Department of Theatre & Dance
At Otterbein, you will be immersed in experiential learning, creating theatre while working closely with our experienced artist-teachers and guest professionals. You will learn the techniques of your discipline, the art of our collaborative endeavor, and build the critical networking and professional skills needed for a career in the professional theatre.
How To Apply
Audition Information
Theatre Performances
Ticketing & Information
See Us in Action
Theatre & Dance Video Clips
Programs of Study in Theatre & Dance
BFA
BFA in Acting
Develop your own personal acting methodology through intensive training and performance capped with the NYC Senior Showcase!
BFA
BFA in Musical Theatre
Preparing the true triple-threat actor/singer/dancer through multidisciplinary training, culminating in the NYC Senior Showcase!
BFA
BFA in Musical Theatre with an Integrated Dance Minor
All the benefits of a BFA in Musical Theatre with enhanced dance training!
BFA
BFA in Design Technology
Take leadership roles in Scenery, Costumes, Lighting, Sound, and/or Stage Management, utilizing today’s technology to create robust productions!
BA
BA in Theatre
A flexible program for self-motivated explorers interested in areas such as directing, arts administration, play creation, and stage management, as well as those seeking to double major in theatre.
Minor
Dance Minor
Allows advanced training in ballet, tap, modern, jazz, and musical theatre every day while pursuing your chosen major.
Theatre & Dance Spotlights

Nathan Johnson, a celebrity Makeup Artist and Skin Care Specialist, gave a presentation about the importance of the care and maintenance of actor skin and provided consultations with our senior performance majors in preparation for the NY Showcase.
Marcus Wuebker, president of Luminative Design and guest lighting designer for “The Pajama Game,” gave our students a demo presentation of the grandMA lighting console, which is often used for concerts, film, television production, and large events such as the Olympics.

Department Features & Student Opportunities

Experienced Teaching Artists
All faculty members in the Theatre & Dance Department at Otterbein are professional artists working in their field of study, bringing their experiences and contemporary practices to the classroom.

Learning by Doing
Experiential learning is at the core of our curriculum and a signature part of an Otterbein education. We deliver large-school professional training with the individual attention and opportunities that only a smaller program can provide.

Student Driven Work
Otterbein students are engaged, creative individuals with a passion for generating their own theatre. Our Theatre majors and Dance minors have many opportunities to create the work they are driven to create in the ways they want to create it.

Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
The Department of Theatre & Dance has made a strong commitment to Equity and Inclusion, outlined in our Departmental Statement. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion are works in progress and you can follow our progress on this important work through the updated Timeline Document.

NY Senior Showcase
Each spring, our BFA Senior Showcase is produced for a live audience in NYC and filmed for casting directors and talent agents all over the country. As the capstone experience for eligible Acting and Musical Theatre majors, it is their final audition as college students and their first of many as professionals.

Performance Venues & Facilities
Theatre & Dance performances are primarily hosted in our 1100 seat proscenium house, the Fritsche Theatre at Cowan Hall and the 244 seat black box Campus Center Theatre. In addition to these, our students utilize three dance studios, state of the art classrooms for design and discovery, and Riley Auditorium.
Theatre & Dance Department News

Otterbein Summer Theatre Presents “I Do!, I Do!”
Posts - June 1, 2023
Join us June 1-4 and 10-11 for I Do! I Do!, a musical valentine and celebration of one couple’s 50 years of marriage. Agnes and Michael, played by Musical Theatre majors Kateri Condon (’25) and Benjamin Hoover (’24), are two soulmates navigating the perils of life through the good times and the bad. Kateri says she finds work with her character relatable despite the gap in age. “She (Agnes) goes through several periods of self-growth and discovery over the course…
Bright Star Venue Change Opens Window of Opportunity for Otterbein’s New Scenic Designer
News - March 27, 2023
When Isaac Ramsey began planning the perfect set to stage Broadway favorite musical Bright Star as his first show at Otterbein, he was dreaming big. Unfortunately, when water damaged the Cowan Hall stage and the decision was made to move the production to the smaller Campus Center stage and extend the run of the show, he had to scale back. Although new to Otterbein, Ramsey was up to the challenge. “It was quite literally ‘back to the drawing board’ on…
Find Me in the Shadows: Annual Dance Concert a Student and Faculty Collaboration
News - November 11, 2022
This year’s annual dance concert was conceived by senior Emily Baggarly, a bachelor of fine arts – musical theatre major. Baggarly, who hails from Claremont, CA, initially pitched the concept for a student workshop, but Artistic Director Stella Kane wanted to produce her work on a higher level. “I found the details were vivid and intriguing and I thought that her story needed to be told on the Fritsche Theatre stage for the entire community to see, not simply in…Our Institutional Partners
The Otterbein Department of Theatre and Dance is proud to partner with great organizations across the spectrum of theatre education and practice, including:
Contact Us
Dawn Horne
Director of Recruitment
& Administrative Assistant
614-823-1657
horne2@otterbein.edu