Bergen County Academies

Welcome to the Bergen County Academies Theatre Department

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The Theatre Department at BCA provides significant opportunities for all students to develop imaginative, technical and performance skills as well as a sophisticated appreciation of the work of the theatre artist. Working in state of the art facilities with experienced professionals from the BCA faculty and visiting guest-teaching artists students take classes, engage in collaborative projects and produce pieces of theatre.

A fully produced main-stage production is mounted each trimester: the Fall play-in-the-round, the Winter all-school musical and the Spring senior-directed one acts. Students work side by side with professional guest artists and faculty in all areas of production including: performance, writing, musical direction, stage management, choreography, videography, dramaturgy, composition, direction, design and technical theatre.

Academy of Visual and Performing Arts: 
Theatre Arts Concentration

AVPA/T is a rigorous training program for students interested in pursuing a college major and career in the arts. Core course include sequences in acting, theatre history, voice & speech, directing and writing. In addition to studying with industry-experience faculty, AVPA theatre students work with professional guest artists in the study of dance, stage combat, theatre design, filmmaking and the business of theatre. Other electives include stage make-up, choreography, screenwriting, stage management, costume design and stage construction. A solid core curriculum enhanced with a wide variety of electives allows for scaffolding exploration and learning consistent with the demands of colleges and universities nationwide. Theatre students are required to participate either as performers, designers, theatre managers or technicians in at least one major Academy production a year.

Student Profile

The ideal candidate for AVPA:T will possess a combination of the following:

• Strong interest in pursuing an innovative academic experience with a major concentration in the arts
• Strong interest in one or more of the theatre arts (acting, dance, musical theatre, playwriting, film, design, technical theatre)
• A commitment to maintaining above-average levels of performance in all disciplines - academic and artistic alike; a strong inner drive
• An eagerness to collaborate with other artists
• A strong sense of self-discipline and commitment to the creative process
• An ability and willingness to offer and receive constructive criticism
• A receptivity to the intuitive; a delight in the spirit of play; passion

Theatre concentration students will be prepared to audition for college and conservatory Theatre Arts programs (BA and BFA). More importantly, AVPA theatre students, because of their course of study, will be ready for almost any college major or career path encountered in the 21^st Century. Students acquire a deep understanding of multiple perspectives and world views, and a keen ear for the subtleties and nuances in language, music and movement. Moreover, they have enhanced and developed imaginative capacity, flexible ways of thinking, self-discipline, and sophisticated presentation skills.