B.F.A. Acting for the Stage and Screen

A rigorous, highly individualized, and specialized training program combined with a broad liberal arts education. Students build a foundation in voice, movement, and acting technique while developing the versatility required for both stage and screen performance. Through ensemble-based collaboration, personalized instruction, and training in a variety of acting styles and methodologies, students build their own unique artistic toolbox. Enhanced by opportunities to collaborate with filmmakers and media creators through Ithaca College's nationally recognized Roy H. Park School of Communications, students refine their technique, deepen their craft, and learn how to adapt their work across theatrical, film, television, and digital storytelling environments.

WHO IS IT FOR?

Curious, collaborative, and dedicated students looking for an intensive four years of artistic and personal growth. Ideal candidates are eager to explore multiple forms of performance, broaden their perspectives, and commit to the sometimes messy, always rewarding process of transformation. Students interested in careers in theatre, film, television, and other media will find opportunities to develop the versatility and adaptability demanded by today's entertainment industry.

WHAT WILL YOUR FOUR YEARS LOOK LIKE?

YEAR ONE – FOUNDATIONS

To encourage community and respect across disciplines, the entire first-year Center for Theatre and Dance class takes foundational courses such as Introduction to Professional Theatre, Race and Theatre in the United States, and participates in Technical Theatre Practicum.

Additionally, first-year Acting and Musical Theatre students take core performance classes including Voice and Movement I & II and Scene Study I & II, which incorporates foundational Rasaboxes training. Students begin building the core skills needed for truthful storytelling, developing presence, listening, imagination, and physical awareness that serve both stage and screen performance.

First-year Acting students are required to audition for Production Laboratory productions beginning in their first semester and continuing each semester they are on the home campus. During their first semester, students may opt out of callbacks and casting but must still participate in the general audition process.

YEAR TWO – SKILL BUILDING

Second-year Acting students deepen their craft through focused study of tools and techniques such as the International Phonetic Alphabet, mask work, heightened-language text analysis, and Bioenergetics. Through Voice and Speech I & II, Movement for the Stage I & II, and Scene Study III & IV, students expand their expressive range and gain greater command of language, character, and physical storytelling.

Students also begin exploring performance across mediums, developing an understanding of how acting choices translate between live performance and camera work. Coursework in Theatre History, Theatre Administration, and elective opportunities broadens their artistic perspective and prepares them for a rapidly evolving profession.

YEAR THREE – RESPONSIBILITY, CHANGE, AND LONDON

Third-year Acting students synthesize their training and develop increasing independence in their artistic process. Advanced coursework includes Advanced Voice and Speech, Dialects, Styles of Acting, Directing, Playwriting, Dramaturgy and the Alexander Technique.

Students also engage in specialized screen acting experiences, learning techniques specific to film and television production while exploring the unique relationship between actor, camera, and audience.

Third-year students are highly encouraged to study abroad at the Ithaca College London Center, where experiential coursework includes performance classes, Stage Combat, lectures, discussions, theatrical walks throughout London, and regular play-going experiences that connect classroom learning with one of the world's most vibrant theatre communities.

YEAR FOUR – SPRINGBOARD INTO THE PROFESSION

Fourth-year Acting students transition into the profession through advanced training and career preparation courses including The Business of Acting, Audition Techniques, Acting for the Camera, and specialized screen-performance experiences designed to prepare students for today's multidimensional entertainment industry.

A distinctive feature of the Acting program is its connection to the Roy H. Park School of Communications, one of the nation's leading film, television, and media schools . Through collaborations with student filmmakers and media creators, Acting students gain valuable on-camera experience, build professional relationships, and develop the skills needed to work across theatre, film, television, and digital media. These interdisciplinary opportunities allow students to graduate with practical screen-performance experience and a deeper understanding of the contemporary entertainment industry.

Additionally, the entire fourth-year class in the Center for Theatre and Dance participates in Field Studies in New York City, a week of networking, panels, workshops, and seminars featuring CTD alumni working throughout the entertainment industry. Students gain valuable career insights while building relationships with professionals across theatre, film, television, and related fields. You will hear stories of career triumphs and learn insightful lessons to help jumpstart your own career.

Fourth-year Acting and Musical Theatre students also present a Performance Showcase for industry professionals and build relationships with agents, managers, casting directors, and other industry leaders as they launch their professional careers.