Tell your story.
Find your purpose.
We believe that theatre inspires conversations and tells the stories that enhance and change the world in which we live. Theatre does much more than entertain—our work provides purpose, fosters empathy, and gathers us in community.
Spend some time with us and see for yourself how the work we do can become the foundation for what you do for the rest of your life.
Step out onto your own stage. Be a part of building your community. Take your passion to the next level and share your story with the world.
Visit us on the web.
Jump right into the work.
Do it. The best way to learn theatre is to make theatre.
Our classes center on our impressive production program, offering students excellent opportunities onstage, backstage, and front-ofhouse to apply what they are learning— beginning in their first year at UMW. Learning is a constant – in and out of the classroom – as students work with our faculty and staff in every aspect of theatre production. Whether your interest is acting, scenic design, lighting design, costume design, stage management, sound design, directing, musical theatre, costume technology, scenic technology, or arts administration, UMW’s Department of Theatre and Dance has a place for you!
Our full-time and adjunct faculty, along with the professional staff, bring an impressive array of accomplishments and experiences to their work with students. Our faculty pursue active professional careers and bring real-world insight to their classrooms, studios, shops, and rehearsal rooms, allowing students to connect theory and practice to building a career in the theatre. The student experience is a priority at the University of Mary Washington; our faculty are committed to teaching and mentoring students more than any other university.
“This is truly an amazing community that I am so proud to be a part of and can’t wait for the years to come being involved in UMW Theatre.”
— Ciarra Hopson ’27
Dream big.
When you step into one of our spaces, you are taking your first step into a nurturing and challenging environment that prepares you for a career doing what you love. UMW Theatre provides each student the opportunity to explore a variety of interests in the world of theatre, with instruction and production opportunities that model professional theatre practice. When our students graduate, they are prepared to begin their careers in the world of theatre.
When you choose a liberal arts college, you decide to learn about the world by studying a breadth of disciplines that offers perspectives on what it means to be a citizen of our global society. You soon discover that life is complex and interconnected and that no major stands alone. We believe that a liberal arts education is the finest preparation for a theatre student because we want our emerging actors, designers, technicians, and arts managers to be curious about the world—the source of the stories we tell on our stages.
A major in theatre at UMW prepares you for life after college. Whether you work in the professional theatre, pursue a related field, or continue your studies with specialized training or graduate school, your liberal arts education prepares you to realize your dreams. Our theatre major is customizable and flexible—you can design a program that allows you to concentrate on your greatest interest, pursue a double major, a minor, or obtain a teaching license.
“Studying with UMW Theatre has been a wonderful experience that has given me endless hands-on opportunities from the moment I stepped onto campus.”
—
Matt Carroll ’25
Make our house your home.
Our theatre complex includes the intimate 233-seat Klein Theatre, home of our mainstage work, and Studio 115, our flexible studio theatre. Both theatres feature state-of-the-art lighting, sound, and communication systems and share our fully equipped scene shop, costume shop, lighting and sound studios, computer-aided design (CAD) studio, management lab, and acting studio. In addition, productions rehearse in our nearby Wonder Bread Studio, a remarkable rehearsal hall adjacent to Eagle Village. Our students also take classes in the Goolrick Dance Suite, featuring fully equipped studios with floating floors and impressive sound systems. Each year, students and faculty collaborate on four mainstage productions and eight to twelve studio projects to create a season that challenges our students while showcasing their craft.
We take seriously the culture in which we work. Our students, faculty, and staff contribute to a vibrant and supportive community that makes it possible for us to take artistic risks and be our very best. Students find themselves in our building not only working and rehearsing, but also hanging out and enjoying each other’s company.
Everyone at UMW Theatre is on a first-name basis because we see faculty, staff, and students as collaborators in the work. We approach every production with a focus on creating the richest experience for all of us and do so with respect and appreciation for what each of us brings to the process.
That’s what we do here.
Do more.
We offer two minors and a licensure for students who want to make their degree in any discipline go further.
Minor in Musical Theatre
The department offers a performance-focused minor in musical theatre. The interdisciplinary curriculum builds skills in vocal performance, dance, and acting. While you may pursue the minor regardless of your major, theatre majors may choose to minor in musical theatre to create a formal specialty within the major.
