Attention:

Northern Vermont University is now part of Vermont State University! Please visit VermontState.edu for accurate information.

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Northern Vermont University will join with Castleton University and Vermont Technical College to become Vermont State University on July 1, 2023.

Visit VermontState.edu to learn more about Performance Arts & Technology for fall 2023.

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About the Concentration in Immersive Design

Learn to mix lighting, video, sound, scenic, and wardrobe to become a designer who can work anywhere, and one who can tell a story with design that completely immerses audiences in your world.

At Northern Vermont University, our performances are all-encompassing. Our audience sits on stage with us or walks freely through the set as actors perform. This is the future of immersive theater, and with a bachelor of arts in Performance, Arts, and Technology and a concentration in Immersive Design, you’ll be prepared to design for contemporary performances — whether they’re at conferences, festivals, or traditional venues.

A Hands-On Focus

To prepare you for a theater career, faculty won’t run your shows — you will. At NVU, students write, direct, and design their own sets. When the curtain goes up on opening night, you and your peers will be in the light or sound booth, standing in the wings directing traffic, or managing from behind-the-scenes. By coordinating every aspect of a theater production, you will enter the world of professional theater and already know how to run the show.

Your two senior capstone courses will prepare you for your career beyond NVU. In the first capstone, you will build your portfolio by single-handedly designing and completing a project in any one, or a combination of, our concentrations. In the second, you will master important aspects of the theater profession — including audition preparation, resume and portfolio creation, interview skills, and self-promotion and branding.

At a Glance

Location:
Johnson
Program Options:
Concentration
Students in this program graduate with a bachelor of arts degree in performance, art, and technology with a concentration in immersive design.

Degree Requirements

Core Courses (15 Credits)
Intro to Design (3 credits)
Performance Art Practicum: Collaboration Boot Camp (3 credits)
Devised Performance and Production Lab (6 credits)
Intro to Theater Arts (3 credits)
Stagecraft (3 credits)

Historical Studies (6 Credits)
History of Performance (3 credits)
Interpreting Contemporary Dramatic Literature (3 credits)

Production and Performance Skills (18 credits)
Acting 1 and Lab (4 credits)

Concentration Courses (18 credits)
Intro to Stage Management (3 credits)
Intro to Theater Arts (3 credits)
Sound and Light Design for Contemporary Performance (3 credits)
Manipulate/Manipulated: Interactive Media in Performance (3 credits)
Theater Lab (3 credits)
Performance and Production Lab: Theater/Musical Theater Production (3 credits)

Electives (Choose one course)
Podcast Storytelling (3 credits)
Hitchcock’s Smartphone: The Making of Psychologically Engaging Short Videos (3 credits)
Shakespeare: Stage to Page (3 credits)
Improvisation for Actors (3 credits)
Acting III (3 credits)
Musical Theater Workshop (3 credits)
Survey of American Musical Theater (3 credits)
Theater/Musical Theater Production (3 credits)
Pro Tools 101: Intro (3 credits)*
Pro Tools 110: Production (3 credits)*
Arranging/Orchestration

Capstone Courses (6 credits)
Senior Project in Performance, Art, and Technology (3 credits)
Seminar in Professional Preparation for the Performing Artist and Designer (3 credits)

Courses marked with * are Summer Session courses offered at NVU-Lyndon.

A group of female actors wearing white perform on a stage.

“I was blown away by the theater program here…It seemed like there’s more effort in making plays great here rather than just reading lines to an audience.”

- Brittney Malik ’19

APPLY TODAY. Do North.

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