Welcome to the IU Northwest Department of Performing Arts

Theatre is a liberal art and engenders a synthesis of critical and creative thinking that is the foundation to lifelong learning and personal excellence in any field.  Interdisciplinary by nature, the theatre degree program offers an excellent and well-rounded liberal arts education.

Through study, service, and interdisciplinary exchange, undergraduate students define their place as theatre artists within the greater community.  Students are encouraged to produce contemporary and classic work of relevance to their unique audience, to promote and contribute to the vitality of the arts in our region, and to honor the remarkable cultural diversity of our constituency through civic engagement.

Program Highlights

All IU Northwest theatre faculty members have earned graduate degrees in their respective fields and hold active memberships in the various professional organizations in their specialties including the Association for Theatre in Higher Education and the United States Institute of Theatre Technology.

The theatre program is known for offering classes with a high level of student/teacher interaction.  The program emphasizes individual attention with abundant opportunities for personal exploration and growth.  Responsibilities and expectations increase according to each student’s creative and academic progress, but students at all grade levels act direct, design, stage manage, research, critique, and produce theatre art in close collaboration with faculty, student peers, and respected visiting artists.

In addition to our program highlights, the Performing Arts Department is now housed in the new Arts & Sciences Building which opened in Fall of 2017. The building houses a 500-seat proscenium theater and a more intimate 100-seat Studio Theatre, both with state-of-the-art technology. To learn more about our new facility please read about it here.