What’s more fun than creating a stage production? Pursuing a degree and career in theatre arts leads you into a profession that spans centuries and bridges cultures. You’ll learn a diverse set of hands-on skills that will make you extremely employable across a wide range of industries. Theatre Arts at Texas Wesleyan has a long history, and we’re networked with the people and organizations that make dreams come true. 

You’ll start hands-on work right away 

Theatre Arts takes that old “let’s put on a production” energy and channels it into the real deal. You’ll immediately start learning, working and experiencing life in the theatre – with all its drama, comedy and friendship. You can also jump into many different jobs:  

• Acting – Whether it’s on the big screen or in front of a live audience, your theatre arts degree can help you land a job in acting. And with a projected 32% increase in jobs by 2030 — one of the fastest growing careers in the nation — becoming an actor is a great choice.
• Audio & Video Production – It takes a lot of behind-the-scenes work to put together a production. With strong skills in audio and video production, you can help make the production come to life. Not to mention, you can work in many different areas, like marketing, media, recording studios and more. (And jobs are also booming — audio and video technicians are expected to grow by 21% by 2030.)
• Costume Design or Makeup Artist – If you have an eye for what makes people look great on stage, camera or even just in everyday life, becoming a costume designer or makeup artist could be a great career choice. You can take your skills to theatre productions, TV shows, movies or even unique places like Disney World, cruise ships, Cirque du Soleil, fashion shows, weddings — and much, much more.
• Set Design — Having an eye for detail can help make sure different sets fit the overall production. As a set designer, you’ll work closely with the producer and study scripts to craft the look and feel of exhibits. You can even expand your career path by designing museum exhibitions, creating artwork, exploring architecture or even getting creative with carpentry.  
• Theatre Teacher — If you love spreading your knowledge of the theatre to others, consider becoming a theatre teacher. You can work with students of all ages and be in charge of creating and planning the shows and helping guide students on the various theatrical roles.
• Producer or Director — As a producer or director, you help oversee the production. Producers work on the business side of the production, overseeing hiring, budgeting, scheduling, marketing and more. Directors get to work creatively, helping interpret the scripts, direct actors and cameras, assist producers with casting and more. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, producers and directors make roughly the same amount of money, so it’s truly up to you to decide where you want your career to go.

You’ll create your professional network 

Theatre Wesleyan is the oldest continuously running production house in Fort Worth, and as a result, we’re connected to the local, national and international theatre communities in a way few others in our area can be. In fact, our theatre alumni have traveled around the nation in their careers — from being a part of local theatres and schools, to performing on Broadway to designing costumes for Disney’s cruise ships.  

Fort Worth is also home to Stage West Theatre, Casa Manana, Amphibian Stage, Bass Performance Hall and the Jubilee Theatre. Those connections may help you find employment and will keep you current on what’s happening in local theatres   

You’ll learn employable skills  

Theatre arts is a great mix of learning and doing – you’ll be working in the afternoon on what you learned in class in the morning. Just look at the classes in a theatre arts degree – text analysis, costume design, stage lighting and scene design to name a few. Is there any other degree that offers such an applicable mix of hands-on and analytical skills? Your skill set will give you the confidence and network to jump into a wide variety of careers in and out of the theatre arts field.  

You’ll have unreal experiences 

Our program allows you to think outside the box —and we don’t just mean the box office. Our small classes have allowed students to work in big ways — like taking a play to the Big Apple via Playmarket, produce plays that question, probe and provoke people to think about the world from different perspectives and experiment with new and novel ways to produce plays.  

Few majors will give you the level of hands-on experience that a theatre arts major does. Think about it: You won’t just be studying for a test; you’ll be working with real deadlines on real projects for real audiences – you'll push forward in your critical thinking skills to be successful no matter what the world throws at you.   

If theatre sounds like the major for you, check out our theatre scholarship and meet with the department. Meeting with us is the best way to get all the information you need about starting your degree at TXWES — and earning a scholarship can help cover some of the costs.