Tour Registration
The Department of Theatre and Dance will be offering tours throughout the fall / spring semesters and summer. Tour requests can be made directly with the department to arrange a day and time that works best for you. Please email
theatredance@wcupa.eduto schedule a tour.
Additionally, you may also arrange to visit the department and our facilities before or after your regularly scheduled Admissions Tour or you can register to attend a Shadow Day.
Pre-College Summer Intensive
June 22, 2023 - July 1, 2023
The Pre-College Intensive is a summer training program for motivated high school students with an interest in the study of theatre arts. In this immersive experience on the beautiful campus of West Chester University, students take classes with professional artists, rehearse in our world-class facilities, and further explore their art form alongside theatre professors in a college-level environment.
This ten-day "theatre boot camp" will focus specifically on audition prep, acting technique, and the college application process. Students will work with our trained roster of theatre professors and professional working actors and teachers to craft a repertoire of contemporary and classical monologues and musical theatre songs. In addition to daily college-level courses in acting, voice and movement, improvisation for the performer, and classical text, each student will receive individual coaching, and exit the intensive with a headshot from Kate Raines of PLATE 3 Photography.
This intensive is a residential, on-campus experience. Participants will live in dorms, eat in the dining halls, and train alongside like-minded peers as they experience a taste of campus life. Please note that all COVID precautions are being taken seriously; specific policies regarding residential health and safety will be communicated closer to the camp start date.
There is no audition required to participate. All spots are available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Space is extremely limited.
Tuition + Schedule
Thursday, June 22nd - Saturday, July 1st, 2023
Cost: $1,825 (inclusive of all housing, meals, field trip, and other costs)
Theatre and Dance Opportunities
Theatre and Dance Scholarships and Awards
THEATRE ALUMNI DIVERSITY SCHOLARSHIP FOR EMERGING BIPOC ARTISTS
J.PETER ADLER PRIZE FOR EXCELLENCE IN THEATRE
J.PETER ADLER SCHOLARSHIP
THE BARBARA J. LAPPANO DANCE SCHOLARSHIP FUND
DANCE ALUMNI AWARDS FOR CHOREOGRAPHY
EMERGING DANCE MINOR SCHOLARSHIP
Current Scholarship and Award Recipients
J. Peter Adler Prize Scholarship | 2023-2024
- Elijah Mcbride ’26 (Musical Theatre concentration)
Barbara J. Lappano '67, M'73 Dance Scholarship Fund | 2023-2024
- Emily Gilligan ‘25 (Dance minor)
- Molly Thorpe ‘24 (Dance minor)
Emerging Dance Minor Scholarship | 2022-2023
- Laura Whittaker ’25 (Dance minor)
Lila Berkovich Achuff Memorial Scholarship | 2022-2023
- Emily Spatz ‘25 (Dance minor)
J. Peter Adler Prize For Excellence In Theatre | 2022-2023
- Jason Spiegelman (B.A. Theatre with Design and Production concentration)
Alumni Awards For Choreography | 2022-2023
- Elizabeth Powell ‘23 (Dance minor)
- Sara Magrino ‘24
National Organizations
Students in the Department of Theatre & Dance also regularly are involved with activities in the following organizations to gain further understanding of their field of choice and also participate in adjudications or master classes with working theatre and dance artists:
- American College Dance Association
- Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival
- United States Institute for Theatre Technology, Inc.
Study Abroad
Study Commedia dell'Arte in Italy with the Ombelico Mask Academy at West Chester University
Commedia dell'Arte is an amazing theatrical art form, but sometimes things get lost in translation. For a true understanding of Commedia, you really need to get back to the source... Italy.
Join Ombelico Mask Academy this Summer for one month, as we travel to the sun-drenched land of coastal Calabria, where Magna Grecia once ruled supreme, where Odysseus roamed the shores, and where Pulcinella first cheated Death.
Discover which Commedia character secretly resides within you... and how to bring that being to life for maximum joy and laughter. Get back to the roots of theatre as a wholly collaborative effort, where you are at once the actors, the playwrights and the directors. Delve into the rich history and influence of Commedia through classes in Greek Tragedy, Stage Combat, Burratini (traditional Italian puppetry), and of course, Italian culture.
And savor the best food you will ever eat in your life.
This program is being offered for credit through West Chester University, but anyone is welcome to apply. Space is limited. For questions,
email Professor John Bellomo.
Student Organizations
University Dance Company (UDC) is a faculty advised and student run concert dance organization. The focus of the UDC is to promote dance as an art form at West Chester University and to provide students with interests in choreography, performance, stage management, lighting and costume design, and arts administration the opportunity to create and shape their voice within this art form. UDC has two concerts every season; the fall concert focuses on faculty and guest artist work, while the spring concert mainly presents student choreography and design. Students work with both faculty and guest artists in the creation of new choreography and design.
University Theatre, which offers excellent opportunities, functions in the StudioStage and MainStage theatres of the Bull Center and in the new Madeleine Wing Adler Theatre. Its major productions, drawn from the classics, contemporary drama, and Broadway musicals are outstanding events for the University and community as well. Additional activities can include participation in Homecoming, the AIDS benefit, working concessions for MainStage productions, and monthly socials. All students with an interest in drama are welcome.
Alpha Psi Omega (Theatre Honor Society), an honorary fraternity, recognizes excellence in and dedication to the theatre arts. It is sponsored by the Department of Theatre & Dance and membership is open to all students regardless of major.