Art+ Design
Theatre and Design, BA/BS
Combine the production, performance, and art of theatre with design of messages, services, interactions, and experiences.
Offers a transformative education by aligning performance and production with academic inquiry and professional experiential learning. It is a community dedicated to creativity, collaboration, and excellence in the pursuit of innovative ways to see, to investigate, and to make theatre for a new generation through both classroom and experiential learning in areas of acting, directing, playwriting, and design practices. Designers are needed when we don’t know what is needed. They propose alternative futures and create new choices using design principles and processes to create, compose, and construct meaning. Seeking a broad understanding of principles and systems of perception, communication, and action, designers take a holistic and integrative approach that focuses on the quality of the human experience in concrete situations.
Co-op Opportunities
design and media sectors
Ronik Design + Development, Sametz Blackstone Associates Inc, Rue Gilt Groupe, BounceX, Ifactory Inc., JCDecaux North America, Mullen Advertising Inc, NBC Universal, Unispaceb Smartwebs, Inc., AutoDesk, Hubspot, Ogilvy, IDEO
news and publishing sectors
The Boston Globe LLC, Patriot Ledger, Harvard Business Publishing, HMH Books and Media
arts sectors
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boch Center
food and beverage sectors
America's Test Kitchen, Kind LLC, Best Bees Company, BevSpot Inc., The Boston Beer Company, Inc
fashion and travel sectors
New Balance Athletic Shoe Inc, Reebok International Ltd., Wayfair, The TJX Companies, Inc., Trip Advisor LLC
government and civic sectors
City of Boston, City of Cambridge, Boston Neighborhood Network, Massachusetts Convention Center Authority, MassDOT/MBTA
health care and pharmaceutical sectors
Brigham and Women's Hospital, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Inc., Massachusetts General Hospital, Imprivata, Inc., Vertex Pharmaceuticals
educational sector
NU Center for Advancing Teaching and Learning through Research, edX, EF Education First, WGBH Educational Foundation
financial and business sector
Commonwealth Financial Network, Fidelity Investments, John Hancock, MFS Investment Management, State Street Corporation, Thomson Reuters, The Boston Consulting Group International Inc, Talent Acquisition Group
Career Opportunities
Actor
Arts Administrator
Costume Designer
Designer
Dramaturg
Experience Designer
Graphic Designer
Interaction Designer
Lighting Designer
Playwright
Product Designer
Production Manager
Scenic Designer
Singer
Stage Manager
Stagehand
Technical Director
UI/UX Designer
Multidisciplinary Skills
- acting
- collaboration
- creative problem-solving
- critical thinking
- data analysis
- design research
- design software
- directing
- empathy
- experience mapping
- fabrication
- facilitation
- graphic representation
- human factors
- information design
- interviews
- leadership
- listening
- movement
- observation
- personas
- problem framing
- programming
- project management
- rapid prototyping
- script analysis
- semiotics
- singing
- sketching
- stage combat
- stage management
- technical skills
- typography
- user stories
- user testing
- verbal and written communication
- visual synthesis
- visualization
- voice and speech
Learning Outcomes
Theatre learning outcomes
Students who graduate from Northeastern University with a degree in theatre will be able to:
Apply a broad and deep knowledge of theatre as an art form to their work, including: • Foundational skills in performance, design, and production • Comprehensive understanding of theatre history, theory, and literature • Oral, visual, written expression of ideas with clarity and originality
Make theatre with integrity • Create or interpret a play • Collaborate generously • Apply a personalized technique to the process of making imaginative, innovative theatre
Make informed choices as theatrical entrepreneurs through professional readiness 4. Reflect on the cultural, social, and ethical impact and contributions that theatre has made to societies and communities
Design learning outcomes
Apply iterative design processes to create, revise, evaluate, and develop effective prototypes and innovative solutions.
Engage human-centered design research methods and systems thinking to identify and understand values, goals, motivations of intended audiences as a mode of inquiry, question framing and guide to action.
Develop a high level of craft and technical skills in a relevant range of media and tools and effectively weigh applicability for intended audiences and outcomes.
Develop and realize intent, concept and content with awareness of context and consequence.
Implement visual patterns incorporating text, image, diagram including temporal and spatial representations to recognize, categorize, and articulate significant form and meaning
Employ and embody ethical practices, team and cross-disciplinary collaboration, and effective communication and presentation skills.
Apply relevant communication theories and principles and appreciate the pervasive and long-term impact of design decisions on people and societies.