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Study Theatre Studies at Otago

Step into the light.

Theatre explores and represents human experience and imagination in a dynamic, immediate and relevant way. Theatre Studies helps unlock such skills as self-confidence, teamwork, communication and creative expression, as well as giving you the chance to reflect on and inhabit lives vastly different from your own.

Drawing on the rich diversity of theatrical expression across time and cultures, Theatre Studies at Otago offers an exciting, stimulating combination of practical skills and academic training, preparing you to present yourself across a wide variety of careers both within and far beyond theatre and the performing arts.

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Why study Theatre Studies?

Theatre Studies is a subject that is easy to become passionate about. It provides an understanding of the nature of performance, allows you access to the tools of a theatremaker, and looks at performance using critical and analytical skills.

You'll study different times and cultures from a theatre perspective, ranging from Shakespeare to Performance Art. Practice and analytical investigation inform and support one another.

Your lecturers have professional as well as academic expertise in the fields of acting, producing, directing, criticism, stage design, lighting and sound design, playwriting and translation. And then there is our unique weekly Lunchtime Theatre programme at Allen Hall Theatre, which is your testing ground as a performer, director or playwright, and in all aspects of stagecraft.

Otago offers a wide selection of papers in Theatre Studies, drawn from the following areas:

  • Performance skills: improvisation; principles of actor training, including Shakespeare, voice and movement.
  • Analysis and interpretation of drama on stage and screen.
  • Theatre and drama of Aotearoa/New Zealand.
  • Directing.
  • Writing for stage and screen and the creation of new theatre works.
  • Theatre history, contemporary drama and performance art.
  • Performance analysis and critical theory.
  • Theatre technology and design, especially lighting and stage design.

Career opportunities

Theatre Studies graduates work as actors, directors, publicists, script-writers, TV/radio journalists, film-makers, comedians, designers, teachers, musicians and theatre technicians. Others take up careers in arts administration, advertising and marketing, or undertake further training in theatre-related fields.

Some choose to combine Theatre Studies with another subject (e.g. English, Music, Dance, Anthropology, Film and Media, Psychology, Māori Studies and many more) or with another degree, such as Law, Marketing or Education.

Theatre papers teach personal and professional skills which are widely applicable across a range of careers and disciplines. They include critical analysis, research, creativity, confidence, team-building techniques and the ability to communicate in diverse ways. These attributes are highly valued in many professions, as are cultural sensitivity and the ability to think laterally and independently. They are skills for a career, and skills for life-long learning.

Theatre Studies at Otago

Major or Minor in Theatre Studies

Theatre Studies is available as both a major and a minor subject of the Bachelor of Arts (BA) programme. Theatre Studies may be combined with another BA major or form part of a double degree e.g. with Law, Commerce or Science degrees.

The major comprises 10 papers from within Theatre Studies, plus an additional 10 papers either from within the programme and/or from other departments. The minor comprises a total of 5 papers from Theatre Studies.

Information for first-year students

As a first-year student, you can enrol in THEA 122 Drama on Stage and Screen, THEA 151 Improvisation, THEA 152 Theatre Technology, and THEA 153 Voice and Movement, all of which provide an excellent grounding for higher-level papers.

Honours and postgraduate study

Theatre Studies offers a 4th-year Honours programme for which the entry is a B plus average at 300-level. An Honours degree makes you more employable in the workforce, and it may also be a steppingstone to a higher degree such as a Master of Arts (MA), a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) (Theatre Studies), or a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD). These degrees may all include a significant creative component.

Class formats

Classes variously involve lectures, tutorials, seminars and practical workshops. Most classes are relatively small, and students have many opportunities to pursue independent projects in groups and individually.

Background required

All students are welcome to enrol in Theatre Studies at Otago. A background in theatre is not necessary.

Requirements

Theatre Studies as a minor subject for a BA, MusB, BTheol, BSc, BCom, BEntr, BHealSc, BACom, BASc or BComSc degree

Available as a minor subject for a Bachelor of Arts (BA), Bachelor of Music (MusB), Bachelor of Theology (BTheol), Bachelor of Science (BSc), Bachelor of Commerce (BCom), Bachelor of Entrepreneurship (BEntr), Bachelor of Health Science (BHealSc), Bachelor of Arts and Commerce (BACom), Bachelor of Arts and Science (BASc) or Bachelor of Commerce and Science (BComSc) degree

LevelPapersPoints
100-level

THEA 154 Staging Worlds: Theatre and Performance

One further 100-level THEA paper

18

18

200-level Two 200-level THEA papers

36

300-level One 300-level THEA paper

18

 PERF 205 or PERF 305 may be substituted for one THEA paper  
Total   90

Note: This minor subject is not available for students enrolled in the Bachelor of Performing Arts (BPA).

