Assistant Professor of Acting - Department of Theatre

Tenure-Track Faculty Position Announcement

Department: Theatre

Faculty Hire Number: 27-05

Rank: Assistant Professor

Effective Date of Appointment: Fall 2027  (Subject to Budgetary Approval)

Anticipated Hiring Range: $89,000 to $95,000 (Dependent upon qualifications)

CSUN’s Commitment to You:

CSUN is committed to achieving excellence through teaching, scholarship, learning and inclusion. Our values include a respect for all people, building partnerships with the community and the encouragement of innovation, experimentation, and creativity. CSUN strives to cultivate a community in which a diverse population can learn and work in an atmosphere of civility and respect. CSUN is especially interested in candidates who make contributions to equity and inclusion in the pursuit of excellence for all members of the university community.

As a Hispanic-serving Institution (HSI), inclusiveness and diversity are integral to CSUN’s commitment to excellence in teaching, research, and engagement. As of Fall 2025, CSUN enrolls more than 37,000 students, where 57.5% are Latinx, 18.4% are White, 8.5% are Asian-American, 5.5% are Black/African American, 0.1% are Native American, and 0.1% are Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. 

For more information about the University, visit: http://www.csun.edu

About the College:

For more information about the College of Mike Curb College of Arts Media and Communication, see: https://www.csun.edu/mike-curb-arts-media-communication/college

About the Department:

For more information about the Department of Theatre, see: https://www.csun.edu/mike-curb-arts-media-communication/theatre

Position:

The department of Theatre at California State University, Northridge (CSUN) seeks a tenure-track Assistant Professor of Acting with focus on Acting for the Camera. The successful candidate will teach students the distinct approaches for stage and camera acting: upper division acting for the camera TH 345 and TH 448 preparing students for the film industry with acting techniques and business guidance (resumes, headshots, agents, managers, auditions, self-tapes), TH 108A preparing majors with foundational stage acting technique, as well as other courses as needed by the department including TH208A and TH 111 for non-majors. This is an in-person teaching position.

The ideal candidate will continue to develop professional expertise, and maintain an active, creative practice. We seek a candidate with a proven track record of creating work and/or participating in programs that foster and promote equity, inclusion, and representation, especially relevant to our diverse student population.

Other desirable teaching skills may include performance for Emerging Media Performance (e.g. performance capture, gaming, virtual production), voice-over, intimacy coaching, directing student productions.

In addition to teaching, the position requires weekly office hours, attending faculty meetings, participation in assessment of student learning, and service to the department, college, and university. The successful candidate may be required to teach on weekdays, evenings, weekends, and/or online and will be held to the standards and requirements of the college and department in which he/she/they is/are housed for recommending tenure and promotion. Given CSUN’s commitment to excellence in teaching, research, and engagement in a diverse environment, the successful candidate will help the Department achieve equitable academic outcomes for all students through teaching, student mentorship, scholarship, and service.

Required Qualifications:  

• An M.F.A. degree in Acting or a related field from an accredited institution, foreign equivalency or post-baccalaureate experience, training, and expertise at least equivalent to those required for the Master of Fine Arts degree.
• Experience teaching in-person stage acting at the university/college level, or equivalent professional performance training programs.
• Experience teaching in-person camera acting at the university/college level, or equivalent professional performance training programs.
• Professional experience in both fields of stage and film/TV acting

Preferred Qualifications:

• Proficiency in 2 or more acting methods and their application to stage and camera (Stanislavski, Meisner, Chekhov, Barr, Moss, Chubbuck, etc.).
• Additional experience in one or more of these specialties:
  • Emerging Media Performance (e.g. performance capture, gaming, virtual production)
  • Voice-over
  • Intimacy Coaching
  • Directing student productions
• Evidence of designing curriculum that prepares students for contemporary professional practice
• Teaching or Professional experience that includes working with a diverse student body or leading groups of people from diverse backgrounds.
• Experience or potential for creating a student-centered learning environment, such as community engagement, inclusive professional development, active learning strategies, culturally relevant pedagogy, curriculum development, etc.
• Experience participating in inclusive approaches to mentoring, such as minority centered mentorship with community-based arts programs, leadership roles, or engagement with minority serving organizations, etc.

Application Deadline:

Preferred application deadline is September 18, 2026 and applications received after this date may be considered on an as needed basis. However, the position will remain open until filled.

How to Apply:

Candidates should apply by completing the CSUN online application. To apply and for more detailed information on the application and hiring process, please visit this link: www.csun.edu/careers  

Applicants must submit the following to the website in the section above:

• A cover letter of no more than 2 pages (single-spaced, 12 pt font) addressing the responsibilities and required/preferred qualifications described above.
• Current curriculum vitae (CV) or professional resume. Please include any earned degrees, professional memberships, licenses, or certifications.
• Statement of teaching philosophy of no more than 2 pages (single-spaced, 12 pt font). Please address bullet points above and discuss pedagogical approaches with examples of student-centered teaching fostering equitable learning outcomes.
• Names and contact information of 3 referees who can speak to the candidate’s ability to perform the job as described in the announcement. Referees should be individuals who have served in a supervisory role with the candidate.

Address strengths relative to the qualifications and responsibilities cited above including pedagogical approaches, actor training in a liberal arts setting, experience working with students from diverse backgrounds, adapting performance skills from stage to camera contexts, and experience with emerging media performance.

In later stages of the search process, applicants may be requested to provide additional materials. If selected for an interview, applicants will be asked to submit a portfolio of professional and scholarly work demonstrating proficiency in the field (actor’s reel 1-3 minutes maximum, digital media 4 pages maximum).

At the time of appointment, the successful candidate, if not a U.S. citizen, must have authorization from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to work in the United States. Applicants must be authorized to work for any employer in the United States.

Please note: California State University, Northridge (CSUN) is currently not sponsoring applicants for H-1B employment that are subject to the $100,000 fee established by the “Presidential Proclamation: Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers” issued on September 19, 2025. Applicants are responsible for determining the applicability of the fee.

Education Code 89521 Requirements: Applicants will be required to disclose whether they have received a final administrative decision or final judicial decision determining that they have committed sexual harassment within the last 7 years only after a determination is made that they meet the minimum qualifications for the position, and before an offer of employment is extended. Applicants who reach the final stages of the application process must also sign a release form that authorizes the release of information by the applicant’s current and/or former employers to the CSU concerning any substantiated allegations of misconduct.

General Information:

In compliance with the Annual Security Report & Fire Safety Report of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, California State University, Northridge has made crime-reporting statistics available on-line here. Print copies are available by request from the Department of Police Services, the Office for Faculty Affairs, and the Office of Equity and Diversity.

The person holding this position may be considered a 'mandated reporter' under the California Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act and is required to comply with the requirements set forth in CSU Executive Order 1083 as a condition of employment.

A background check (including a criminal records check) must be completed satisfactorily before any candidate can be offered a position with the CSU. Failure to satisfactorily complete the background check may affect the application status of applicants or continued employment of current CSU employees who apply for the position.

In accordance with the California State University (CSU) Out-of-State Employment Policy, the CSU is a state entity whose business operations reside within the State of California and prohibits hiring employees to perform CSU-related work outside of California.

CSUN is an Equal Opportunity Employer and prohibits discrimination based on race, color, ethnicity, religion, national origin, age, gender, gender identity/expression, sexual orientation, genetic information, medical condition, marital status, veteran status, and disability. Our nondiscrimination policy is set forth in the Interim CSU Nondiscrimination Policy. Reasonable accommodations will be provided for applicants with disabilities who self-disclose by contacting Yolanda Avila at 818-677-3088.