Carthage’s award-winning Theatre Department offers challenging classes, an ambitious performance schedule, and the chance to work with top names in the field. The central campus location allows the Theatre Department to bring in prominent guest artists from Milwaukee and Chicago. Students are active in every facet of Carthage’s original and classic plays.
Degrees Offered:
B.A. in Theatre B.A. in Theatre Performance B.A. in Technical Direction B.A. in Technical Stage Management B.A. in Theatre Education, K-12 Licensure B.A. in Playwriting B.A. in Musical Theatre
Beginning in fall 2026, ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ will offer a B.F.A. in Theatre, with concentrations in performance, technical production and design, and playmaking and dramatic literature.
Best School for Drama and Theater Arts in Wisconsin
Act. Direct. Build. Design. Do it all with Carthage Theatre.
New Play Initiative
Prominent American Playwrights Working with You.
Carthage Theatre is committed to creating exciting, compelling new theatre works. Since 2008, Carthage Theatre has commissioned playwrights of prominence from around the country and the world to create original plays for our department and work closely with our students to bring them to life. These works receive their world premieres here at Carthage. This unique opportunity means that our students collaborate with playwrights currently active in the highest levels of the theatre world.
Carthage is regularly invited to perform these plays at the Kennedy Center’s regional American College Theater Festival, resulting in dozens of national awards and commendations.
Students have many opportunities to be directly engaged in their craft as Carthage produces four faculty- or guest-directed Main Stage shows each year (one of which is always a musical) and multiple student-directed productions in our studio space.
Our Dance Program features a yearly faculty-choreographed concert and a student concert.
Carthage theatre students can take courses in theatre history, directing, playwriting, dance, scene design, lighting, and more. Budding performers study acting theory, voice training, dance and movement, and scene work.
Acting students receive four semesters of acting theory, voice training, body alignment, and scene work. Students are involved in every aspect of theatrical production. These duties include hanging lights, sewing costumes, stage management, and many others.
Carthage offers bachelor of arts degrees in theatre, theatre performance, technical direction, and technical stage management.
Carthage also offers teacher licensure, a dance minor, and a degree in musical theatre. Admission to the program is contingent on an audition.
<div class="lw_widget lw_widget_type_blockquote"><blockquote class="blockquote"><div class="blockquote__image"><picture class="lw_image"><source type="image/webp" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/127/width/183/height/183/crop/1/src_region/0,0,1169,783/38648_10591_163701665847155.rev.1697726402.webp 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/127/width/183/height/183/crop/1/src_region/0,0,1169,783/38648_10591_163701665847155.rev.1697726402.webp 3x" data-origin="responsive"/><source type="image/jpeg" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/127/width/183/height/183/crop/1/src_region/0,0,1169,783/38648_10591_163701665847155.rev.1697726402.jpg 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/127/width/183/height/183/crop/1/src_region/0,0,1169,783/38648_10591_163701665847155.rev.1697726402.jpg 3x" data-origin="responsive"/><img src="/live/image/gid/127/width/183/height/183/crop/1/src_region/0,0,1169,783/38648_10591_163701665847155.rev.1697726402.jpg" alt="Jessie Skonesey" width="183" height="183" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/127/width/183/height/183/crop/1/src_region/0,0,1169,783/38648_10591_163701665847155.rev.1697726402.jpg 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/127/width/183/height/183/crop/1/src_region/0,0,1169,783/38648_10591_163701665847155.rev.1697726402.jpg 3x" data-max-w="1169" data-max-h="783" loading="lazy" data-optimized="true"/></picture></div><div class="blockquote__content"><div class="blockquote__quote"><svg aria-hidden="true" class="icon icon-round-left-quote" width="48" height="33"><use xlink:href="#icon-round-left-quote"/></svg><p> “My biggest surprise so far was getting the main role in the play ‘Antigone.’ To play the main character in my first play at Carthage was the highlight of my freshman year.”</p></div><footer class="blockquote__footer"><span class="blockquote__author"><a href="/live/profiles/2542-jessie-skonesey">Jessie Skonesey</a> ’26</span></footer></div></blockquote></div>
