Majors
Discover What Makes Our Program Unique
We provide a comprehensive study of theatre giving students a solid foundation for the discipline so they can become knowledgeable theatre professionals. We believe it is important to understand all elements of theatre in order to appreciate their intersections and the collaborative nature of the creative process. Exposure to the various aspects of theatre gives students an opportunity to find what sparks their passion and an opportunity to focus on their interests.
- Explore ALL areas of theatre and become a fully informed professional: Acting, Design, Production, Directing, Playwriting, and Literary Analysis.
- Engage directly with working professional theatre artists who are experts in their field. Start building your professional network from day one.
- Gain marketable skills and practical experience applicable to theatre or beyond.
- Join a tight-knit family and connect with a worldwide network of alumni.
- Access to over 90 professional theatre companies in the DC-MD-VA area.
Check out our student testimonials!
Community Opportunities
We provide connections to more than 80 professional theatre companies in the metro D.C. area. Through our faculty's expansive network our students receive opportunities with prestigious institutions such as Arena Stage, The Kennedy Center, Signature Theatre, and Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company among others. Gain access to internships and readings, as well as free or discounted theatre tickets through our program.
Career Development
Students graduating from the Rome School of Performing Arts possess skills that are in demand in many career areas. The skills in performance, scholarship, imagination, creativity, attention to detail, interpretative skills, appreciation of aesthetics, and open-mindedness are strengths that can be applied in any field.
We provide connections to a profound number of art galleries, theatre companies, and performance halls in the D.C. community, and our students receive opportunities with such prestigious institutions as:
- the Smithsonian Institution
- the Kennedy Center
- Arena Stage
- Signature Theatre
- Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
- Woolly Mammoth Theatre
- Strathmore Music Center
- Folger Shakespeare Library
- Imagination Stage
- Keegan Theatre
- and more.
Beyond the Classroom
The drama department provides many opportunities for students to apply classroom learning to real world situations. Through our program gain experience and marketable skills for the world of theatre and beyond.
Examples:
- design sets and costumes for independent projects
- assistant design for mainstage shows
- assistant direct mainstage shows
- provide literary analysis for both mainstage and independent productions
Crew Positions for every show:
- stage hand
- costume assistant
- light operator
- sound operator
- stage manager & assistant stage manager
Employment & Volunteer Opportunities:
- Costume Shop
- Scene Shop
- Box Office
- Business Office
Alumni Network
The Department of Drama has a worldwide network of alumni who are involved in all aspects of theatre. Our alumni have become notable artists in American theatre, film, television production, and corporate entertainment. Among them are Oscar and Tony award-winning actors and directors, Pulitzer Prize winning Playwrights, Broadway designers, and theatre critics for the New York Times, The Washington Post, and respected journals. Many alumni are currently in leadership positions in major theatrical venues, including Arena Stage, the Yale School of Drama, and the Brooklyn Academy of Music, as well as in professional and academic organizations. Our graduates have been affiliated with a variety of professional theatres throughout the country, from the Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, D.C. to the Wooster Group, an internationally known off-Broadway experimental theatre company, and from the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis to the New York Shakespeare Festival. Our graduates work for Disney, with Dreamworks, in network television news and popular sitcoms, Catholic television production, the Public Broadcasting System, and with Voice of America. Alumni also serve on college and university faculties, in private acting studios, and Catholic and public high schools.
There are very active communities in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, and the Baltimore-Washington area
Study Abroad Opportunities
Rose Bruford College in London
The Rome School is thrilled to announce a new study abroad exchange program situated in the heart of the United Kingdom, most suitable for Musical Theatre and Drama students. You will be introduced to intensive training in the modern British style, engage in unique artistic experiences in London, and learn to perform devised and immersive art forms with world class faculty. Please click here for a promotional video, courtesy of Rose Bruford, that displays not only the scope of the program, but the wonderful community of international artists creating theatre. Students from Rose Bruford will typically come to CUA for the fall and then you will join your new friends for study in the Spring Semester. Visit https://www.bruford.ac.uk/courses/american-theatre-arts-ba-hons to explore the culture and style of this acting program.
The Institute of the Arts, Barcelona
The Rome School is ecstatic to announce the reinstatement of our study abroad program immersed in the
rich culture of the Spanish Mediterranean Coast. You will experience intensive
conservatory training in the British style, explore fine arts and performance all over Europe,
and study and perform Shakespeare with world class faculty. Please click HERE for a
promotional video that displays not only the scope of the program, but the beautiful backdrop of your classroom for a semester.