The Theater program is designed for students who intend to continue their studies at a baccalaureate granting institution, for students who want to broaden their educations with theater electives, and for community members and students who want to participate in college theatrical performance groups.
Degree
Associate in Arts, Theater
Course selections should be made using the Associate in Arts Student Planning Worksheet.
Course Offerings
Classes are available in acting, improvisation, directing, voice and diction, theater appreciation, stage movement, stagecraft, stage management, stage make-up, technical production, combat and audition. Browse all Theater courses.
Why Choose COD
- Students learn from nationally distinguished faculty.
- COD graduates are represented in some of the country's most esteemed arts and cultural organizations.
- Students and alumni have gone on to found theaters, starred in hit TV shows and movies, performed on stage at Orchestra Hall and the Lyric Opera in Chicago and received prestigious awards.
COD Stories
"It not only taught me the skills needed to become a successful actor, but it also taught me proper acting etiquette, such as how to prepare for a scene and how to rehearse. I still hold all of those things with me to this day.” - Lamorne Morris
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"I learned how to be a professional actor very early on so by the time I got to Columbia, it was clear I had been training among some of the best actors and teachers out there. I grew in every way possible – professionally, artistically and personally." - Robyn Coffin
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"When I hit the stage at Southern Illinois University, I had so much experience that I was cast in the leads. If I had gone to SIU as a freshman, I never would have got my feet on the boards like I did at COD.” - Jim Belushi
Read COD StoryOn Campus Venues
The McAninch Arts Center contains a variety of specialized studio, exhibition and performance spaces.
The nearly 800-seat Belushi Performance Hall features state of the art lighting and sound.
The intimate 186-seat Playhouse Theatre includes a "soft thrust" stage.
Studio Theatre is a versatile, black-box performance space and holds up to 70 audience members.
Many outdoor events and concerts take place in the 1,200-seat Lakeside Pavilion.
To this day, there are things I find myself regurgitating from classes I took what seems like forever ago from [faculty members] Connie Canaday Howard, Craig Berger and Jodie Briggs."
Ron MayAssociate in Arts Graduate
Contact Information
Connie Canaday Howard, Chair and Professor, Theater
McAninch Arts Center (MAC), Room 186C, (630) 942-2137
Amelia Barrett, Professor
McAninch Arts Center (MAC), Room 186D, (630) 942-2100
Glenn Glinke, Program Support Specialist
McAninch Arts Center (MAC), Room 169, (630) 942-2892
Arts, Communication, and Hospitality Division
McAninch Arts Center (MAC), Room 219, (630) 942-2048