<div class="lw_widget lw_widget_type_blockquote"><blockquote class="blockquote"><div class="blockquote__image"><picture class="lw_image"><source type="image/webp" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/127/width/183/height/183/crop/1/src_region/281,102,2732,2553/42144_Logan_Gonzalez.rev.1752167941.webp 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/127/width/183/height/183/crop/1/src_region/281,102,2732,2553/42144_Logan_Gonzalez.rev.1752167941.webp 3x" data-origin="responsive"/><source type="image/jpeg" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/127/width/183/height/183/crop/1/src_region/281,102,2732,2553/42144_Logan_Gonzalez.rev.1752167941.jpg 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/127/width/183/height/183/crop/1/src_region/281,102,2732,2553/42144_Logan_Gonzalez.rev.1752167941.jpg 3x" data-origin="responsive"/><img src="/live/image/gid/127/width/183/height/183/crop/1/src_region/281,102,2732,2553/42144_Logan_Gonzalez.rev.1752167941.jpg" alt="Logan Gonzalez '26" width="183" height="183" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/127/width/183/height/183/crop/1/src_region/281,102,2732,2553/42144_Logan_Gonzalez.rev.1752167941.jpg 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/127/width/183/height/183/crop/1/src_region/281,102,2732,2553/42144_Logan_Gonzalez.rev.1752167941.jpg 3x" data-max-w="2451" data-max-h="2451" loading="lazy" data-optimized="true"/></picture></div><div class="blockquote__content"><div class="blockquote__quote"><svg aria-hidden="true" class="icon icon-round-left-quote" width="48" height="33"><use xlink:href="#icon-round-left-quote"/></svg><p> “The people and faculty have been so nice and dedicated that it has made my transition to Carthage a blast!”</p></div><footer class="blockquote__footer"><span class="blockquote__author"><a href="/live/profiles/3186-logan-gonzalez">Logan Gonzalez</a> ’26</span></footer></div></blockquote></div>
<div class="lw_widget lw_widget_type_blockquote"><blockquote class="blockquote"><div class="blockquote__image"><picture class="lw_image"><source type="image/webp" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/127/width/183/height/183/crop/1/src_region/0,0,2400,3200/39478_student_voices_-_paige_downey.rev.1712333453.webp 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/127/width/183/height/183/crop/1/src_region/0,0,2400,3200/39478_student_voices_-_paige_downey.rev.1712333453.webp 3x" data-origin="responsive"/><source type="image/jpeg" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/127/width/183/height/183/crop/1/src_region/0,0,2400,3200/39478_student_voices_-_paige_downey.rev.1712333453.jpg 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/127/width/183/height/183/crop/1/src_region/0,0,2400,3200/39478_student_voices_-_paige_downey.rev.1712333453.jpg 3x" data-origin="responsive"/><img src="/live/image/gid/127/width/183/height/183/crop/1/src_region/0,0,2400,3200/39478_student_voices_-_paige_downey.rev.1712333453.jpg" alt="Paige Downey '26" width="183" height="183" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/127/width/183/height/183/crop/1/src_region/0,0,2400,3200/39478_student_voices_-_paige_downey.rev.1712333453.jpg 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/127/width/183/height/183/crop/1/src_region/0,0,2400,3200/39478_student_voices_-_paige_downey.rev.1712333453.jpg 3x" data-max-w="2400" data-max-h="3200" loading="lazy" data-optimized="true"/></picture></div><div class="blockquote__content"><div class="blockquote__quote"><svg aria-hidden="true" class="icon icon-round-left-quote" width="48" height="33"><use xlink:href="#icon-round-left-quote"/></svg><p> “Carthage, unlike big universities, allowed me to work on multiple theatre events and productions my first year instead of having to wait until my junior or senior year.”</p></div><footer class="blockquote__footer"><span class="blockquote__author"><a href="/live/profiles/2690-paige-downey">Paige Downey</a> ’26</span></footer></div></blockquote></div>
<div class="lw_widget lw_widget_type_blockquote"><blockquote class="blockquote"><div class="blockquote__image"><picture class="lw_image"><source type="image/webp" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/127/width/183/height/183/crop/1/src_region/518,754,1663,1900/42183_Reagean.rev.1752688063.webp 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/127/width/183/height/183/crop/1/src_region/518,754,1663,1900/42183_Reagean.rev.1752688063.webp 3x" data-origin="responsive"/><source type="image/jpeg" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/127/width/183/height/183/crop/1/src_region/518,754,1663,1900/42183_Reagean.rev.1752688063.jpg 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/127/width/183/height/183/crop/1/src_region/518,754,1663,1900/42183_Reagean.rev.1752688063.jpg 3x" data-origin="responsive"/><img src="/live/image/gid/127/width/183/height/183/crop/1/src_region/518,754,1663,1900/42183_Reagean.rev.1752688063.jpg" alt="Reagan Weitzel '28" width="183" height="183" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/127/width/183/height/183/crop/1/src_region/518,754,1663,1900/42183_Reagean.rev.1752688063.jpg 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/127/width/183/height/183/crop/1/src_region/518,754,1663,1900/42183_Reagean.rev.1752688063.jpg 3x" data-max-w="1145" data-max-h="1146" loading="lazy" data-optimized="true"/></picture></div><div class="blockquote__content"><div class="blockquote__quote"><svg aria-hidden="true" class="icon icon-round-left-quote" width="48" height="33"><use xlink:href="#icon-round-left-quote"/></svg><p> “Everyone in the school is so sweet, and there are so many wonderful opportunities here.”</p></div><footer class="blockquote__footer"><span class="blockquote__author"><a href="/live/profiles/3197-reagan-weitzel">Reagan Weitzel</a> ’28</span></footer></div></blockquote></div>
Beyond the classroom
Visiting Professionals
In addition to commissioning guest playwrights through the New Play Initiative, Carthage regularly invites respected professional theatre practitioners to campus to work with students.
Student Organizations
Theatre majors may be interested in Neil- Futurists, a rule-breaking theatre group inspired by a Carthage class or improv group Merely Players. Alpha Psi Omega, a national honor society, honors top theatre scholars.
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