communities–Philadelphia's Avenue of the Arts–steps away from the Kimmel Center, Merriam Theater and the Academy of Music, and within easy reach of more than 100 theater and performing arts companies.

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In the Acting program, you'll collaborate with other UArts students on projects like films and student-directed theater. And you’ll have a chance to gain international inspiration through our student exchange program with the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts in England. Acting majors get both experience and exposure through a variety of performance opportunities–from UArts productions and audition showcases to small, experimental theater and huge Broadway-style productions.

Frank Jimenez

'19

Theater - Acting

Hometown: West New York, New Jersey

Nina Rivera

'21

Theater - Acting

Hmetown: Leesburg, Virginia

Shaun Morgan

'20

Theater - Acting

Hometown: Dallas, Texas

My freshman year, I did a voice-over for an animation student, sophomore year I got to direct a show and this year, I'm going to take master classes at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

— Lani Skelley BFA '18 (Acting)

Experience the passion and creativity of young artists on the threshold of professional success. See this season's lineup of shows.

On Stage

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Krista Apple

Theater - Acting

Barrymore Award-winner, contributing writer for "American Theatre" magazine

Alex Bechtel

BFA '08

Theater - Acting

Barrymore Award Winner, The Light Princess 2017

David Howey

Director, Ira Brind School of Theater Arts

Theater - Acting

Performed with Royal Shakespeare Company, Royal National Theater Company

Bill Buddendorf

BFA '98

Theater - Acting

Freelance director, sound designer, singer-songwriter/recording artist

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Sample Courses in the Acting Major
First Year Acting Studio I/II Movement for Actors I/II Voice and Speech for Actors I/II Stage Combat I Neutral Mask Scenery & Prop Tech Script Analysis	Second Year Acting Studio: Technique I/II Movement for Actors III/IV Voice and Speech for Actors III/IV Voice Lab for Actors Theater History I/II Crew
Third Year Acting Studio: Poetic Realism Acting Studio: Verse Drama Movement for Actors V/VI Voice and Speech for Actors V Acting on Camera Directing I Audition Techniques	Fourth Year Business of Theater Electives: Contemporary Scene Study, Voice Acting, Acting on Camera II, Film Forum Theater Internship

About the Curriculum

The Acting Program prepares our students for professional careers in theater and film/TV, as well as for continued study at the graduate level. And most importantly the training offers breadth and depth in a variety of studies and practices, which enables students to function successfully as active and productive members of society at large.

Graduates of the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree program in Acting are expected to:

Demonstrate a capacity for creative risk-taking, engaging their unique imaginative impulses and contributing strong generative proposals in both devised and scripted work with trust in themselves and the ensemble;
Fully integrate an active imagination with an active and dynamically aligned body, and a strong, supported voice, all capable of meeting the demands of text, character and given circumstances;
Effectively analyze scene and play structure, identify dramatic conflict, and shape specific choices of objective, obstacle and tactic that serve both the needs of the script and the artist’s imaginative impulse.

To earn the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Acting, students will complete a total of 129 credits as follows: