Our Mission

Ignite your vision. Begin your practice.

The Fordham Theatre Program trains artists to develop their practice through mentored exploration in performance, design and production, directing, and playwriting.

Who are we seeking? Curious risk-takers in love with community. What kind of artists do we create? Graduates of the Fordham Theatre Program emerge skilled, flexible, and empowered to meet the demands of our evolving field.

Rigorous conservatory training enriched by an expansive academic curriculum, Fordham University’s Theatre Program prepares students as theatre practitioners and visionaries.  In a creatively fertile, experiential and artistically rigorous environment, the Theatre Program nurtures the individual, encouraging students to follow their passions and activism.  As a program centered on the values of social justice and responsibility, we aim to serve our greater global community as citizen artists, using theatrical expression to create paths for empathy, understanding and dialogue.  Collaboration is the keystone: our majors launch their training with a year-long class in collaboration. We learn by doing: our experiential curriculum augments our full mainstage season with student-driven studio productions. Artistic freedom is crucial: our studio season is creatively led by students. Process is primary: a result reveals itself as a moment in a continuous process. Risk is a muscle: we nurture the impulse to risk, the core of creativity. Ethics surface in an artist’s choice: we care for the whole person. Our faculty are leading theatre practitioners and cultivate diverse aesthetics: the Fordham Theatre Company explores classical and experimental work.  We partner with leading professional artists in our education curriculum and production, and build professional bridges through internships, workshops and a wealth of other opportunities.

Located on 60th and Columbus in Lincoln Center in the heart of New York City, and within walking distance of the Broadway and Off-Broadway theatre districts, the Fordham University Theatre Program is led by award-winning director and artistic leader, May Adrales.   Faculty members are working theatre professionals who help students find their artistic voice and develop their skills in an intimate and supportive environment.  Through core curriculum, individual mentorship, a robust student-led Studio Season and Mainstage productions, Fordham provides multiple opportunities for students to thrive.

Learn about our mission, and dive into the experiential work we do, by perusing our training and curriculum, and recent production photos pages.