The Theater Department at Moraine Valley Community College offers a valuable base from which to launch a theater career in stage, film, television, management, marketing, education, social work, and much more. Students interested in a degree in theater can begin here with transferable coursework in the Associate in Arts degree program.

Whether you choose to perform on stage or work behind the scenes, our courses and productions develop confidence that helps you succeed in whatever profession you choose.

On Stage

Gain experience as an actor in one-of-four stage productions yearly, as well as scene showcases through acting classes with award-winning faculty and workshops with guest artists.

Off-Campus Opportunities

A select group of students attends the Kennedy Center American Theater Festival every year.  Many of our students go on to four-year programs (often with scholarships) to prestigious theatre programs such as Illinois State University, Columbia College, DePaul University, and Western Illinois University.

Behind the Scenes

Get hands-on experience with costuming, props, lighting, sound, and special effects. Our scene shop regularly hires student employees for crew.

By earning your associate in arts degree at Moraine Valley can make it more likely that you will transfer to a four-year school with junior status. Learn more about how you can complete the first two years of your college education at Moraine Valley before transferring to a four-year school to earn a bachelor's degree and further your training in Theater Arts.

Training in the Theater Arts provides a broad range of career choices: 

  • Actor
  • Agent
  • Casting Director
  • Dance Choreographer
  • Director
  • Producer
  • Production Manager
  • Screenwriter
  • Set / Costume / Sound / Lighting Designer
  • Stage Manager
  • Theatre Professor or Teacher

Transfer Agreements
You can transfer credits from Moraine Valley's Theatre program to most four-year colleges or universities across the country. 

The college is proud to partner with four-year colleges and universities to ensure a seamless transfer experience for its students who desire to earn a bachelor’s degree. We currently have 2+ 2 agreements with Lincoln College and Western Illinois University in addition to our always growing articulation agreements. 

View our Transfer Programs page for more transfer guides and articulation agreements. 

Moraine Valley 2017 Faculty of the Year

Fondly referred to as Doc by his students, Dr. Craig Rosen, the coordinator of the Academic Theater Program, directs many of the productions and is involved in the auditions. Dr. Rosen has expanded student opportunities on campus through the academic theater season, course offerings and extracurricular activities. He consistently hires artists from the Chicago theater community and area four-year colleges to work on the Academic Theater shows, which ultimately connects Moraine Valley students with theater professionals of all types.

Past productions include:

  • My Fair Lady 

  • After Ashely

  • No Exit 

  • A Midsummer Night’s Dream

  • Avenue Q 

  • Waiting for Lefty 

  • Angels in America, pt. 1 

  • Hamlet 

  • Into the Woods 

  • The Diary of Anne Frank 

  • Crimes of the Heart 

  • Measure for Measure 

  • Cabaret 

  • Harvey 

  • A Day in the Death of Joe Egg 

  • The Tempest 

  • Reefer Madness 

  • Betrayal 

  • Playboy of the Western World 

  • The Taming of the Shrew 

  • A Christmas Carol

  • Spring Awakening

  • A Doll’s House

  • The Merchant of Venice

  • Hair 

  • Hand to God 

  • Rabbit Hole 

  • The Winter’s Tale 

  • Evil Dead, the musical 

  • American Griot 

  • Little Women 

  • Antony and Cleopatra

Yasir Muhammad

Yasir Muhammad

Theater Student selected for the cast of “Midsummer Night’s Dream,” at Chicago Shakespeare Theater at Navy Pier in Chicago.

“At age 6, I wanted to be an author. At 8, I wanted to be a cinematographer. At 12, an actor and at 18, I wanted to be a singer. Now I’m 20, and I want to do it all. I couldn’t believe I made it into a professional theatrical production. It was a phenomenal feeling.”

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Chrissy Monaco

2013 Graduate

"My love for theater began at Moraine Valley Community College. Alongside the several friends I made on campus, the faculty was always very supportive. Dr. Craig “Doc” Rosen and Professor Dan Scott provided me so many wonderful opportunities to hone my skills both on the stage and behind the scenes. I would not be the successful teacher and director that I am today without MVCC and will always be grateful for my time spent there."

Kelly Fitzgerald

Kelly Fitzgerald

Current Theater Student

"I knew that I wanted to major in theater but when I first came here I was a little skeptical because it was a community college. I can genuinely say that choosing to come here was one of the best decisions I have made from a professional and personal standpoint. The theater community here has helped me grow as a person and an actress."

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Robert Free

Former Theater Student

“Coming to Moraine Valley was one of the best decisions of my life. I'm learning so much and am gaining skills that I know will help me with my future. I couldn't have chosen a better theater group than this. It has drawn out who I truly am inside."

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Destiny Patino

Current Theater Student

"The Theater program at Moraine Valley has made me more open to other things. I'm allowed to express myself and show others what I'm good at. My creativity can run loose."

Theater Facilities

Dorothy Menker Theater

The 600-seat Dorothy Menker Theater is a proscenium theater with a movable orchestra pit. The theater is beautifully designed with excellent acoustics, sightlines, and cutting-edge theatrical equipment. Our theater productions are performed here, and you can enjoy superb professional productions in theater, dance, and music throughout the year.

John and Angeline Oremus Theater

Featuring an overhead “trampoline grid” for dynamic light and sound design, Moraine Valley’s flexible theater space is the 150-seat John and Angeline Oremus Theater. In this “black-box” setting, productions can be mounted arena, thrust, proscenium, or environmental style, depending on the play’s needs and the director’s vision. It’s also used as an acting and stagecraft classroom.

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Konnor Parrish (Oak Lawn), shared his educational journey while on a panel for the Illinois Project Lead the Way meeting.

SCHOLARSHIPS

Search available scholarships

Questions?

Contact the program coordinator Craig Rosen.