Focus Areas

Costume design connects theatre to the broader world of fashion. In the costume shop, students practice research, sketching, and construction while assisting in fittings and builds for productions. Some extend this work through the Apparel Design minor, deepening their study of textiles and fashion beyond the stage. The experience reveals how fabric, silhouette, and color can transform a character and bring the story to life.

Dance at Lehigh is global, dynamic, and full of energy. Students engage with forms such as hip hop and Indian classical dance, studying movement as both cultural tradition and contemporary innovation. Classes emphasize rhythm, gesture, and storytelling as fundamental human expression, giving dancers of all backgrounds a space to create work that connects body, identity, and community.

Devised theatre gives students the chance to create work from the ground up. Without relying on a traditional script, ensembles generate material through improvisation, movement, writing, and media. The process emphasizes collaboration and experimentation, asking students to respond to the present moment with bold, original creations. Productions become living proof of the collective imagination at work.

Directing at Lehigh offers B.A. students a rare opportunity to pursue a structured track in the field, something not often available at the undergraduate level. Courses introduce analysis, rehearsal methods, and collaboration with actors and designers, while productions provide directing experiences ranging from classroom projects and one-acts to larger opportunities—including the mainstage. Students may also assist faculty and guest directors, gaining insight into different approaches. The track emphasizes vision and collaboration, encouraging students to grow as leaders who can guide creative teams while leaving space for discovery.

Lighting design is the art of shaping story with light. Under the tutelage of professional faculty, students begin with fundamentals—hanging and focusing instruments, programming cues, and exploring color, angle, and intensity. Productions then become laboratories for collaboration, where students work with directors, designers, and performers to craft atmosphere and guide attention. Along the way, they discover how light can bend time, sculpt space, and shift emotion, transforming the way an audience experiences performance.

Media design merges live theatre with emerging technologies. Students experiment with projection mapping, video editing, and interactive tools to discover how digital content can reshape live performance. In productions, they collaborate with directors and designers to integrate media into storytelling, learning how pixels and performance combine to create layered, immersive worlds.

Performance at Lehigh invites students to explore the full range of theatre. Productions span classical texts, contemporary dramas, musicals, and devised works, giving both majors and non-majors the chance to step into rehearsal rooms and onto the stage. With faculty mentorship, students take risks, strengthen technique, and discover how performance can be both personal craft and collective expression.

Scenic design challenges students to turn imagination into physical worlds. Coursework introduces drafting, model building, carpentry, and painting, while productions move ideas from sketch to stage. Students learn how to balance artistry with engineering, creating environments that support performers and transport audiences. Each production becomes both a puzzle to solve and a chance to see design realized in three dimensions under the lights.