Top 10 Reasons to be a Butler Theatre Student

Work one-on-one with internationally-recognized faculty who love to mentor students. Our Theatre curriculum is rigorous, practice-based, and encompasses all aspects of theatre.

We do Shakespeare, new plays, devised work, musicals, children’s plays, edgy plays, comedy, tragedy, and work that defies classification. And we do all if this in all types of spaces. We produce in a variety of venues from the 2,200-seat Clowes Memorial Hall to the 450-seat Schrott Center for the Arts to the flexible 100-seat Lilly Hall Studio Theatre as well as our two smaller lab theatre spaces, and more.

You’ll improve your musical theatre skills through singing lessons with the School of Music and dance classes with the Department of Dance. Apply your skills in a multitude of productions including a musical theatre production about every other year.

Butler Theatre is one of the only undergraduate BA programs partnered with a professional, Equity theatre company that produces Shakespeare each summer in downtown Indianapolis.

We have created our own special study abroad trips led by our own Theatre faculty. Locations include Moscow, London, and New York City.

Butler Theatre’s Christel DeHaan Visiting International Theatre Artist (VITA) program is the only ongoing semester-long program where undergraduates can work with a noted international theatre artist, right here at Butler: It’s the largest of our eclectic guest artist programs.

Our BA degree is flexible enough to allow for a minor or a secondary major and/or studying abroad for a semester.  In fact, we encourage it!

You can intern at a wide variety of Equity theatres, museums, and cultural institutions throughout Indianapolis during the school year—and worldwide during the summers.

Gain experience (and get paid!) teaching theatre to youth through our Butler Theatre camps in the summer. We also offer Saturday morning theatre classes for youth during the school year and multiple teaching jobs all over Indy through the Butler Community Arts School.

Our first semester course shows you all the ways in which your theatre degree can be applied.  There are audition workshops, guest artists, and student projects throughout your college career. Finally, every Butler Theatre student creates a unique, culminating senior project and takes our capstone course, showing you how to pursue professional theatre jobs, grad school, and further develop your audition and interview skills for applied theatre work.