Division of Performing Arts
The Division of Performing Arts was founded on the belief that the role of the artist is to give beauty back to God and the world.
As a DeSales Performing Arts major, you'll become part of a tradition of independently thinking artists. Seasoned, talented faculty will guide you through rigorous training as you:
- develop discipline in your creative and inspired storytelling
- learn at masterclasses taught by guest artists who are at the top of their fields
- gain hands-on experience using the most up-to-date equipment
- pursue exciting internship opportunities to earn valuable work experience.
These are just some of the reasons DeSales excels in the performing arts. We love what we do, and we love doing our part to make the world a better place by bringing beauty back to God and His world.
Programs
Our Bachelor of Arts degrees provide flexibility in your career objectives. You can pursue a double major, study abroad, and find internships in your chosen area of study.
Performing Arts students interact with one another creatively in productions and in classes. Dancers take acting classes, TV/Film students shoot dance on film, theatre majors take TV/Film classes to learn how to use camera equipment. There is a pronounced artistic synergy between the three majors which makes for very exciting artistic collaboration.
Performing Arts Scholarships and Auditions
It was a joy working with the acting students of DeSales University ... I could see and hear the student’s passion for their craft and their eagerness to get out into the world and share it. I wish them all the best and I hope to meet up with some of them on set someday.”
— Lawrence Gilliard Jr., Actor (The Wire, Gangs of New York, The Deuce)
Act 1 Productions
Act 1 is DeSales University’s highly-acclaimed performing arts company and features professional-caliber productions in Dance, Theatre and TV/Film.
Each year we welcome another group of eager young actors, designers, dancers, and filmmakers all drawn to DeSales to hone their craft and create art that will inspire and entertain. We offer enchanting and provocative stories that will — with the mere rise of a curtain — unlock the limitlessness of your imagination.
DeSales Students Win First and Second Place in Annual Cyber Security Awareness Video Contest
Do you know what information is shared about you on the internet?
October was National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM), and for the second year, DeSales University played host to a cyber security awareness video contest. This year, in an effort to involve more students, the Lehigh Valley Association of Independent Colleges (LVAIC) expanded the contest to all eleven LVAIC schools.
DeSales students Ben Reed (right) and Erin Cicchitti (left) won first and second place, respectively, garnering bragging rights and swag from the other schools in attendance, as well as the opportunity to have their work showcased here at DeSales and regionally at the other LVAIC schools. In addition, since DeSales is a NCSAM partner, as part of our report on what we did for Cyber Security Awareness Month, their work will be submitted nationally as a representation of DeSales participation.
NCSAM celebrated its 15th anniversary this year. The organization is a collaborative effort involving the government, non-profits agencies, local communities, and industry to educate Americans on cyber awareness, threats, and how to stay safe and secure online. The STOP. THINK. CONNECT.™ toolkit provides excellent resources for everyone to learn about what they can do to prevent cybercrime and protect themselves from criminal cyber activity.
Ben and Erin are both TV/Film majors here at DeSales and are both currently juniors. They hope to do narrative filmmaking when they graduate from DeSales and we are grateful they participated in this year’s video contest.
Watch Ben Reed's 1st place video
Watch Erin Cicchitti's 2nd place video
DeSales University Film Festival
A celebration of the diverse range of genres and styles form the next generation of DeSales filmmakers.
March 23rd 2024 - 7:30 PM
Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival
A leading Shakespeare festival with an emerging national reputation for excellence, Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival (PSF) is a professional theatre company on the campus of DeSales University.
Each summer, PSF produces a season of Shakespeare and other classics, musical theatre, and children’s theatre.
About the Division
The Division of Performing Arts was founded on the belief that the role of the artist is to “give beauty back to God, beauty’s self and beauty’s giver” (Hopkins). We do so by giving beauty back to the world through Theatre, Dance, and TV/Film. We aspire to infuse the workforce in the entertainment industry with the most well-trained artists of the day.
We believe as the Greeks did, that the purpose of the arts is to reveal the truth of the world to ourselves in order that we can learn from each other’s good and not so good decisions. Therefore, we believe that art reveals the truth of mankind. And when the truth is revealed so is the beauty of mankind. And to that end, we encourage our students to dig down to find the truth of the story they want to tell through dance, theatre, and film to uplift humanity to make the world a better place.
