Theatre, Media Performance & Production, Costuming & Cosplay, Theatre Education

FSU Theatre is home to a BA in Theatre with concentrations available in Media Performance, Media Production, Costuming & Cosplay, and Education (non-licensure), or students may pursue general theatre studies instead of a specific focus. We offer minors in Theatre, Dance, and Costuming & Cosplay. We produce an annual season of mainstage shows, including children's drama, musical theatre, African American drama, Shakespeare and other classics, Play in a Day, and screen performances. Our program is led by world-class faculty with strong ties to the professional field. With deep ties to the professional theatre community in and around Fayetteville, our program maximizes student potential.

WHY CHOOSE THEATRE?

Theatre is for life-long learners, professionals, and creatives who want to know things, make things, work with people, communicate ideas, solve problems, and have the courage to put the result in front of an audience.

WHY CHOOSE THEATRE AT FSU?

A small program with unusually hands-on training. Theatre students do not spend four years studying performance from a distance. They act, direct, design, build, stage-manage, write, research, and produce. Productions function as laboratories where students apply classroom learning under real deadlines and working conditions.
Students can shape the degree around where they want to go. The BA includes pathways in areas such as Media Performance, Media Production, Costume & Cosplay, and Theatre Education (non-licensure), alongside broad training in performance and production.
Students develop both artistic and highly transferable skills. Training builds public speaking, confidence, collaboration, leadership, project management, creative problem-solving, adaptability, research, cultural literacy, and the ability to deliver high-quality work on deadline, and a metric ton of practical skills from using power tools to project management. Those skills travel well beyond theatre.
The faculty-student mentorship is unusually intensive. A single mainstage production can generate 200–250 hours of close faculty/student contact in one semester. Students work alongside professors for weeks through rehearsal, design, technical production, and performance. Those relationships frequently continue after graduation.
Professional experience starts while students are still enrolled. Faculty regularly bring students into their own professional networks as assistant designers, technicians, actors, stage managers, and guest artists. The program also uses professional guest artists and partnerships with regional theatres to broaden the expertise students encounter.
Students have access to significant regional opportunities. The program has relationships with organizations including Sweet Tea Shakespeare, Cape Fear Regional Theatre, Burning Coal Theatre, Gilbert Theater, and other professional and community arts organizations.
The program recently went international. In summer 2025, 11 FSU Theatre students received Kenan Trust fellowships to participate in the International Collegiate Theatre Festival at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, giving them the opportunity to perform before an international audience at the world's largest annual arts festival.
Our students and alumni are succeeding at very high levels. Alumni accomplishments include Deon Releford-Lee performing on Broadway in Tina: The Tina Turner Musical and Jeremiah Packer making his Off-Broadway debut in Ceremonies in Dark Old Men alongside Norm Lewis. Alumni have also built careers in playwriting, education, design, technical theatre, production, and community arts.
Current students are earning professional recognition too. Recent achievements include Lia Baez placing third in the SETC/Norcostco Costume Crafts competition and Zec Williams earning membership in IATSE, an important professional milestone for technical theatre and entertainment workers.
The program is growing. We currently have approximately 30 Theatre majors and pre-majors, following several years of increasing student interest.
Theatre reaches far beyond Theatre majors. Theatre faculty teach General Education and interdisciplinary offerings including Introduction to Theatre, Contemporary World Drama, Shakespeare, Hamilton, and Hip-Hop, Arts in Performance, and arts-linked Humanities courses. Hundreds of FSU students therefore receive theatre-informed training even when Theatre is not their major.
That broader impact matters. A business major who learns presence and communication, an education major who learns storytelling, or a future community leader who develops confidence through performance carries that training into another profession. Theatre contributes to FSU graduates who can communicate, collaborate, create, and lead.
The program does a remarkable amount with a very small faculty. Two full-time Theatre professors, contributions from a third faculty member who also supports Dance, high-quality adjuncts, professional contractors, and community partners sustain the curriculum, productions, mentorship, recruitment, and professional opportunities. That makes the program a particularly strong story of high-impact education delivered through resourcefulness and collaboration.

Godspell

November 5 to 7, 2026
Butler Theater
Directed by Dr. Evan Bridenstine

The Fayetteville State University Theatre Program opens its 2026-2027 season with Godspell, the Tony Award-nominated musical by John-Michael Tebelak and Stephen Schwartz.

