We produce four Mainstage productions and two staged readings a year, utilizing a four-year rotating cycle of theatre genres for our play selections, ensuring that our students receive a comprehensive exposure to both classic and contemporary theatre styles.

We are active participants in the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival; our students have competed at the national level in Washington D.C. for the Irene Ryan acting scholarship, as well as stage management, directing, lighting design, allied crafts, and dramaturgy.

Salem State University is the only four-year public university in New England accredited by the National Association of Schools of Theatre (NAST). Our program meets the national standards that are required by NAST in our teaching curriculum and theatre productions.