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Prepare for a career in acting, directing, design, production, or stage management. Hofstra’s drama program will give you hands-on experience as you deepen your understanding and appreciation of the art of theater.
Recognized as
One of the "Top Acting Schools in New York" by DailyActor.com
One of the Top 10 Best Drama Schools in New York by Acting in London
One of "9 Great New York Acting Schools and Universities" by Backstage
Degrees & Programs
BA in Drama
The BA in Drama is ideal for students seeking a robust liberal arts education with a focus on drama. With the BA, you have the freedom to double major, pursue academic-year internships, or take advantage of exciting study abroad programs.
Students interested in this program apply directly to the Hofstra College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
No audition is required.
BFA in Theater Arts (Performance)
The BFA in Theater Arts (Performance) is for the student preparing for a career as an actor. Students have specialized courses in Voice and Speech, Movement and Stage Combat, and Classical and Contemporary acting styles including on-camera techniques.
Graduating BFA actors are featured in a New York City industry showcase for invited agents, managers, and casting directors.
BFA in Theater Arts (Production)
The BFA in Theater Arts (Production) is for the student preparing for a career as a director, designer (scenic, costume, lighting, or sound), stage manager or technical director. Students take general design and production courses as a foundation for specialized courses in their area of focus.
Students will design, direct, or serve in a major role in at least two departmental productions, which will form the basis of their professional-level portfolio.
Performance Opportunities
Every year the department produces a full season of professional-level productions, as well as a twice-yearly student repertory of student-directed plays.
Integral to our season is the annual Hofstra Shakespeare Festival.
Recent productions include
By the Way, Meet Vera Stark
Falsettos
The Merry Wives of Windsor
The Amateurs
State Fair
Dike
The Revolutionisrts
Barbeque
Legally Blonde
A Midsummer Night's Dream
The Wolves
Woyzeck
In the Classroom
Learn from the Experts
Drama faculty have outstanding credentials in performance, direction, and production.
Students praise the nurturing and professional atmosphere of the department.
Our Facilities
You will design and perform in the campus' two recently renovated theaters, learn and work in state-of-the-art teaching spaces, and have access to on-campus costume and scene shops.
Beyond the Classroom
Get involved, gain experience, have fun, and advance your education.
Grants and Scholarships
Each year, we offer six Talent Scholarships to incoming students, but all continuing drama majors may apply for one of our 50 Activity Grants.
Talent Scholarships and Activity Grants are applied to tuition and serve as a subsidy to students heavily involved in departmental rehearsal and performance or production activities that make outside employment inadvisable.
MORE ABOUT GRANTS AND SCHOLARSHIPSStudent Clubs and Organizations
Students run nearly 300 clubs and organizations on campus, and there are several focused on Theater and the Dramatic Arts, which offer many supplementary opportunities.
At Hofstra, you will find clubs dedicated to Improvisation, Musical Theater, Technical Innovation, and many other topics.
MORE ABOUT STUDENT CLUBS AND ORGANIZATIONSInternships
Drama students are encouraged to pursue one or more internships during their time at Hofstra.
Recent examples of internships completed by drama students include:
ABC Television
Airmid Theater Company
Atlantic Records
Beyond the Box Productions
Boneau/Bryan-Brown
Fat Melon Productions
HBO
New York Fringe Festival
New York Neo-Futurists
Pentacle (NYC arts management organization)
Pulse Ensemble Theatre
Rabbit Hole Ensemble Theatre
Richard Frankel Productions
Walt Disney World, Williamstown Theatre Festival
and Yale Repertory Company
The Outlook
Our graduates are working on Broadway, off-Broadway, in regional theaters, in film, and on television. They include Oscar, Emmy, and Tony Award-winning and nominated actors and artists.
Where our alumni are working:
Aladdin on Broadway
Bay Street Theater
The Chain Theatre
Cirque du Soleil
Irondale Center Theatre
Lookingglass Theater Company
Mint Theatre Company
NBC News
New York Neo-Futurists
Playwrights Horizons
The Public Theatre (New York)
Radio City Music Hall
Seattle Childen's Theatre
Soho Playhouse
Upright Citizens Brigade
Wicked on Broadway
Where our alumni are pursing advanced studies:
Atlantic Theater Company
California Institute of the Arts (CalArts)
Carnegie-Mellon University
Columbia University
CUNY City College
CUNY Hunter College
Florida Atlantic University
Hofstra University
Kent State University
University of California, Los Angeles
University of Pennsylvania
Yale School of Drama
More about our program
Shakespeare Festival Celebrates 75
Hofstra’s Shakespeare Festival will present its 75th production, The Merry Wives of Windsor, on the University’s stunning Globe Stage replica this October 2023. Hofstra’s Globe Stage is considered the most authentic re-creation of Shakespeare’s original stage in North America, and its Shakespeare Festival is the longest-running consecutive festival of its kind in the United States.
Drama Alums Land Only US Spot at Int'l Theater Festival
Five Hofstra drama alums performed at the 10th edition of the European Young Theatre Festival in June 2023 – the only American college students to participate in this year’s prestigious international showcase and one of few in the history of the event to receive an invitation.
Fulbright Sends Alum to Bosnia for Teaching Assistantship
The Bosnian Embassy, in conjunction with the Fulbright Program, awarded Margaret Engel ’21 a United States English Teaching Assistantship (USTA) in Bosnia and Herzegovina for nine months in 2022-2023. Engel taught at the University of Sarajevo. She also had the opportunity to start her own theater guild, where she taught and studied the works of Balkan and American playwrights.
Building Character
There's one house rule every student in Professor Jennifer Hart's Musical Theater Performance class must follow before entering class: Leave their shoes, and their inhibitions, at the door.
Joe Morton Turns His Talent Loose Off-B'way
Hofstra drama alumnus Joe Morton is spending his summer vacation at off-Broadway’s Westside Theatre, playing comedian turned civil rights activist Dick Gregory in the play, Turn Me Loose, co-produced by John Legend.
A Broadway Break
An open audition in New York City led to Michael Lepore '20 being cast in the Broadway musical Sing Street. When the show opens at a Shubert Theater in late 2021 or early 2022, Lepore will be understudying two principal roles and two featured parts, each of which requires him speak with a heavy Irish dialect and play several different instruments, including acoustic and electric guitar, bass, and piano.
Professor Honored as Fight Master
Robert Westley, associate professor of drama, has been honored as a Fight Master with the Society of American Fight Directors (SAFD). This is the highest honor awarded by the SAFD, a nationally and internationally recognized organization of professional artists and academic practitioners. Only 23 professionals, including Professor Westley, have achieved this distinction.
Contact Us
Department Office
Room 102 Emily Lowe Hall
Phone: 516-463-5444
Office Hours:
Monday – Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Angela Visco, Department Secretary