Explore our courses
Bachelor of Arts (Theatre and Performance)
Minimum 3 Years, up to a maximum of 7 Years 
Hobart, Launceston
Minimum 3 Years Hobart, Launceston 
CRICOS 001694A
Collaborate with industry
Gain industry experience and build lasting networks with partners including Theatre Royal, Theatre North and Assembly 197.
Build on your major
Choose units from across the University to develop complementary skills or inspire your practice.
Learn in inspiring spaces
Study in Hobart’s Creative Arts Precinct, creative spaces in a converted 19th-century factory on the Hobart waterfront on Hunter Street or at Launceston's The Theatre
Study options in this degree
The Theatre and Performance major, offered in the Bachelor of Arts, the Bachelor of Fine Arts, and the Bachelor of Arts/Master of Teaching. You can also expand your Theatre and Performance educational experience by selecting additional elective units.
A major is an area of focus in your degree. During your studies, you’ll choose an area that interests you, and then study a group of units related to that area. Find out more at What is a Major?
Leading theatre performers make the craft seem effortless. This unit offers a practical exploration of foundational performance skills, including movement, voice and space, in diverse performance contexts.
This unit is part of the Theatre and Performance major
The theatre machine is a device to make sense of the world, generating meaningful experiences for audiences. It's a complex system, balancing diverse artistic forms, media and technologies. Explore this machine from the perspective of the design and technology that goes into a production.
This unit is part of the Theatre and Performance major
This unit explores the ways that dramatic texts ‘speak’ as documents for performance. By engaging with a number of texts, both classical and contemporary, you will encounter the range of interpretive practices that move the text from page to stage, while developing your own interpretive performances.
This unit is part of the Theatre and Performance major
In your final year you'll study two units dedicated to the development, rehearsal and presentation of two theatre productions.
In Directed Theatre Project you will receive expert direction to develop, design, rehearse and perform a full length theatre production. This capstone unit will stretch your practice across a range of theatrical crafts and skillsets, including stage management, technical theatre, and of course, performance.
These units are part of the Theatre and Performance major
Examine the evolving relationship between theatre and technology. Through a blend of critical scholarship and practice, involving the examination, analysis, and interpretation of theatre texts, performances and theories, you'll engage with complex issues of privacy, internet cultures, and digital identity.
This unit is part of the Theatre and Performance major
Through practical workshops, discussions, readings and individual dramaturgical sessions, you will explore the range of styles, genres, conventions, purposes and methodologies within writing for performance, and approaches to character development and script structure.
This unit is available as an elective
Add sustainability to your degree
As part of our commitment to sustainability, we have created a complementary, optional major available across most of our flexible bachelor's degrees.
In the major, explore interdisciplinary knowledge and skills that underpin the development of sustainable societies and solutions. Informed by international and local research, practice, and theory, this major allows you to develop specialist expertise across the physical and social sciences and humanities, emphasising student-led and problem-based learning.
It provides the frameworks for developing sustainability-oriented solutions in a range of fields and is relevant to a wide range of careers.
Find out more about what you'll study, entry requirements, fees and scholarships - and to apply.
* Subject to international student visa conditions if applicable.
Diploma of Arts (Theatre and Performance)
Minimum of 2 years, maximum of 5 years. Part-time only. Hobart, Launceston
International students wishing to study the Theatre and Performance major will need to enrol via the Bachelor of Arts.
Collaborate with industry
Gain industry experience and build lasting networks with partners including Theatre Royal, the Hedburg, Theatre North and Tasdance.
Gain practical knowledge and skills
Add additional theatre electives, or choose units from across the University to develop complementary skills to inspire your practice.
Learn in inspiring spaces
Study in Hobart’s Creative Arts Precinct, creative spaces in a converted 19th-century factory on the Hobart waterfront on Hunter Street and in Launceston's The Theatre
Study options
The Diploma of Arts (Theatre and Performance) can be undertaken as a stand-alone qualification or with another degree. You may wish to take your theatre arts studies further. The Diploma of Theatre Arts can be a pathway to bachelor’s degree, like the Bachelor of Arts.
