Theatre and Summer Shows II

Putting on a Great Show

Theatre Students Learn the Hard and Soft Skills That Pay Off On and Off the Stage

If you love live theatre, the marquee for McMurry theatre is always bright! Fueling a dynamic slate of live entertainment is a vibrant group of theatre majors and non-majors who learn the skills of the theatre are both hard and soft and prove useful in a theatre and many other settings as well.

The McMurry theatre department produces three to four productions on the main stage per semester and two to three shows in the summer. Plus, in the spring, eight to 10 plays derive from the directing class, as each student produces a 10-minute play for their final project. If you can’t get enough, every other year, three to five original works written by students in the playwriting class are staged. If joining in is more your vibe, every show is open to anyone to audition for on-stage and behind-the-scenes roles.

“Being involved doesn’t necessarily mean acting. For example, if you really enjoyed doing tech in high school but you aren’t a theatre major, we’d love for you to come join us. It’s a big time commitment, but can be quite rewarding,” said Neena McLain ‘91, department chair and assistant professor of theatre.

A Well-Rounded Degree

Smaller theatre programs like McMurry carry big advantages. While large school programs are concentrated on building a professional resume, small schools are all about you and delivering personal attention. In some larger programs, students can’t even audition until they are a sophomore.

“If a student asks to do something specific, we try to make it happen,” says McLain. For example, a student asked to learn scene painting. Her painting was seen in a recent show.”

Here, it’s about hands-on experience in all aspects of theatre, from acting and set building to costuming and props to lighting and tech to box office and marketing. Learning by doing gives students perspective and true understanding of how to make a successful production.

“Our goal is to put hands on every aspect of putting together a show. It’s not just about getting on stage and playing. In fact, it takes a lot of courage to do theatre,” said McLain. “The deeper intangible and transferable skills are often overlooked.”

Theatre teaches many of the soft skills vital to stand out in today’s workplaces. Theatre majors are trained to communicate, express empathy, budget, pivot and problem solve, negotiate, manage people, and stick to a hard deadline (remember, the show must go on.) You also learn how to supervise your peers, and because people process information differently, you have to learn how to communicate with each person in the way they can process for it to be effective.

What can I Actually do With a Theatre Degree?

“Anything! It’s a legit, valuable degree. Your skill set can fit into so many different roles,” shared McLain. “The wide variety of skills learned in theatre are transferrable skills for numerous jobs. I know a marketing manager who always hires theatre majors because of the strong work ethic theatre requires.”

Theatre graduates work in theatre and many other fields. McMurry gives a broad, solid foundation. For example, theatre directors and educators need to know all aspects of the theatre. Theatre for youth is consistently hiring, so McMurry developed a partnership with Young Audiences of Abilene to give McMurry students direct experience. Skills learned working the McMurry box office helped a 2023 graduate land a job leading the box office and marketing at Abilene’s Paramount Theatre. To give perspective, a stage manager is actually an events coordinator by another name in many other fields. Some theatre majors excel in law school because they know how to convince an audience of what they say.

McMurry’s theatre department delivers more than entertainment. It prepares graduates for a lifetime.