Program starts in the fall. Review deadlines.
Great acting means taking risks, bringing your perspective to the script, and being ready to immerse yourself into new and unexpected roles. Emerson’s undergraduate Acting BFA immerses students in intensive, ensemble-based training that builds the skill, confidence, and creative discipline needed to take the stage and create meaningful work.
At a Glance
- Collaborate with students in Emerson’s School of Film, Television, and Media Arts to act in their films, gaining on-camera experience working on sets.
- Learn from faculty who are professional actors with deep connections in the performing arts community in Boston, New York City, and beyond.
- Emerson Stage’s nine-show season puts students at the center of every performance, with hundreds of roles reserved exclusively for Performing Arts students.
- Join Emerson’s vibrant performance community with over 30 student-led organizations, including Emerson Shakespeare Society, Mercutio Troupe, RareWorks Theatre Company, Musical Theatre Against the Grain, and Emerson Urban Dance Theatre.
- Take your work to stages in Boston and New York City, where you'll perform for agents, casting directors, producers, and directors at the Acting BFA Senior Showcase.
Learn How to Act with a Purpose
Becoming an actor takes a foundation of hard work, understanding how your experience fits the narrative, and collaborating with others to best tell the story. Emerson’s Department of Performing Arts gives you the tools to build that foundation, starting on day one. As an Acting BFA major, you’ll study dramatic works through multiple artistic and cultural perspectives while building the skills that bring performances to life, from voice and movement training to character development and ensemble work.
You’ll enter the program as a Theatre and Performance or a Musical Theatre major, where you’ll explore and develop your skills as a performer, collaborator, and storyteller. After your sophomore year, you’ll audition for the Acting BFA Studio, an intensive, ensemble-based training program designed for those ready to fully commit to an acting career. During your junior and senior years, you’ll spend 14 hours each week immersed in actor training, refining your technique, strengthening your artistic process, and developing the discipline required for a professional career.
You’ll have the opportunity to perform in Emerson Stage productions, work with student filmmakers to be featured in their films, and join student-led performance organizations. In your senior year, you’ll participate in the BFA Showcases in Boston and New York City. This event gives you the opportunity to perform for agents, casting directors, producers, and directors. You’ll graduate with a body of work, a network of well-connected acting professionals, and training that will take you to the stage, screen, and beyond.
Performance and Production Spaces
Emerson College owns more performance space than any other institution in Boston. These spaces give undergraduate Acting students the opportunity to perform on both historic stages and newer, state-of-the-art venues.
Learning how to act means taking what you learn in the classroom and putting it into practice. You’ll rehearse for Emerson Stage productions. Or maybe you’ll join one of the student-led theatre productions. You may even work alongside a student filmmaker to star in one of their projects. Emerson Stage’s nine-show season also gives students the chance to take on acting, directing, design, production, and management roles reserved exclusively for Performing Arts students. Be it on-camera or onstage, undergraduate Acting students continue to learn and grow when they leave the classroom.
Study voice/body/speech acting in the Netherlands. Acting BFA students have the opportunity to apply for a four-week program at Emerson’s Kasteel Well, where they learn to hone their voice through the Kristin Linklater Method and the Roy Hart Approach. The program, offered to rising juniors, improves expression, applies these techniques to the works of Shakespeare, and is taught by faculty who have mastered both the Linklater and Hart approaches to acting.
Learn How to Take the Stage from Professionals
Our Acting faculty are seasoned actors, theatre professionals, and industry experts with deep connections.
Take a Performing Arts Tour
Explore Emerson’s theatres, rehearsal spaces, and production studios, then stay for an informational session about the Performing Arts programs and Artistic Review process.
Kickstart Your Acting Career
If the Acting BFA program is for you, you’ll need to first apply to Emerson College. You’ll then need to create an Artistic Application through Emerson’s Acceptd portal. Here you’ll submit a theatrical resume highlighting your acting credits, along with a headshot. You’ll also upload transcripts, letters of recommendation, and schedule an interview and audition.
The auditions and interviews fill up fast and spaces are limited, so make sure to get your application in as soon as possible.