Develop your performance skills in voice, acting, movement and improvisation. Learn how to develop, manage and stage your own plays and present them to a live audience.
Upon successfully completing the Diploma of Arts (Theatre and Performance), you'll be well-prepared to audition for both stage and screen productions. Additionally, you'll be qualified for roles such as theatre makers in small companies and as part of event management teams for various venues and festivals.
Leading theatre performers make the craft seem effortless. This unit offers a practical exploration of foundational performance skills, including movement, voice and space, in diverse performance contexts.
This unit is part of the Theatre and Performance major
The theatre machine is a device to make sense of the world, generating meaningful experiences for audiences. It's a complex system, balancing diverse artistic forms, media and technologies. Explore this machine from the perspective of the design and technology that goes into a production.
This unit is part of the Theatre and Performance major
This unit explores the ways that dramatic texts ‘speak’ as documents for performance. By engaging with a number of texts, both classical and contemporary, you will encounter the range of interpretive practices that move the text from page to stage, while developing your own interpretive performances.
This unit is part of the Theatre and Performance major
In your final year you'll study two units dedicated to the development, rehearsal and presentation of two theatre productions.
In Directed Theatre Project you will receive expert direction to develop, design, rehearse and perform a full length theatre production. This capstone unit will stretch your practice across a range of theatrical crafts and skillsets, including stage management, technical theatre, and of course, performance.
These units are part of the Theatre and Performance major
Examine the evolving relationship between theatre and technology. Through a blend of critical scholarship and practice, involving the examination, analysis, and interpretation of theatre texts, performances and theories, you'll engage with complex issues of privacy, internet cultures, and digital identity.
This unit is part of the Theatre and Performance major
Through practical workshops, discussions, readings and individual dramaturgical sessions, you will explore the range of styles, genres, conventions, purposes and methodologies within writing for performance, and approaches to character development and script structure.
This unit is available as an elective
Find out more about what you'll study, entry requirements, fees and scholarships - and to apply.
* Subject to international student visa conditions if applicable.
Bachelor of Fine Arts - Theatre and Performance major
Learn through collaboration
Collaborate with your peers, recognised artists, and designers
Develop your creative expression
Develop your artistic and creative expression through projects guided by individual interests and expert professionals
Unmatched studio and equipment access
Access generous studios and well-equipped workshop spaces, led by practicing artists with strong industry connections
Work across artistic disciplines, dream big, experiment, and create
Having a creative mind allows you to see the world differently. You are imaginative and curious, spending your time exploring topics that fascinate you, following an idea to its conclusion, speculating and discovering new outcomes and practices along the way.
Tasmania is a place that inspires the maker in you. Nowhere is the entanglement of nature and culture, past and present, creativity and industry more alive. Join our vibrant community and achieve your artistic potential.
Our core Critical Practice units offer a robust hands-on framework to support your studio practice major. Immersing yourself in these dynamic learning experiences will foster your creativity and critical thinking, allowing for the thoughtful exploration of contemporary themes and creative expression.
Your study options include:
A major in Studio Practice or Theatre and Performance
- Specialist studio areas such as Drawing and Printmaking, Painting, Photography, Object and Furniture, and Sculpture and Time-Based Media
In the Studio Practice major you will specialise in one art practice. In the major you will complete 25 credit points at Introductory level 25 credit points at Intermediate level and 50 credit points at Advanced level.
Each studio pathway moves from foundational techniques to advanced practice, supported by dynamic Critical Practice units that build your creative confidence, conceptual understanding, and resilience as an artist.
- Theatre and Performance units including Performance Skills, The Theatre Machine, Playing Texts, Writing for Performance, and Directed Theatre Project
When you undertake the Bachelor of Fine Arts you'll complete two Creative Curriculum units, designed to connect your creative learning with the broader world and help you build valuable professional and collaborative skills.
