Theatre at Franklin College

professor and students on stage playing soccer; 3 students on stage being interviewed by another student in talk show format
When you study theatre at Franklin College from your first day on campus you work collaboratively and creatively with students, faculty, and professional guest artists in a discipline that dates back to ancient Greece. By exploring the world and lives of other people, you gain a deeper and richer understanding of what it means to be human in the 21st century.

The theatre faculty is dedicated to making your experience in theatre at Franklin College valuable and enriching.

Download the Theatre Major Handout (PDF)

Departmental Highlights

The Franklin College Department of Theatre is open to all students regardless of experience or major. Faculty serve as collaborators and mentors to help you do your best work. The work you do in theatre classes is hands on and you have opportunities not only to perform but also to direct and design. When you graduate from Franklin College with a degree in theatre, you won’t leave a bunch of projects from a class, but realized designs (lighting and scenery) from our mainstage productions.

Special Programs

The Richard A. Harrison Endowment for Theatre was established through a generous donation from Richard Harrison (’57), an Emmy award-winning producer and director and Tony nominee. He was a passionate advocate of professional and educational theatre and saw the benefits of finding ways for the two to intersect. Through this endowment professional guest artists come to campus each year and work with students. The goals of the Richard A. Harrison Visiting Theatre Artist Program are:

  1. to enrich and augment the curricular offerings of the theatre department.
  2. to facilitate the interaction of students with artists who represent four core areas of theatre education: playwriting, directing, acting, and design.
  3. to facilitate “hands on” engaged learning opportunities for students as a result of this interaction.
  4. to strengthen relationships between regional and national theatres and teaching faculty members.
  5. to establish institutional relationships between the theatre department and institutions with graduate theatre programs.
  6. to foster the reputation of the Franklin College theatre department.
  7. to enhance the cultural offerings to members of the campus, local, and metropolitan communities.
  • I chose FC because theatre had been an important extracurricular for me in high school, and I knew that a smaller school would allow me more opportunities to be onstage. FC theatre also provided me with skills that have immensely benefited me professionally. From improving my memorization skills, practicing public speaking, and being aware of my body language, to developing a character, empathizing with another's story, and improvisation when things don't go according to plan — FC theatre laid the groundwork for my future career as a licensed mental health counselor. - Melissa Russell-Plunkett '05

  • I was graduated in 2005 after an absolutely engrossing and formative experience with Franklin College's theatre department — it was at Franklin that I was introduced to the liberty of performing in a black box and I've never looked back. I just got done with a very successful run of Tracy Letts' The Minutes and am about to open The Bad Seed. I can't imagine a life without theatre and my time at Franklin helped to cement this outlook; which is more, I met some of the best friends I've ever had, people I honestly cherish, via theatre at Franklin College. - Tristan Ross '05

Meet Our Faculty


Did You Know?

100% of theatre majors have a minor or second major.