THEA papers

Paper Code Year Title Points Teaching period
THEA122 2024 Drama on Stage and Screen 18 points Semester 2
THEA151 2024 Improvisation 18 points Semester 1
THEA152 2024, 2025 Theatre Technology 18 points Semester 1, Semester 2
THEA153 2024, 2025 Voice and Movement 18 points Semester 2
THEA154 2025 Staging Worlds: Theatre and Performance 18 points Semester 1
THEA221 2024, 2025 Theatre: Ancient to Contemporary 18 points Semester 1
THEA241 2024, 2025 Writing for Stage and Screen 18 points Semester 1, Semester 2
THEA251 2024 Aspects of Physical Theatre 18 points Not offered in 2024
THEA252 2024, 2025 The Actor 18 points Semester 1, Semester 2
THEA253 2024, 2025 Theatre, Culture and Identity in Aotearoa 18 points Not offered in 2024, Not offered in 2025
THEA256 2024, 2025 Design for Theatre and Performance 18 points Not offered in 2024, Semester 2
THEA257 2024, 2025 Special Topic 18 points Not offered in 2024, Not offered in 2025
THEA322 2024, 2025 Theatre of Australasia 18 points Not offered in 2024, Not offered in 2025
THEA323 2024, 2025 Performance Research 18 points Not offered in 2024, Not offered in 2025
THEA324 2024, 2025 Aspects of Modern Drama and Theatre 18 points Semester 2, Not offered in 2025
THEA325 2024 Radical Theatre in Context, 1880-2000 18 points Not offered in 2024
THEA341 2024, 2025 Advanced Writing for the Stage and Screen 18 points Semester 1
THEA351 2024, 2025 Performing Shakespeare 18 points Semester 2, Semester 1
THEA352 2024, 2025 Directing 18 points Semester 1, Semester 2
THEA353 2024 Theatre, Culture and Identity in Aotearoa 18 points Not offered in 2024
THEA354 2024, 2025 Creating Theatre 18 points Not offered in 2024, Not offered in 2025
THEA356 2024, 2025 Design for Theatre and Performance 18 points Not offered in 2024, Semester 2
THEA357 2024, 2025 Special Topic 18 points Not offered in 2024, Not offered in 2025
THEA358 2025 The Working Dramaturg 18 points Semester 1
THEA421 2024 Special Topic 20 points Not offered in 2024
THEA422 2024, 2025 Theatre of Australasia 20 points, 30 points Not offered in 2024, Not offered in 2025
THEA423 2024, 2025 Performance Research 20 points, 30 points Not offered in 2024, Not offered in 2025
THEA424 2024, 2025 Aspects of Modern Drama and Theatre 20 points, 30 points Semester 2, Not offered in 2025
THEA425 2024 Radical Theatre in Context, 1880-2000 20 points Not offered in 2024
THEA441 2024 Advanced Writing for the Stage and Screen 20 points Semester 1, Semester 2
THEA451 2024, 2025 Advanced Directing 40 points, 60 points Full Year
THEA452 2024, 2025 Advanced Production Project 20 points, 30 points Not offered in 2024, Not offered in 2025
THEA453 2024, 2025 Directed Project in Theatre 20 points, 30 points Semester 1, Semester 2, Full Year
THEA454 2024, 2025 Special Topic 20 points, 30 points Not offered in 2024, Not offered in 2025
THEA455 2024, 2025 Shakespeare Text to Performance 20 points, 30 points Not offered in 2024, Not offered in 2025
THEA456 2024, 2025 Trauma and Violence in Performance 20 points, 30 points Not offered in 2024, Not offered in 2025
THEA457 2024, 2025 The Working Dramaturg 20 points, 30 points Semester 1
THEA480 2024, 2025 Research Project 20 points, 30 points Semester 1, Semester 2, Full Year
THEA490 2024, 2025 Dissertation 40 points, 60 points Full Year, 1st Non standard period (1 March 2024 - 21 February 2025), 2nd Non standard period (12 July 2024 - 4 July 2025), 1st Non standard period (28 February 2025 - 20 February 2026), 2nd Non standard period (11 July 2025 - 3 July 2026)
THEA580 2024, 2025 Studio Project in Theatre 60 points Full Year, 1st Non standard period (1 March 2024 - 21 February 2025), 2nd Non standard period (12 July 2024 - 4 July 2025), 1st Non standard period (28 February 2025 - 20 February 2026), 2nd Non standard period (11 July 2025 - 3 July 2026)
THEA590 2024, 2025 Research Dissertation 60 points 1st Non standard period (1 March 2024 - 21 February 2025), 2nd Non standard period (12 July 2024 - 4 July 2025), 1st Non standard period (28 February 2025 - 20 February 2026), 2nd Non standard period (11 July 2025 - 3 July 2026)

More information

Contact us

School of Performing Arts
Email spa@otago.ac.nz
Tel +64 3 479 8885
Website  otago.ac.nz/performing-arts

Studying at Otago

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Regulations on this page are taken from the 2024 Calendar and supplementary material.

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