The Applied Theatre, Film, and Television (ATFT) degree major stresses the interdependence of artistic practice and intellectual knowledge. It is made up of three exciting and distinct concentrations that will provide you with knowledge and hands-on experiences that are unique to our campus and school.
The Applied Theatre Concentration combines the study of complex dramatic traditions and opportunities for you to learn performance and production, with pedagogies and coursework that will prepare you to transfer the “gifts of theatre’ in interdisciplinary settings and nontraditional environments. It is the only theatre curriculum on the IU Indianapolis campus and one of very few undergraduate Applied Theatre programs in the United States and the world.
The two Film and Television Concentrations teach methods for recognizing and analyzing creative methods. You will learn to know film and media as products of history, culture, ideology, industry and individual authorship. You also have the opportunity to incorporate this knowledge into your development of creative projects, with hands on experiences that generate relevant and informed content, in a fast-paced, and ever-evolving industry.
The Applied Theatre Concentration integrates the fundamentals of the discipline (Acting, Directing, Theatre History, Playwriting, Dramatic Literature, Performance Theory, and Theatre Design Elements) to create a strong foundation for students. Intrinsic to this degree is the use of theatre as a voice and vehicle for social change. IU Indianapolis is surrounded by a vibrant theatre community with over 30 industry-recognized and producing resident companies in the greater Indianapolis area. As part of the student journey, this concentration is heavily invested in relationships with local collaborators that are similarly aligned in praxis and programming, while also benefiting from connections with national organizations and practitioners invested in this work.
The Film and Television Studies Concentration focuses on the history, theory, criticism, cultural uses, and production practices of television, film, and media arts. It emphasizes the critical analysis, creative expression, and an understanding of how media functions in our society as both art and communication.
The Film and Television Studies/Production Concentration (as a B.A. degree) explores not only the technical skills of the media production process, but also emphasizes the understanding of film, television, screen and aural media as communicative and aesthetic products and processes. The emphasis in this concentration is on the application of theoretical concepts, critical analysis, and historical understanding to a production context. You can apply your knowledge of film and television studies to construct advanced media projects.
A Bachelor of Arts in Applied Theatre, Film, and Television offers tremendous opportunities whether you intend to enter the workforce or continue with graduate education. Careers in law, education, business, politics, public service, non-profits, media industries, and even health and scientific fields, as well as the pursuits of theatre-related and film or media-oriented careers, can be activated and enhanced with this degree.
Hands-on skills include, but not limited to:
Possible specialized roles:
With your Theatre, Film and Television B.A. degree, you will be well prepared to enter graduate programs not only in these specific fields, but also in anthropology, communication studies, English, American Studies, criminal justice, geography history, law, political science or social work. The concentration in Applied Theatre pairs particularly well with the fields listed above.
Numerous graduate programs at IU Indianapolis can provide you with your next steps if you are interested in graduate education. The IU School of Liberal Arts in Indianapolis’s Department of Communication Studies offers an Applied Communication degree, in which you can focus on media arts and studies. The Schools of Informatics as well as Engineering and Technologies have related graduate programs, providing you with good and logical steps toward media related career goals that involve graduate work.
If you are considering majoring in Applied Theatre, Film and Television, either as a new student or as a transfer student, please contact the Liberal Arts Advising office at 317-274-3976 or laadvise@iu.edu.
