Department of Theatre |

Bring stories to life on the stage.

Lipscomb University's Department of Theatre is committed to leading the future in arts education through rigorous training, interdisciplinary collaboration, and faith-focused community. On our stages, you will join the next generation of artists who are cultivating the discipline and passion it takes to impact communities and make a difference in many lives around the world. Discover how your talent and training will come together here in a way that will guide you into a meaningful and influential artistic life.

By learning from theatre faculty who are also trained professionals, you will become prepared for a number of successful careers in the industry. Collaborate with local theatre companies in Nashville’s vibrant and growing art scene. Experiment with techniques and artistic endeavors that transform you as an artist as well as your audience. We believe that with a well-rounded, holistic education, developed artistry and grit, you will thrive in an arts career and enrich the world by bringing to light complex truths, global and local issues, and diverse viewpoints.

Live out your potential as a theatre artist who brings stories to life.

Theatre

Choose from four BFA degree offerings, including musical theatre, acting, directing and design to focus your artistic and academic interests. We also offer two B.A. degrees in general theatre and theatre education.

Dance

Join our in-house dance company Foundation Dance Theatre or pick up a dance minor to elevate your artistic expression and enhance your marketability.

Education

Cross-train between theatre and education to prepare for a career in theatre teaching. Lipscomb’s College of Education is ranked #2 in the nation.

Theater

Beki Baker
Chair, Theater
615.966.5728 ext. 5728
Beki.Baker@lipscomb.edu

An actor and actress sit holding hands and smiling at eachother

Professional Collaborations

Every year, our department collaborates with local professional theatre companies, including the Nashville Repertory Theatre, Nashville Shakespeare Festival, Blackbird Theater Company, and more. These collaborations are integral to our identity and fundamental to our training. Students have the unique opportunity to work alongside professionals, either onstage or behind the scenes, as part of their undergraduate experience. These collaborations offer real-time professional experiences and the chance to connect with people working in the industry right now.

Faith and Art Intersection

Central to our artistic work is the cornerstone of faith. You will explore the intersection of faith and art through coursework, productions, art-focused chapels and service opportunities. Our department is committed to exploring the realities of the world and human experience through the lens of Christian faith. We do not avoid difficult questions; rather, we believe Christians should be at the table with others listening, learning and speaking light into the darkness. The faculty take seriously the responsibility of walking out their faith daily with the students as well.

An actress stares upward with a backdrop of the galaxy behind her

Strong Professional Connections

Lipscomb is committed to hosting visiting artists with strong professional credentials. Previous artists include Broadway performers Eden Espinosa, Kate Reinders, Sarah Litzsinger, Chuck Wagner, Eric Petersen, Emily Ferranti, and more national touring artists. Major playwrights include John Patrick Shanley, Tina Howe, and Nashville-favorite Nate Eppler. Lipscomb also hires many local artists to share their areas of expertise. For 2016-2017 and 2017-2018, famed Something Rotten! composer Wayne Kirkpatrick served as Artist-in-Residence.

Internships

Students are encouraged to participate in internships throughout the city and country. Our students have served at several prestigious theatres including Nashville Children’s Theatre, Nashville Repertory Theatre, Berkshire Theatre Group, Barrington Stage Company, Creed Repertory Theatre, Florida Repertory Theatre, Orlando Shakespeare Festival, Peach State Summer Theatre, Great River Shakespeare Festival, Des Moines Metropolitan Opera, and the Nashville Shakespeare Festival.

A group of students at the Chinatown Gate in London

London Study Abroad and New York City Trip

Through Lipscomb’s Department of Theatre, you will have a unique opportunity to spend 10 days in London studying theatre and attending productions at the acclaimed National Theatre and Globe Theatre, and on the West End. BFA students are now required as part of their courses to take a one-week trip to New York City to attend important educational workshops and see Broadway shows. Students will take this course in the winter of their senior year.

An actress weeps while other actors look towards her

Prestigious Advisory Board

Our department boasts an advisory board of Nashville’s finest theatre professionals from the Nashville Shakespeare Festival, Nashville Repertory Theatre, Studio Tenn, Blackbird Theater Company, and others. We lean on these working professionals for guidance and support as we craft the strongest department and seasons possible.

