Theatre Arts
Theatre Arts at California Baptist University
Whether students take center stage or stay behind the scenes, CBU's Theatre Arts program cultivates their theatrical skills with classes in acting, design and theatre history. What students learn in the classroom they apply in our award-winning productions. Since faith is integrated into the curriculum, our program produces professionals who model Christ in the theatre world.
To schedule an audition click the button below, contact the CBU School of Performing Arts office by phone at 951-343-4251, or email us at performingarts@calbaptist.edu.
Lee Lyons
Director of Theatre
Professor Lyons has worked extensively in the professional motion picture and television
field, serving as Art Director, Set Decorator, or Scenic Artist on many television
series and national commercials including Dirty Dancing, the Dom DeLoise Show, Munsters
Today, and McDonalds. For Performance Riverside he has contributed designs for such
shows as A Chorus Line, Man of La Mancha, The Who’s Tommy, and The Secret Garden (winner
of the 1996 “Robby” award for best lighting design).
He has also designed scenery for Theatrical Arts International’s Zorro Live, and The
Christmas Box at the California Theatre in San Bernardino, and created the lighting
design for the tour of On Golden Pond, starring Jack Klugman. He earned his M.F.A.
in theatrical design from San Diego State University and taught courses in Scenic,
Lighting, Audio design and Acting for the Camera at California State University San
Bernardino, where he had been a professor for 20 years. During that time he created
over 160 designs and received over 30 Inland Theatre League Awards for his work at
CSUSB.
Professor Lyons resides in Riverside with his wife, Lisa and two children, Nick and
Gracie.
Zachary Bortot
Associate Professor, Theatre Arts
Prior to CBU he served as the Artistic Director for Biola University's Theatre Program,
as well as the Director of Development for the Chicago based non-profit Christian
theatre company, Honest Theatre. In his career he has spent years working as an actor,
director, producer, fight director, writer, and instructor in a variety of locales
and venues in the U.S., both on stage and screen.
He earned his M.F.A. in Acting at Regent University in 2012, and his B.F.A. in Theatre
(Performance Emphasis) at the University of Nevada, Reno in 2008. An SAFD trained
and certified actor-combatant, he loves a good bit of stage combat. Research interests
include Theatre of Cruelty and the application of augmented and virtual reality in
the performing arts.
Zach resides in Riverside with his wife, Beka.