All theatre arts majors take a variety of introductory courses that cover the areas of costume and makeup, set and lighting design, acting, and a three-term sequence in theatre history. The major also requires a set of both scholarly and practical advanced topics that students choose as they build their own route—these include advanced courses in stage management, costume design and construction, lighting, set design and construction, props, sound and video design for theatre, as well as advanced acting courses in voice and dialect, movement, improvisation, clowning, the Meisner technique, and Shakespeare.
Theatre Arts Skills and Coursework
Many theatre arts production courses teach skills that span a variety of disciplines, including:
Physics and Engineering
- Lighting design
- Technical production
- Projections design
- Sound design
- Advanced technical production
- Scenic design and painting
Practical Skills
- Project planning
- Carpentry
- Painting
- Drafting
- Sewing techniques
- Millinery
Cultural Perspectives
- Latinx theatre
- Native theatre
- Middle Eastern theatre
- Arab-American theatre
The University of Oregon course catalog offers degree plans and a complete list of courses in the Department of Theatre Arts.
Featured Courses
Personal Game, 2021
TA 212 Theatre Production II
Instructor: Jeanette deJong
Introduction to costumes and makeup. Costume construction includes basic hand and machine sewing techniques. Beginning makeup covers ingenue, beards, wounds, and fantasy. Includes laboratory.
Twelfth Night, 2023
TA 367 History of the Theatre I
Instructor: Michael Najjar
Development of the theater from its origins to the present. Emphasizes the history of dramatic literature, criticism, theatre architecture, design, and performance.
New Voices, 2012
TA 441 Scene Design: Single Set
Instructor: Jerry Hooker
Elements of scene design; the scene designer's role. Creating a ground plan, measured perspective techniques, elevations, design styles. Design process and procedures related to the proscenium stage only.