Deepen your understanding of drawing and print processes, whilst building your skills in making and observation. You will learn the traditional processes of relief printing, etching, and screen printing, complemented by drawing skills from the studio and environment.
You’ll be encouraged to develop independent learning strategies towards the development of individual expression and self-directed outcomes. Through artist talks, lectures, class presentations and critique, you’ll gain the knowledge to situate your art within historical and theoretical contexts. You’ll learn about the technical and material possibilities of Drawing and Printmaking and how to use a studio as both a site and a tool of production.
Object and Furniture introduces you to the elementary principles, practices and processes of studio-based designing and making.
Supported by academic staff and technicians, you will learn a variety of making skills and techniques fundamental for conceptualising, presenting, and realising your design ideas.
A major in Object and Furniture also equips you with the creative and critical thinking skills needed to respond and contribute to a world undergoing rapid change.
Through diverse hands-on projects, Object and Furniture explores how craft skills can be applied to examine design’s impact within ethical, cultural, social, and environmental domains.
Embark on an exploration of the captivating world of painting. By undertaking this major you’ll delve into its significance within visual culture, tracing its evolution from historical roots to contemporary forms. Discover your own artistic voice, using painting to articulate your thoughts, emotions, and reflections on the world around you.
Guided by practising artists and seasoned experts in contemporary painting, you’ll traverse a landscape that honours tradition while embracing the forefront of artistic innovation. You’ll gain mastery over foundational painting techniques, immersing yourself in a range of paint media, spanning traditional landscape painting to cutting edge explorations of artificial intelligence in the studio.
With a solid foundation in professional practice, our Painting major empowers you to leave your mark on contemporary arts.
Photography has dominated global media production for over a century, and whilst nearly everyone now has a camera, very few people are skilled photographers. By studying a photography major you will learn to recognise and apply the aesthetic concepts and technical skills employed by successful photographic artists from around the world.
A photography major offers an exciting foundation in lens-based media. You’ll develop your own artistic perspective and prepare for professional practice in a vibrant and dynamic field.
Explore the frontiers of art and create engaging new artworks and experiences. Learn how to integrate sculptural practice, visual technologies, sound, space, and the dimension of time together.
You'll be supported by staff and technicians to experiment, play and challenge traditional notions of sculpture.
In the major, explore interdisciplinary knowledge and skills that underpin the development of sustainable societies and solutions. Informed by international and local research, practice, and theory, this major allows you to develop specialist expertise across the physical and social sciences and humanities, emphasising student-led and problem-based learning.
It provides the frameworks for developing sustainability-oriented solutions in a range of fields and is relevant to a wide range of careers.
Choosing a double degree allows you to deepen your knowledge within two separate study areas. This means you can pursue your career and follow your passion at the same time. And when you graduate, you’ll have a set of skills that will really set you apart.
The Bachelor of Fine Arts can be combined with a number of other degrees. Visit the Double Degrees page to learn more.
For honours course information, please visit Bachelor of Fine Arts with Honours
Find out more about what you'll study, entry requirements, fees and scholarships - and to apply.
"A Return to Radical Physicality"
Sam Routledge is a director, puppeteer and creator of contemporary puppetry. He has been the Artistic Director of Tasmanian puppetry company, Terrapin Puppet Theatre since November 2012.
Hear Sam discuss how might we leverage AI in the arts and cultural sector to build public value.
Career opportunities
Employment across Creative and Performing Arts activities in Australia is projected to grow 40% above the national industry average over the next five years^. Some of the fastest-growing jobs include:
18.7%
Film, Television, Radio and
Stage Directors
Projected increase by 2034*
8.5%
Visual Arts and
Crafts Professionals
Projected increase by 2034*
29.3%
Welfare, Recreation and
Community Arts Workers
Projected increase by 2034*
*National Skills Commission ten year projections from May 2024-May 2034.
Our theatre and performance stories
View more storiesMegan Kenna, Theatre and Performance student
Hear Megan talk about their path into studying Theatre and Performance at the University of Tasmania, what they enjoy about the range of options available and the support offered by their experienced teaching staff.