Special Programs

Professional Collaborations

The Department of Theatre is proud to partner with Nashville theatre companies, both professional and semi-professional, to give our students and faculty the best opportunities possible for development, growth, and networking. Lipscomb theatre students learn from those directly in the field, working side-by-side with them either as performers on the stage or in the capacity of backstage crews. The faculty utilize the chance to continue sharpening their directing and/or designing skills with these unique and special collaborations. In the past few years, we have collaborated with the following companies:

Tennessee Performing Arts Center

The Tennessee Performing Arts Center (TPAC) is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to providing and supporting the presentation of the performing arts. TPAC’s mission is to lead with excellence in the performing arts and arts education, creating meaningful and relevant experiences to enrich lives, strengthen communities, and support economic vitality. Its four stages are home to Nashville Ballet, Nashville Opera, Nashville Repertory Theatre, HCA/TriStar Health Broadway at TPAC, TPACPresents, and a variety of special engagements. TPAC administers one of the largest and most comprehensive arts-in-education programs in the United States, offering learning opportunities for adults and serving more than 1.5 million students from pre-school to high school over the past two decades. TPAC is the largest performing house in Tennessee. In 2016, TPAC and Lipscomb University Department of Theatre began collaboration in hosting the Nashville High School Musical Theatre Awards, or Spotlight Awards.

Nashville Repertory Theatre

Nashville Repertory Theatre (NRT) exists to serve through creating “Ah-ha!” moments that inspire empathy, prod intellectual and emotional engagement, and expand the creative capacity of audience and artists though the dynamic connection unique to live theatre. NRT seeks to be a strong and vital professional regional theatre that is an indispensable part of our community's creative life, widely embraced and deeply valued as an essential source for illuminating artistic experiences and exciting entertainment, and recognized as a model of sustainability that is home for a thriving community of professional artists and whose name is synonymous with excellence in every aspect. Nashville Repertory Theatre was founded in 1985 by Martha Ingram and Mac Pirkle as an outgrowth of a production company formed in 1983 to produce the first work for the education program for the new Tennessee Performing Arts Center (TPAC). In April 2018, NRT and Lipscomb University presented an exciting co-production of Inherit the Wind at TPAC.

Nashville Shakespeare Festival

The mission of the Nashville Shakespeare Festival (NSF) is to educate and entertain the mid-South community through professional Shakespearean experiences. NSF enriches and unifies the community with bold, innovative and relevant productions along with empowering, participatory educational programs, setting the community standard of excellence in educational outreach and performances of Shakespeare’s plays. During its twenty-seven year history, the Festival has grown into one of the region’s leading professional theatres. In 2017, NSF partnered with Lipscomb University's Department of Theatre to present an all-female Richard II featuring a mixed cast of professionals and students.

Blackbird Theater Company

Since their start in 2010, Blackbird Theater has gained acclaim as Nashville’s most intellectually adventurous theater, mounting elaborate productions of literate scripts with many of the region’s top actors and theatre designers. Past shows include the original comedic thriller Twilight of the Gods (named Best New Play in the Nashville Scene’s “Best of Nashville 2010” edition), Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia, G.K. Chesterton’s Magic, John Logan’s Red (for which Dean Mike Fernandez won “Best Director”), and the rarely produced Stephen Sondheim musical Pacific Overtures (named 2012’s “Best Musical” by the Nashville Scene). Their 2013-2014 season included George Bernard Shaw’s Man and Superman directed by Beki Baker, and Roger’s Version, an adaptation of a John Updike novel. In 2015, Blackbird mounted an original musical called Myth, and in 2016 produced The Crucible in conjunction with Lipscomb University Theatre. Blackbird is a professional non-profit theater company founded by Wes Driver and Greg Greene, Lipscomb Theatre alumni. Many of their shows are directed, designed, and performed by Lipscomb theatre faculty and students, as well as Nashville theatre professionals. All of these productions save Myth were produced at Lipscomb University.

Foundation Dance Theatre

Foundation Dance Theatre (FDT) is the resident dance company of Lipscomb University's Department of Theatre. FDT's mission is to create movement that tells strong stories and explore all styles of dance including jazz, modern, tap, Broadway jazz, hip-hop, and more. The company is under the direction of Lipscomb dance faculty members Kari Smith and Leigh Anne Ervin.

Company members include Lipscomb students with a strong dance background and a passion for telling stories through dance. Students from any department on campus may audition for FDT during their bi-annual auditions. FDT rehearses on Friday afternoons and performs several times a year, both on and off campus. Their annual dance concert, Elevate, is one of the highlights of the year for many students and patrons.

Please email Kari.Smith@lipscomb.edu or Leighanne.Ervin@lipscomb.edu for more information.

12:1

Student to teacher ratio

Ranked theatre college in Tennessee

15%

Top ranked theatre program in the United States

Opportunities & Careers

When you graduate from our department, you will have the skills to work in over 50 entertainment-related positions. During your college career, you will be strongly encouraged to pursue internships to prepare for the industry and to establish strong networking connections. You will develop as a well-rounded artist who can work in a variety of positions.

You may also want to pursue less obvious applications of theatre degrees. Law schools, medical schools and companies of all kinds understand how theatre training can equip someone with integral life skills, including collaboration, stamina, conceptualization, analytical thinking, fiscal responsibility, creativity, communication, management, problem-solving and the confidence to embrace new ideas.