Acting, B.F.A.
B.F.A. in Acting
Move. Play. Discover. Shine. Own the scene.
Acting is your passion, and a B.F.A in Acting from Penn State can jumpstart your career and prepare you for your most important roles. If your dreams are set on center stage, our uniquely qualified faculty is eager to help you get there. Each day, you’ll learn from industry leaders the skills to command the performance while discovering your individuality and realizing your potential.
Earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting at Penn State
Are you ready to step into the spotlight? We’re excited to see you there.
Working toward a B.F.A. in Acting is a journey to find your artistic voice. Your four-year training sequence will begin with impulse, play and moment-to-moment discovery. The course work moves through creation of original pieces and various devising processes into scene work, monologue work and Shakespeare.
Our faculty applies various approaches including Meisner-based work, Michael Chekhov and Jacques Lecoq techniques, Fitzmaurice work, Bartinieff and Laban efforts, Euro Danztheatre, hip hop theatre, singing training, acting in musical theatre training, devised Theatre work and more.
During the spring semester of your third year, the journey will take you to London, England where you will train with British faculty at Theatre Academy London. The transformative experience, set in one of the richest theatre cultures in the world, will offer you an opportunity to study original theatre-making, Shakespeare, physical approaches and scene study.
Throughout your time at Penn State, you will have extensive opportunities to grow as an artist while performing in productions, student films, faculty project productions, graduate student project productions and one acts. Your journey will culminate with your inclusion in a devised piece created for and with your class to serve as its showcase production.
Next Steps
See it in 360º
Welcome to our studios and performance spaces! Each of these 360º views is a portal of sorts into the learning and performance spaces in the School of Theatre!
You can click-and-drag to control the view in the frame, and there are embedded ‘links’ within the viewer that enable you to move among physical locations. By clicking the arrow icon at the footer of the viewer window, you can access the tour navigation menu, including the full screen (and you really should check these out full screen).
Is earning a B.F.A. in acting your next role?
The Bachelor of Fine Arts in acting degree program is one of the most revered in the entertainment industry and continuously produces highly skilled graduates ready to step onto the big stage.
The program’s holistic approach to producing well-rounded graduates will prepare you for a career in entertainment while educating you in a variety of subject areas.
Our faculty roster comprises working artists at the top of their game who have a deep understanding of the industry and what it takes to achieve success. They’re ready to help you get to where you want to go. Are you ready to take the first step?
Alumni Spotlight
alumni spotlight
Andrew Giffin
“Penn State embraced my vision for a cross-disciplinary education that combined electrical engineering with theatre and stage lighting.”
Andrew Giffin – a Schreyer Scholar who earned a inter-college Bachelor of Philosophy incorporating studies in Theatre Design and Technology plus Electrical Engineering – is the associate lighting designer for the rock band, Phish, and is widely considered as the top lighting programmer in the industry. Andrew has designed and programmed light shows for musicians such as Pearl Jam, Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber in addition to his work on music award shows, theatre productions and sporting events.
Considering the B.F.A. in Acting at Penn State? Consider this.
Program takes holistic approach to producing well-rounded actors.
- Faculty includes working artists at top of their game, with experience on Broadway and beyond.
- Program includes semester at Theatre Academy London, in one of the richest theatre cultures.
- Penn State and the surrounding community have a thriving theatre scene.
Faculty Spotlight
See all Faculty
faculty spotlight
Curtis Craig
Curtis Craig (Sound Designer, Composer, Projection Designer) Recent work: Pipeline (Cleveland Playhouse, Actor’s Theatre of Louisville, Detroit Public Theatre), Indecent (Denver Center Theatre Company), world premier – Dominique Morriseau’s Mud Row (People’s Light & Theatre Company), world premier – The Great Leap (Denver Center Theatre Company, Seattle Rep), The Bacchae (Classical Theatre of Harlem), How to Catch Creation (Baltimore Center Stage, Philadelphia Theatre Company). In 2017, his sound design and composition from the Denver Center production of All The Way was awarded the Silver Medal in Sound Design at the World Stage Design exposition in Taipei, Taiwan. He previously won the Gold Medal in Sound Design for Pentecost in 2009 in Seoul, South Korea. His work can be heard at www.curtiscraig.com.