Drawing inspiration from the Gospel of Matthew, Godspell transforms familiar parables into an energetic celebration of community, compassion, and hope. Through contemporary storytelling, imaginative staging, and a vibrant score featuring favorites such as "Day by Day," "Prepare Ye," "All Good Gifts," and "Beautiful City," the production invites audiences of every background into an evening that is joyful, thoughtful, and deeply moving.

This production showcases the work of Fayetteville State University students both on stage and behind the scenes, reflecting the Theatre Program's commitment to collaborative artistry, creative excellence, and experiential learning.

Performance Dates

Thursday, November 5, 2026
Friday, November 6, 2026
Saturday, November 7, 2026

All performances take place at 7:30pm in Butler Theater on the campus of Fayetteville State University.

Tickets

Free for Fayetteville State University students with a valid FSU ID
$12 General Admission
$10 Non-FSU Students, Seniors, and Military

Tickets are available at the door prior to each performance.

For additional information, contact the Fayetteville State University Theatre Program.

Godspell is produced by arrangement with Music Theatre International -- mtishows.com

Stage & Screen, Costume/Cosplay/Fashion, Dance, and Education Programs in Theatre

Hamlet

We offer several exciting programs for students interested in stage and screen performance, design, production, directing, musical theatre, playwriting, and much more. Programs include:

BA in Theatre
BA in Theatre with a concentration in Media Performance
BA in Theatre with a concentration in Media Production
BA in Theatre with a concentration in Costuming/Cosplay
BA in Theatre with a concentration in Education (non-licensure)
Minor in Theatre
Minor in Dance
Minor in Costuming, Cosplay, & Fashion

You can find our curriculum plans, course descriptions, and more in the University’s online catalog.

What Will You Learn in Our Programs?

Students majoring in Theatre with a concentration in Media Performance will complete intensive course work focused on performance for the screen including film, television, and social media, consisting of acting and voice work, characterization, camera studio work, and short films. Part of a general program collaboration between the Theatre and Communications areas, new approaches seek to update courses using experiences with film, television and stage, to fill the need to expand professional practices in both areas and prepare students for lifelong careers in stage and screen performance.

Students majoring in Theatre with a concentration in Media Production will focus on audio, video, lighting, and stage production for film, television, and new media. The concentration looks intently at the crossover in production between theatre, television/film, and social media, developing skills in a multidisciplinary platform that will broaden training and skill sets in various disciplines preparing them for lifelong careers in stage and screen production.

Both concentrations are collaborations with FSU’s Department of Communications and World Languages.

Students may major in Theatre with a concentration in Costuming and Cosplay, developing studio, technical production, and artistic skills necessary to work in a variety of disciplines from traditional stage and screen costuming and props work to fantasy cons, Live Action Role Play, and much more. With classes in makeup, costuming, sculpture, mold making, and opportunities for props and mask work, this concentration will provide students an exciting set of in-demand skills and experiences that prepares them for worthwhile careers in the field. While this concentration is a collaboration with FSU’s Visual Art program, it may also be taken independently as a Minor.

Students majoring in Theatre with a concentration in Education (non-licensure) will blend studies in traditional areas of theatre with required courses from FSU’s College of Education that prepare them for lifelong work with students. Students will have both in-class and out-of-class opportunities to gain practical experience and technical proficiency, including those gained through campus-based theatrical productions and internships with local employers. The program takes a holistic approach toward the study of theatre that embraces relevant areas of review and practice within the disciplines of English, Communications, Education, as well as Theatre. This is a non-licensure concentration, though students will find themselves well prepared for teaching positions via lateral entry, working as Directors of Education for regional theatres and arts organizations, or establishing their own studios.

Alternatively, students may pursue general studies in Theatre without one of these concentrations.

Together, these concentrations and studies the FSU Theatre program position students for quality work in their chosen field. Each new offering blends with FSU’s strong core of theatre classes and production experiences, providing students a broad practical and theoretical background in the theatre. FSU Theatre is proud to have developed students who’ve gone on to work as professional actors, production professionals, writers, and educators.

What Will You Do with What You Learn in Our Theatre & Media Programs?