Minor in Arts Administration
Together with the College of Business, the department offers an experientially based minor in arts administration to launch graduates into marketing, audience development, fundraising, front of house, and ticketing careers that are abundant in the industry. Students build a strong foundation of course work that connects with real-world experiences in the field. Graduates emerge from the minor fully prepared to pursue a professional career in arts administration.
Prepare to Teach
In partnership with the College of Education, the department offers students the opportunity to pursue PreK-12 theatre licensure, as well as a secondary licensure in theatre as an additional endorsement. Like the theatre major, the licensure programs combine classroom study with practica, during which students get classroom experience in local schools.
“The relationships I have formed as part of UMW Theatre are some of the strongest I have had in my life.”
—Cameron Zakreski ’25
Every role matters.
We recognize that paying for your theatre education may be a challenge. Our alumni and donors have established an impressive array of endowed scholarships that benefit our students. Many of these scholarships honor excellence in the production program to recognize our most active students.
Albert R. Klein Memorial Scholarship • Alexander W. Holsinger Scholarship • Barbara Crickenberger Hall ‘69 Theatre Scholarship • Debby C. Klein Theatre Scholarship • Eastman-Mullins Scholarship for Theatre
• Frances Rodgers Bryant ’68 Scholarship • Fred Winer Scholarship • Joella C. and Michael D. Killian Theatre Scholarship • Keith Belli Scholarship in Theatre • Lee Wingate Pappandreou ’40 Scholarship • Marceline Weatherly Morris ‘50 Musical Theatre Scholarship • Rosemary Ingham Scholarship in Theatre • Susan Mulholland Breedin ‘86 Scholarship • UMW Theatre Scholarship • Nina G. Bushnell Scholarship • Polly Updegraff Champ ‘61 Scholarship • June Davis McCormick ‘49 Scholarship • UMW Performing Arts for the Community Scholarship • Claudia Moore Read Scholarship in Dance • Sonja Dragomanovic Haydar Scholarship in Dance • Vicky Nichols Wilder ‘80 and Florence Overley Ridderhof ‘50 Scholarship in Dance
Our student jobs:
Accounting Assistant
Advancement Assistant
Archives Assistant
Audience Services Assistant
Box Office Assistants
Communications Assistant
Costume Shop Assistants
Digital Content Assistant
Interactive Marketing Assistant
Recruitment Assistant
Scene Shop Assistants
Special Projects Assistant
Production Management Assistant
Students learn while getting paid to work on our productions and in the program. Students hold positions in our scene shop, costume shop, box office, and management office, garnering valuable professional experience that will propel them into the workforce.
“Looking back at the path my life and career have taken, it is clear to me that my journey truly began at the University of Mary Washington. The talented faculty in the Theatre and Dance Program set a high standard and encouraged me beyond what I believed myself capable of.”
—Madeline LeCuyer ’11
Broadway Hair and Wig Technician
Script your future.
Learn from incredible Guest Artists and Teachers working in the field in which you want to work.
Our proximity to Washington, D.C., and New York, N.Y. gives us access to working professionals who are eager to work with our students. These guest artists bring the experience of their distinguished careers to not only our productions, but to workshops, conversations, our courses, and master classes on and away from campus.
“I was entirely enraptured by the incredibly vibrant and hands-on program UMW Theatre had to offer. The unique opportunities, mentors, and peers I was exposed to during my time there truly fostered my rapid growth in this industry and set me up for the success I am seeing in my career today.”
— Alexander Ríos ’18, Actor
Cat Girardi, Lighting Designer
G Clausen, Sound Designer
Madeline LeCuyer ’ 11, Hair and Wig Designer
Max Doolittle, Lighting Designer
Alicia Austin ’16, Costume Designer
Casey Kaleba, Fight Director
Get out there.
We believe that your learning and growth extends beyond our campus. We step out of our classrooms, shops, studios, and theatres to see the world (yes, the world ) to experience the wide breadth of how professional theatre artists tell stories on their stages.
