Theatre Arts

For a student of theatre, New York City is the place to be!

Why Theatre Arts at Marymount Manhattan?

MMC is centrally located in Manhattan and offers classes that allow students to experience the richness of the city. We combine professional theatre education and training with the liberal arts, teaching our students how to create compelling, informed, imaginative, and innovative theatre. Our students are exposed to great theatre — on Broadway, Off-Broadway, along Theatre Row, and downtown in experimental theatres — and they take advantage of the best of New York City’s internship opportunities.

Pursue our B.F.A. in Acting, B.F.A. in Musical Theatre, B.F.A. in Theatre Design and Technology, B.A. in Theatre Arts, or our B.F.A. in Stage and Production Management and choose among concentrations in Theatre History and Performance Texts, Directing, Writing for the Stage, and Theatre and New Media. We also offer Minors in Arts Management, Drama Therapy, Arts for Communities, Music, and Music Industry.

Commitment to Equity

The Department of Theatre Arts faculty and staff pledge to develop and implement recruitment strategies, curriculum, pedagogy, and theatre production practices that are anti-racist, anti-sexist, gender, body, ability, and LGBTQIA+ inclusive. We’re committed to creating a culture and curriculum that are ethical and equitable. Systemic discrimination and oppression exist in society, including in the professional theatre therefore, academic institutions like ours must work diligently to dismantle and reform those systems. The Theatre Arts faculty and staff will engage and collaborate with students in teaching, service, and scholarship that challenges racism, sexism, and all forms of bias and oppression, while also empowering all of us to eradicate these structures. We endeavor to hold our faculty, staff, and students accountable for this ongoing work on equity now and into the future.

What’s next?

Marymount Manhattan is perfectly positioned to launch your career in the theatre, as it did for our 2015 Tony Award-winning alumna Annaleigh Ashford.

Our alumni go on to perform in nationally recognized stage productions, TV shows, films, and more. Check out some of our alumni credits below:

Broadway Productions

Dear Evan Hansen, Hamilton, Six Degrees of Separation, Sunday in the Park with George, Sylvia, You Can’t Take it With You, Spiderman, A Night with Janis Joplin, Big Fish, Kinky Boots, Peter and the Starcatcher, Bullets Over Broadway, Sister Act, Jekyll & Hyde, Bring It On, Next to Normal, Hair, The Lion King, Legally Blonde, Wicked, Avenue Q, Rent, and The Drowsy Chaperone.

Film and TV CREDITS

Mr. Robinson, Supergirl, Kevin at Work, Penny Dreadful, Masters of Sex, Orange is the New Black, Glee, The Big Bang Theory, So You Think You Can Dance, The Good Wife, and Saturday Night Live.

NYC Theatre Company Associations

Lincoln Center Theatre, The Public Theatre/Shakespeare in the Park, Astoria Performing Arts Center, Second Stage Theatre, New World Stages, The Vineyard Theatre, The New Group

Graduate Study

The Juilliard School, Yale School of Drama, Harvard University, Old Globe/University of San Diego, Brown University, New York University, and the University of California, San Diego, among others.

Meet Our Alumni

Annaleigh Ashford ’05

Class of 2005, B.F.A. in Acting and Musical Theatre
Tony Award winner, Best Featured Actress in a Play, You Can’t Take it With You

I always knew that my opportunity to become a better artist would start with living in New York City. I could further my education as a performer with all the best resources at my fingertips. Marymount Manhattan College and New York City were a perfect match for me.
Nadia Brown ’17

Class of 2017, B.F.A. in Acting

Thanks to Marymount’s BFA Acting program, I have become a disciplined, well-versed actor and a well-rounded human being. I particularly attribute this to the integration of my liberal arts education. I have carried all of the vocal, movement, and acting techniques I learned in school with me into the professional world, and needless to say, I would not be where I am today without the help of all of my glorious teachers paving the way!
Aaron Glick ’06

Class of 2006, B.A. in Theatre Arts

I moved to New York wanting to be an actor. MMC helped me realize that there were other careers in the theater. If not for the flexibility of MMC’s liberal arts programs, I would not have been able to make the transition from in front of to behind the curtain so easily or fruitfully.
Emmy Raver-Lampman ’12

Class of 2012, B.A. Theatre Performance and Musical Theatre

Marymount Manhattan College allowed me to create the exact college experience I wanted! The wide variety of classes, the wonderful professors, and the convenience of being in New York City all helped me explore many different aspects of theatre arts. I got real-life experience in the city during my years in school. That was the most valuable part of my time at Marymount Manhattan.
Adrienne Warren ’09

Class of 2009, Theatre Performance major and Musical Theatre minor

Marymount Manhattan is where I learned to run a light board, help build a set, and assist in hanging lights. As an actor, I believe it is important to have an appreciation for every aspect of what goes into making a complete piece of theatre. Now I joke with the crew of shows I work on and say…’I know how to do that!’
James Cusati-Moyer ’11

Class of 2011, BFA in Acting

“MMC, with its strong liberal arts foundation and passionate faculty, provided me with the opportunity to grow…as an artist and as a human being…opening my eyes to imagine my future…with curiosity, hope and a viewpoint of limitless possibilities.”

– James Cusati-Moyer ’11 (Broadway: Slave Play and Six Degrees of Separation. Off-Broadway: Fire and Air, at Classic Stage Company; Regional: Portland Stage Company and Williamstown Theatre Festival; M.F.A. Yale School of Drama)
Lauren Wood ’05

Class of 2005, Major in Theatre Arts

After earning a BA in Theatre Arts at MMC, Laura Wood ’05 went on to earn a master’s in Drama Therapy at New York University and a Ph.D. in Counseling from the University of Missouri–St. Louis. She is an Assistant Professor at Lesley University, teaching drama therapy full time in the Drama Therapy and Mental Health Counseling Graduate Program.