Case Western Reserve

The Department of Theater at Case Western Reserve University is one of the first academic theater programs in the United States, founded in the 1930s by Barclay Leathem.

Bachelor of Arts students have the opportunity to perform as well as to serve on the design and technical teams in four fully produced mainstage theatrical productions each year. The low student to faculty ratio ensures that students are able to work closely with our faculty of highly accomplished artists and scholars. As a discipline that is both performing art and humanity, the department treats all performances as artistic and educational experiences, and welcomes the participation of students regardless of their academic majors and career goals.

At the graduate level, the Master of Arts degree prepares students for work in professional theater, education, or for further pursuit of graduate study, while the Master of Fine Arts professional actor training program–a collaborative partnership between the Department of Theater and Cleveland Play House–represents a unique alliance between one of the oldest academic theater programs in the United States and the nation’s first regional theater.