A theater education at Christopher Newport University combines hands-on experience in all aspects of stagecraft— acting, directing, playwriting, music-theater/dance, design/ technical theater, stage management and theater management with a critical appreciation of dramatic literature and theater history. A rigorous yet flexible curriculum balances classroom study with practical production application. Our production season includes four ambitious mainstage offerings, a dance concert, one-act and science play festivals, and additional second stage productions.Theater and Dance, which produces under the banner TheaterCNU, practices professionalism. Through small classes, attentive advising and active collaboration, the faculty of professional theater artists, scholars and practitioners mentor the artistic development and academic progress of each student. The department prepares its graduates for a variety of professional opportunities, graduate study and careers in theater education. Theater and Dance is housed in Christopher Newport University’s Ferguson Center for the Arts: a state-of-the-art performance and teaching facility housing two theaters of 440 and 125 seats, along with scenic and costume shops, design labs, dance and rehearsal studios, and classrooms. Christopher Newport University is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Theatre (NAST). The program requires incentive and commitment—in the classroom, the rehearsal hall, backstage and in performance. The program expects all students to embrace appropriate discipline and professional conduct. These expectations, policies and practices are clearly articulated in the TheaterCNU Handbook. The Handbook is updated each year and is used in conjunction with this catalog when framing a student’s course of study in theater.