Expert Faculty
Our faculty aren’t just theatre professionals with a wide range of backgrounds and experiences. They are also masters at the craft of teaching.
With a low faculty-to-student ratio, you will get to know your teachers and receive personalized guidance and career planning from professionals who know your name.
Screen Acting Performance Opportunities
At Chapman, first-year students can audition for and perform in productions at Dodge College and the Department of Theatre, including lead roles in:
Undergraduate and graduate student film and television productions at Dodge College.- Four to five main-season theatre productions a year, usually including a musical, supported by professional directors and production designers.
- Student-led theatrical productions across campus.
You can also perform in local theatres and productions across Southern California; Orange County has a vibrant theatre scene, and Los Angeles is a short drive or train ride away.
We hope you can see a production for yourself! Visit our events calendar to view schedules and get tickets to upcoming theatre productions.
Learn and Perform in Professional-Grade Spaces
You’ll have the opportunity to perform in front of large and intimate audiences in our on-campus venues and teaching spaces:
- Marion Knott Studios: a 76,000-square-foot working production studio featuring sound stages, state-of-the-art classrooms, and computer labs with industry standard tools.
- Musco Center for the Arts: an 88,000 s.f., state-of-the-art venue to help foster your education in the arts. Musco Center boasts 1,044 seats on three levels and has been named one of the finest performance venues on the west coast.
- Waltmar Theatre: a 244-seat performance and classroom space for students to hone their skills as professional artists.
- O.L. Halsell Foundation Studio Theatre: a flexible, black box theatre used for both classes and performances that seats up to 50 patrons.
Student Clubs and Organizations
Chapman has hundreds of student clubs and organizations. These range from academic to spiritual to cultural to just having fun. Some performance and production related clubs that are popular with Theatre majors include:
- C.A.S.T.: Coalition of Artistic Students of Theatre is a student group affiliated with the Department of Theatre committed to igniting professionalism, unity, and collaboration within the theatre community. The group organizes student-run productions open to all students, and organizes other activities, including workshops and guest artists. They sponsor events such as the 24-Hour Play Festival, From the Ground Up (produces original student works), and Beyond Stage (focuses on musical productions).
- Chapman on Broadway: Brings the magic of Broadway to campus with student-produced musicals and theater productions. Chapman on Broadway provides performance opportunities in fully staged musicals, plays, revue shows, and cabaret nights, and is open to all majors, especially those who have a lifelong passion for theatre but chose another path as their official major.
- C.S.O.P.: Chapman Student Organized Productions is a collaborative theatre club which serves to unite all performing arts related student organizations to collaboratively create high production-value musicals each spring and offer students the opportunity to perform, direct, design, and tech at the industry-level. Open to all majors!
- Chapman Student Playwrights: provides students with the opportunity to write and develop their own original plays through a series of student led playwriting workshops and peer reviews during the fall semester, and produce the work they generate in an original, professional and all student-produced one-act festival during the spring semester. Chapman Student Playwrights seeks to give students a platform to develop their written works and refine their playwriting skills with the assistance of other student playwrights, as well as a team of actors, directors, and designers.
- Guerrilla Shakespeare: Members produce a full production of a Shakespeare play every fall and a selection of scenes for a scene review every spring. Members also participate in monthly play readings and events focused on expanding knowledge of Shakespeare’s works and classical acting. Productions are staged in various locations across campus.
- Improv Inc: Chapman University's longest-running student improvised comedy troupe, Improv Incorporated typically performs two live shows a month.
- The Player’s Society: The Players’ Society is open to students of all majors with interests spanning theater, film, visual art, music, dance, literature, and more. This club aims to produce high-quality creative events for the Chapman community that are 100% student driven.
- U.S.I.T.T.: The United States Institute for Theatre Technology connects performing arts design and technology communities to ensure a vibrant dialog among practitioners, educators, and students. The Chapman chapter of USITT organizes training and professional development events and activities in technical theatre.
Where This Degree Will Take You
Most Screen Acting graduates pursue acting careers in film and television or theatrical productions.
In addition to acting, you can use the skills you develop in the program (including collaboration, time management and creative thinking) to go on to a variety of meaningful careers such as:
- Film director
- Producer
- Editor
- Screenwriter
- Casting director
- Theatre director
- Literary agent and manager
- Lawyer
- Business leader
Admission and Tours
Admission to Chapman's Screen Acting program is very competitive. You can find more details on our page about applying to the Screen Acting program or you can check out the curriculum on our catalog page.
Want to learn more about Chapman? We are always available for tours and information sessions. We’d love to meet you!
