Loyola University (Maryland)

Loyola University Maryland’s theatre curriculum is housed within their Department of Visual & Performing Arts. It emphasizes both academic depth and theatre practice, preparing students either for careers in professional theatre or for graduate-level study. Rooted in Jesuit ideals like cura personalis (“care for the whole person”), the program blends theory with embodied learning across acting, directing, design, and history.

Students enrolled in the program engage in a full roster of departmental productions each year—typically five shows spanning classic and contemporary plays, musicals, and experimental works. Loyola casts openly—there is no pre-casting or exclusion of first‑year students—so everyone has opportunities both onstage and backstage. Student-run ensembles like the Evergreen Players, Spotlight Players, and Poisoned Cup Players allow theatre majors and minors to direct, stage‑manage, and perform with real creative ownership.

Academically, students pursuing a theatre concentration within the Fine Arts or Performing Arts major complete courses such as Introduction to Theatre History, Experience of Theatre, theatre design and production, and upper-level practicum, directing, or advanced theater studies. Coursework is intentionally collaborative—plays are not taught as literature but as blueprints for production—and students gain fluency across acting, critical writing, and technical design.

All theatre programming takes place in Loyola’s Julio Fine Arts wing of the DeChiaro College Center, anchored by McManus Theatre plus a black-box lab theatre, rehearsal rooms, scene shops, and design studios. These facilities support rigorous practical work in a close-knit departmental community where class sizes are small and students receive personalized faculty mentorship.

Loyola supports theatre education through inclusive programming and campus synergy with Baltimore’s arts scene. Students benefit from departmental field trips, internships, and collaborations with institutions such as Chesapeake Shakespeare Company, Center Stage, Everyman Theatre, and the Kennedy Center festivals. Holistically oriented and performance-rich, the Loyola theatre program is a strong foundation for students seeking interwoven academic and practical theatre experiences.