Conservatory-Style Training in a Liberal Arts Setting

Elon is recognized in the theatre industry as a proven training ground for mature, skilled, and knowledgeable actors. The Elon Bachelor of Fine Arts degree program features an intensive course of study and performance designed to give you the knowledge, experience, and professional exposure you need to build a successful career on stage, on-camera, or in graduate school.

At Elon, acting students receive conservatory-style training in a liberal arts setting. You will grow and develop with dynamic professors who will teach you to sharpen your acting technique and deepen your understanding of all aspects of theatre. And you won’t have to wait in line to perform on stage; beginning your first semester, you will have many opportunities to put your learning and talents into action by participating in a variety of stage productions. You will make valuable professional contacts by participating in summer stock theatre, festivals, conferences, conventions, and on-campus guest workshops. By the time you graduate, you will have all the tools you’ll need to begin a successful performing career or pursue advanced studies in graduate school.

Elon’s performing arts alumni are employed nationwide on Broadway, national tours, regional companies, film, series television, and national and regional commercials. By the time you graduate, you will have all the tools you’ll need to begin a successful performing career or pursue advanced studies in graduate school.

Focused Curriculum

Elon’s acting curriculum is a performance-based program designed to prepare students for careers in stage, film, or television. You will learn the concepts and techniques of effective movement, vocal control, character development, and scene work. You will study the literature and history of the theatre, makeup techniques, script analysis, play direction, and theatre design. Along the way, you will receive expert guidance in preparing professional resumes, mastering auditions, making industry contacts, and other skills necessary to translate your talent into professional contracts. You will leave Elon a mature, versatile actor experienced in a range of techniques, styles, and genres.

Elon’s BFA Acting program provided me with all the tools I needed to jumpstart a career in thearts. It’s been almost five years since I graduated, and the lessons I learned at Elon continue todrive my work, keep me inspired, and come flooding back to me in new and surprising ways witheach and every project I’m a part of. I’ll be forever grateful for my four years there, the top-notchtraining I received, the professors who shaped the artist I am today, and the incrediblecommunity of lifelong friends that I now count as colleagues and collaborators.

Austin Larkin ’17

Experienced Faculty

Elon’s acting faculty combine years of international professional experience with a passion for teaching. Our faculty are seasoned actors with numerous professional credits, including roles in the New York performance of “Fantasticks,” the international tours of “West Side Story,” “Annie,” “Kiss Me Kate” and “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” and television, film and commercial credits. They know what it takes to succeed in the industry and are committed to sharing that expertise with you. The mentoring relationships they build with students continue after graduation, and the professional contacts they maintain are invaluable in helping students move from the academic world into the profession.

Individual Attention

Elon’s acting program accepts just 16 new students each year so that each one receives the kind of close, personal attention that is essential to growth and development. If you need help, advice or just a little encouragement, the faculty will be there for you. Small class size allows faculty to work one-on-one with you to help you realize your potential.

 

Stage Time Early and Often

In art such as acting, there is no substitute for getting experience on stage. Throughout your academic career, you will have the chance to participate in a variety of productions including comedies, dramas, musicals, student-directed one-act plays, ensembles, and workshops. Recent on-campus productions include “You Can’t Take It With You,” “Into the Woods,” “Dancing at Lughnasa,” “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” “The Crucible,” “Macbeth,” “Picasso at the Lapin Agile,” “Noises Off,” “She Stoops to Conquer” and “Marisol” and “Sweeney Todd.”

My time at Elon helped me take my passion and turn it into a career. The faculty members are not only teachers but also mentors who understand what makes each student in their program unique. I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity to work under their direction and guidance. Even now when auditions pop up I can send a quick email or make a call and they’re there with advice and support. Love the Elon BFA fam and forever grateful!

Nicole Brydon Bloom ’17

Auditions, Scholarships, and Organizations

Admission to Elon’s Acting program is by audition. Annual talent-based scholarships are available based on the same audition used for the admission process. Audition dates are set annually in the fall and spring semesters. All offers of admission to the acting program are pending until a student is admitted to the university.

Admission to Elon’s Acting program is by audition. Audition dates are set annually in the fall and spring. View a list of upcoming audition dates.

Acting majors are eligible to participate in Alpha Psi Omega, the national theatre honor society and student production organization, and Technical Difficulties, a student-run Improv group.

Real-World Experience

In addition to on-campus production experience, most students in the Performing Arts programs leave Elon with professional credits on their resumes. Through internships, summer theatre work, and other opportunities, you will develop significant real-world experience before you graduate.

Study Abroad Opportunities

Acting majors, like other students in Performing Arts, are eligible to participate in Elon’s renowned study abroad programs. In recent years, Performing Arts students have completed courses such as classical studies in Greece, semester residencies in London and internships with professional London theatres.

After You Graduate

Elon’s job placement rate among performing artists is excellent, and most Acting graduates move straight into performing careers. Recent graduates of our Performing Arts program have appeared in the national and international tours of “Chicago,” “The Sound of Music,” “Cabaret,” “Jekyll and Hyde,” “Phantom of the Opera,” “Urinetown,” “Fosse” and “Fame.”

Other graduates elect to continue their training in graduate school. Elon students have been accepted at prestigious institutions including:

  • Yale School of Drama
  • University of Cincinnati
  • Boston University
  • The Old Globe