Theatre and dance at CSU East Bay
Theatre and dance are part of the Department of Music and Performing Arts. Students perform in department productions starting in their first year, in theatre, dance, inclusive interdisciplinary performance, and ensembles that bring music and dance together.
Former students work professionally and teach, locally and across the country, in acting, dance, technical theatre, design, and stage management. Graduates have gone on to graduate programs at UCLA, Carnegie Mellon, NYU, Yale, USC, and UC San Diego, among others, and have worked with companies including the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, American Conservatory Theater, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, the Mark Taper Forum, and San Francisco Opera.
Theatre at CSU East Bay began in 1961, and the department has staged more than 700 productions since. Every season is in the production archive.
Vision and mission
In our teaching, productions, advocacy, campus contributions, and work with local and national communities, we're committed to:
- Creativity
- Performance
- Passion
- Reflection
- Inclusion and diversity
- Mentorship
- Collaboration
- Social justice
Through inclusiveness and rigorous creative inquiry, theatre and dance at CSU East Bay provide comprehensive training in theatre and dance, with an emphasis on passion, performance, collaboration, community, and social justice.
Get involved
Theatre and dance productions are open to every CSU East Bay student, whatever your major. You can perform, build the show, or run it backstage, and earn course credit for it.
Plays are cast by audition, and you take part by enrolling in THEA 350 Theatre Performance. Acting classes are a good way to meet the acting faculty, among them THEA 110 Discover Acting, THEA 251 Stage Voice and Classical Repertoire, THEA 252 Voice and Movement for Actors, THEA 351 Intermediate Acting, and THEA 371 Musical Theatre Techniques. Some shows are cast from ensemble classes such as THEA 233 Pilipinix Culture: Theatre Ensemble and THEA 234 Social Justice Theatre Ensemble.
Many dance pieces are cast from technique classes, so take a beginning or intermediate class and tell the instructor you're interested. The Dance Ensemble, the IIE Ensemble, and the touring company hold auditions for each project, through DANC 360 and DANC 370.
Every show's sets, lights, sound, props, costumes, effects, and makeup are made in the Scene Shop (Theatre 184) and the Costume Shop (Theatre 285), and backstage crews run the lights, sound, rigging, and effects, change the sets and props, and help dress the cast. To work in the shops or on a crew, enroll in THEA 381 Production Support: Stage, Lights and Sound Shop or Crew, or THEA 382 Production Support: Costume and Makeup Shop or Crew. With experience, you can design for a show or apply for a paid job in the shops.
Auditions, upcoming shows, and the ensembles are on the Performances page.
