By 1812Blockhouse
At The Ohio State University at Mansfield, theatre is not an extracurricular afterthought. It is a working laboratory for storytelling, design, collaboration, and confidence, housed in a professional venue and open to both students and the surrounding community.
The program operates as a division of the Department of Theatre, Film, and Media Arts at Ohio State on the Columbus campus. That connection matters. It means students in Mansfield are beginning real coursework toward a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre within Ohio State’s primary theatre department, or building a Theatre minor alongside another major.
What they get is practical, hands-on theatre from day one.
What students actually do here
Students are not waiting two years to touch a stage.
They are:
- Acting in mainstage productions
- Directing student-led projects
- Building sets and running light and sound boards
- Designing costumes, makeup, and scenery
- Earning course credit for production work
- Taking courses in acting, directing, technical theatre, and multicultural theatre
- Working alongside faculty and community members in live productions
Three mainstage shows anchor each year, surrounded by student-directed pieces, studio work, and special projects. Auditions and backstage roles are open not only to students but also to the wider community. That blend of campus and community is a defining trait of the Mansfield program.
A Theatre minor you can finish in less than two years
For non-theatre majors, this is one of the most flexible and accessible minors on campus.
The 15-credit Theatre minor is built around student interests and production participation. Students can:
- Focus deeply on acting, directing, or technical theatre
- Mix performance courses with practicum and production credits
- Turn show participation into transcripted academic work
- Complete the minor quickly because many credits come directly from involvement in productions
For students in education, English, communication, business, psychology, or any field where presentation, collaboration, and creativity matter, this minor is practical training in how to think, speak, lead, and create.
Founders Auditorium is a real theatre, not a classroom with curtains
The program is based in Founders Auditorium, a 339-seat theatre attached to Ovalwood Hall. It includes:
- A full proscenium stage
- Professional lighting and sound systems
- A lobby entrance visible from the main Ovalwood approach
- Access through the Scarlet & Grey Café and Ovalwood’s southeast hallway
This is a performance space built for audiences, not a rehearsal room pressed into service.
Connections across Mansfield’s arts community
Students routinely collaborate or gain experience with:
- Renaissance Performing Arts Association
- Richland Academy of the Arts
- Ohio State’s Departments of Music and Art
That ecosystem means students are part of Mansfield’s broader cultural life, not isolated inside campus productions.
Theatre Club: student-led, experimental, and social
Outside the formal season, the student-run Theatre Club creates:
- Studio shows
- Staged readings
- New works by local writers
- Service projects
- Intimate, less traditional performances
Students can direct, produce, design, write, and perform their own work. The group meets weekly and is open to any student who wants a creative outlet and a community built around performance.
Friends of the Theatre: how the program stays strong
Behind the scenes, Friends of the Theatre help underwrite:
- Licensing fees
- Costumes and scenic needs
- Lighting and sound upgrades
- Production costs each season
Their support keeps performances accessible and sustains the quality of the program year after year.
Why this program works so well in Mansfield
This is not a large, anonymous theatre department. It is small enough for students to be known and trusted quickly, and large enough to produce ambitious work in a professional venue.
Students are not competing with hundreds of majors for a role, a design slot, or a directing opportunity. They are needed. Actors are needed. Technicians are needed. Designers are needed.
And because the program is open to the community, students work alongside adults with real-world experience, not just classmates.
That combination is rare.
How to get involved
- Take Introduction to Theatre
- Audition for a show or sign up for backstage work
- Turn that participation into course credit
- Consider the 15-credit Theatre minor
- Join Theatre Club for student-led projects
- Sign up for updates at: go.osu.edu/manstheatresurvey
In Mansfield, theatre is not something you watch from a seat. It is something you build, run, perform, and learn inside a working stage with the lights on.