Experience professional theatre on a class trip. Washington, D.C. has become a world-class theatre city and you will travel to our nation’s capital to experience performances in every theatre class you take. The department sponsors trips to Arena Stage, Folger Theatre, Shakespeare Theatre, the Kennedy Center, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Studio Theatre, Signature Theatre, and others throughout the metropolitan area. Seeing great theatre is an essential aspect of our students’ education and another way we prepare you for life after graduation.
Engage in research and connect with working professionals.
Ideas in Performance is a popular inquiry-based class in which students do field research in New York City. Students meet and interview theatre professionals, network with alumni, explore advanced training, participate in workshops, and see an impressive array of Broadway and off-Broadway theatre. These extraordinary opportunities allow students to formulate and articulate their professional goals while immersed in the New York theatre community.
Travel the world and explore global possibilities. As part of our UMW Theatre in London study abroad program, students travel to London for three weeks of performances at the Globe, in the West End, and at other venues throughout the metropolitan area while exploring one of the richest theatrical cities in the world. Students also journey north to Stratford-upon-Avon to explore Shakespeare’s early life and spend time at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. The program is centered on discovery and conversation; students return to campus with a greater understanding of themselves and the world beyond our campus.
Worth it.
Many graduates enjoy careers with acclaimed institutions:
Ford’s Theatre • New York Theatre Workshop • Santa Fe Opera •
The Shakespeare Theatre Company • Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company •
New Jersey Shakespeare Festival • Smithsonian Institution • Paper Mill Playhouse
Barrington Stage Company • Alvin Ailey Repertory Ensemble • Studio Theatre
Signature Theatre • Kitchen Theatre Company • National Endowment for the Arts
Arundel Barn Playhouse • John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts •
Joffrey Ballet • Arena Stage • Washington Opera • Lincoln Center
MTV • Utah
Shakespeare Festival • California Shakespeare Theatre • Walnut Street Theatre •
Barter Theatre • Actors Theatre of Louisville
CBS • Amazon Prime Video
HBO • Virginia Repertory Theatre • NBC • Wiliamstown Theatre Festival
Walt Disney Company • Northern Stage • Metropolitan Opera
FX
Netflix
Learn more about Anissa’s time at UMW.
Broadway Productions
Our graduates have continued their educations at institutions including:
New York University • The Catholic University of America • CalArts
University of California Berkeley • Cincinnati Conservatory of Music
Georgetown University
Harvard University
Stony Brook University
Columbia University
Indiana University
Rutgers University
Syracuse University • The New School
University of Kentucky
University of Maryland College Park • University of North Carolina Greensboro
University of North Carolina School of the Arts
University of Richmond
University of Virginia • Virginia Commonwealth University • Virginia Tech
University of Wisconsin
Madison • Yale University School of Drama • The Actors Studio Drama School
CAP21 • Atlantic Acting School
“At UMW, I was able to perform onstage as an underclassman, which is very rare for most theatre programs. With the encouragement of the faculty, I gained real-world experience and connections with industry professionals, long before I even graduated. I brought those connections along with me in my Broadway/ TV Career. I can't recommend this program enough...”
–
Anissa Felix ’13, Actor, Writer, Producer
Production History
Little Shop of Horrors
Avenue Q
Julius Caesar
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Twelfth Night
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike
Merrily We Roll Along
Men in Boats
The Rocky Horror Show
The Amish Project
Much Ado About Nothing
Ordinary Days
Fun Home
Noises Off
RENT
Doubt
Our Town
Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical
Spring Awakening
Just to name a few . . .
Coming soon
On the horizon, just within reach, is the construction of our brand new, state-of-the-art theatre facility planned to open in the fall of 2027! The hallmark of the building is a 300-seat proscenium theatre space with orchestra pit, trap room, and all the technology our students need to prepare them for their careers. The building includes gorgeous rehearsal studios, a flexible 150-seat studio theatre, fully equipped costume and scene shops, classrooms, student collaboration spaces, design studio, script library, CAD studio, makeup studio, and other spaces designed to support our production program.
And, as a UMW Theatre student, YOU will get to make theatre in this building!
