Theatre Program
Your Life on Stage Begins Here!
- Roles on and off stage for all students every semester guaranteed.
- Professional training from experienced artists with national and international credentials.
- Personal mentoring and career counseling.
- Opportunities to work in multiple performance venues and build relationships with touring professional performers
The Peake Players
Every semester, Chesapeake College stages a faculty-directed main stage production. Auditions are open to students and members of the community. Our seasons feature classical and contemporary, musical and non-musical productions meant to showcase our students' talent and expand their skill set. The Peake Players also sponsor our own comedy troupe, presenting sketch comedy, storytelling, and improv comedy. The faculty-led troupe meets once a week to develop their improvisational skills and learn the secrets to creating comedy live in front of an audience.
Theatre Certificate
Chesapeake offers a certificate in theatre designed to introduce students to the skills they will need to succeed in the arts marketplace. The program includes an introduction to acting, theatre production and design, improvisation, arts management, and theatre history and theory. The certificate can be completed within two years as a supplement to the associate's degree in liberal arts. Courses have been selected to transfer to four-year theatre programs. Students in the certificate program are guaranteed a place in program productions during both semesters.
Faculty
Dr. Robert C. Thompson teaches courses in acting, theatre history, and an introduction to performance. A professional director and storyteller, he holds a PhD in theatre and performance studies from the University of Maryland and served as the artistic director of Odd Act Theatre Group in Trenton, NJ, for nine years. He currently produces shows in Philadelphia, PA. He has worked internationally on productions staged in the US, Canada, Scotland, and China. His research focuses on paranormal and religious performance, and he has been published in The Journal of American Culture.
Courses
THE172: Introduction to Theatre
THE271: Introduction to Acting
THE275: Acting and Improvisation
THE175: Theatre Production
THE250: Western Theatre
THE279: World Theatre
THE278: Healthcare Theatre
THE230: Children's Theatre
THE260: Shakespeare