Where Theater Graduates Work
HPU theater alumni hold roles including:
- Stage manager, national tour of The Lion King
- Lighting and video supervisor, Blue Man Group
- Lead electrician, international tour of Marvel Universe Live
- Performers at Walt Disney World and on cruise ships
- Performers, directors and stage managers at regional and off-Broadway theaters
- Costume supervisors and educators
Others continue to graduate school.
Theater Careers by the Numbers
U.S. News & World Report ranks High Point University #1 among Regional Universities in the South for Earnings by Major in Best Colleges 2027, a factor that measures what graduates earn four years after leaving campus.
Across all majors, 99% of High Point University’s Class of 2025 was employed or continuing their education within 180 days of graduation, 13 points above the national average, measured by National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) standards. The Princeton Review ranks HPU #14 for Best Career Services in its 2027 guide.
The median annual wage for producers and directors was $90,360 in May 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, with about 12,100 openings projected each year through 2035. BLS projects about 6,300 openings for actors each year.
Skills That Travel
The department names emotional intelligence, empathy, project management, creativity and professionalism as the core a theater degree builds. Graduates carry them into careers well beyond the stage.
U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges 2027 edition ranked High Point University #1 Regional Universities in the South for Earnings by Major, a new factor that measures what graduates earn four years after leaving campus.
From the Stage to the Tanger Center
Madelyn Mudd is marketing coordinator at the Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts in Greensboro. Mudd completed a dual degree in theater and communication and calls the role in Silent Sky, in the spring of junior year, the moment of knowing the path was right.
Hailey Turner, a theater and English double major, became assistant venue manager for the Dock Street Theatre at the Spoleto Festival in Charleston. Rebecca Korn, a theater and computer science double major, joined the head wardrobe crew at Wolf Trap Opera.
Sarah Thompson stage managed for the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company, and Nathan Ruffin owns HammerHead Design Build in Winston-Salem. Ragan Keefer continued to an MFA in theatre directing at the University of East London.
Building a Network Before Graduation
Two to three guest artists from Broadway, regional theater and film work with students each semester. Summers with the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company and the Creative Arts Fellows cohort add professional contacts that extend well beyond HPU.
Theater majors carry those skills into other fields too. Johnny Pohlman, a theater major with minors in media production and sales, interned in business development at Xerox IT Solutions.
What Theater Students Say
Hailey Turner
Assistant Venue Manager, Dock Street Theatre
“Thanks to mentorship from faculty and staff, I am confident in my abilities to manage an artistic group on a professional level.”
Rebecca Korn
Head Wardrobe Crew Stitcher, Wolf Trap Opera
“High Point University helped me by giving me mentors who made sure I knew my worth and that I didn’t accept a job that would undervalue me in any way.”
Ragan Keefer
Theatre directing graduate study, University of East London
“HPU gave me the skill set that I needed to succeed in the real world.”
Theater Student Organizations
Alpha Psi Omega, the national theater honor society, has an active chapter at High Point University.
The Charcoal Pony, a student improv troupe, performs on campus.
Student-Produced Work
Much of what would be club activity elsewhere happens inside the season here. Students produce four to six of their own works each year and run them from auditions through strike.
The student-run HPU Dance Company is open to all students and performs in the High Point community.
Theater Innovators in Residence
Playwright, actor and screenwriter Jessica Dickey mentors HPU theater students as an Artist in Residence through the Access to Innovators program. She has worked with the Department of Theater and Dance as a guest artist since 2013.
Her off-Broadway play “The Amish Project” won the CAPPIE Award for Best Play, and “The Rembrandt” won the Stavis Playwright Award. On screen, she wrote for the Apple TV series “Physical” and has appeared in “Law & Order” and “Homeland.”
Explore Theater at High Point University
See the courses behind these careers and how HPU theater ranks.
Accreditation & Awards Curriculum & Research
Questions about the program? Email Doug Brown, chair of the Department of Theater and Dance, at [email protected].