With drive, initiative, and ability, a degree, minnor or certificate in our programs prepares you for numerous career choices and possibilities. Practical skills in performance, communication, education, management, design, and production prepare you for careers in:

Actor Stand-in (film work)
Theme Park Entertainment
Comedian/Impersonator
Stunt Coordinator
Technical Director
Scenic Painter
Costumer/Draper/Dresser
Sound Board Operator
Light Board Operator
Master Electrician
Master Carpenter
Production Coordinator
Producer
Stage Management
Arts Marketing
Stage Hand
Properties Coordinator
Choreographer
Artistic Director
Arts Entrepreneur
Dramaturge
Playwright
Screenwriter
Direction
Conference Production & Management
Design
Props production
Arts Administration
Politics
Law
Technical Theatre & Production Management
Acting Education & Instruction
Theatre History
Theatre/Film Criticism
Writing Criticism
Talent Representation (i.e., agents)
Labor Relations
Producing Advertising/Marketing
Radio/TV Voice Work
Training & Development
Public Affairs
Box Office
Public Relations

Jeremy Fiebig
Professor of Theatre & Directing
Butler 139
910-672-2574
jfiebig@uncfsu.edu

David Griffie
Professor of Theatre, Design, & Production
Butler Building 269
910-672-1275
dgriffie@uncfsu.edu

Avis Hatcher-Puzzo
Associate Professor of Dance
Rosenthal Building
ahatche1@uncfsu.edu

FSU Box Office
910-672-1724

FSU Theatre partners with community groups on a regular basis for events, artist workshops, costume rentals, props/scenic rentals, co-production, and more. Please reach out to program faculty if you have questions.

We receive a number of requests for use of Butler Theater by campus and community groups. It is generally not available during the academic year due to production demands. Use by outside groups is governed by FSU Policy, which requires a full proposal submitted to the appropriate campus review committee. As a rule, technical equipment (lighting, sound, projection) is not included in space use.

We receive a number of requests from the campus and community for actors to be in productions, haunted houses, special initiatives, and more. You can share those opportunities with faculty, who will screen them and advance them to students if the opportunity serves student learning. For your opportunity to be shared with students, you need to list:

Name of producing artists & production company.
Details about the producing artists, production company, and project.
Rehearsal and performance dates, location, and other critical details.
Roles available.
Pay and other contract details. We generally do not forward to students unpaid opportunities.

Tickets may be purchased by visiting the FSU Box Office in Seabrook Auditorium at the main entrance to campus at Murchison Road and W.T. Brown Drive by calling (910) 672-1724 during business hours, or by purchasing online at Etix.com -- just search the title and venue of the performance, such as “Doctor Faustus Butler” or “Business of Blackness Seabrook,” if the links are not provided in event descriptions.

Ticket buyers consent to receive email and MMS/SMS messages from FSU Theatre & Dance for future events, and may opt out at any time.

FSU Students may acquire free tickets by registering at least 24 hours in advance of a performance. Registration details are available in the show descriptions above or by calling the FSU Box Office at (910) 672-1724.

The FSU campus offers limited parking. Butler Theater can be difficult to find. You are strongly encouraged to research your destination ahead of time so that you arrive before the start of the performance. FSU Theatre & Dance reserves the right to prohibit late entry of any kind.

Refunds will not be offered for any reason, including late arrival, except in cases of cancellation.

No cell phones, photography, videography, or other recording devices allowed.

FSU Theatre & Dance reserves the right to restrict ages of guests. Unless our production is specifically for children, infants and toddlers will not be admitted.

Guests who leave the performance may not be readmitted at the discretion of Front of House staff.

Butler Theater is home to FSU Theatre & Dance. Housed in the G.L. Butler Building in the heart of the Fayetteville State University campus, Butler Theatre hosts plays, musicals, and events throughout the year. To locate Butler Theatre, enter campus at the main entrance on Murchison Road and W.T. Brown Drive. Follow W.T. Brown Drive until it dead-ends at Administration Drive. Proceed ahead to the parking lot. Chesnutt Library is on the right. The Butler Building is straight ahead. Park in the lot and proceed to the left, up the brick pathway. Look for FSU Theatre signs in the breezeway to the right.

Butler Theater in Google Maps

Seabrook Auditorium is located on the South side of the main campus entrance at 1200 Murchison Road and W.T. Brown Drive, next to our beautiful campus fountain. Parking is in the rear of the auditorium.

Seabrook Auditorium in Google Maps

Bringing out the Best Character in You