Theater Merit Badge
Five requirements. See or read three full-length plays and review each (not on television, video or as a movie); write a one-act play of at least 10 minutes; discuss theater safety, then do THREE of ten roles such as acting, directing, set, costume, makeup, lighting, sound or stage management; a mime of one scene your counselor chooses; and nineteen stage terms.
The plan behind this
Requirement 1: three plays, not on a screen
See or read three full-length plays and write a review of each. Discuss the plot or story with your counselor, and if you watched them, comment on the acting and the staging. Watching plays on television, video, or as a movie is not permitted. Look early for what is on locally, or choose plays to read.
Requirement 3: safety first, then THREE of ten
First discuss with your counselor the safety precautions for working in a theater, to protect the cast and crew. Then three of these:
| route | what it asks |
|---|---|
| 3(a) | act a major part in a full-length play, or a part in three one-act plays |
| 3(b) | direct a play of at least 10 minutes: cast, rehearse and stage it |
| 3(c) | design the set for a play or production, and make a model of it |
| 3(d) | design the costumes for five characters in a production set in a historical time |
| 3(e) | hair and makeup: make up yourself or a friend as a historical figure, a clown, an extraterrestrial, or a monster, as directed |
| 3(f) | with your counselor's approval, help build and paint the scenery for a production |
| 3(g) | with your counselor's approval, design the lighting for a play, or help install, focus, color, program and operate it for a production |
| 3(h) | with your counselor's approval, help install, focus, equalize, program and operate the sound for a production |
| 3(i) | stage manager for a production, with all cues and stage setups documented in your calling script |
| 3(j) | musical director for a musical theater production |
Requirement 4: one scene, chosen by your counselor
Mime or pantomime one of six: (a) coming into a large room full of pictures, furniture and other things of interest; (b) your books falling into a puddle as you get on a bus, which drives off; (c) talking with a teacher, who does not buy your story, after failing a school test; (d) helping a new Scout who learns very slowly to pass a cooking test at camp; (e) a banquet, where the meat is good, you do not like the vegetable, and dessert is ice cream; (f) a circus performer such as a juggler, high-wire artist or lion tamer doing a routine.
Requirement 5: the stage terms
Proscenium arch, central or arena staging, center stage, stage right, stage left, downstage, upstage, stage crew, flies, portal, cyclorama, stage brace, spotlight, floodlight, lighting control board, sound mixing desk, thrust staging, ground plans, and sightlines.
What this page is
The Theater merit badge, drawn so the three plays and the three production roles stand out, with the ten roles of requirement 3 drawn as a question and the counselor's approvals marked. It is not a copy of the requirements: each step is a short label with a link to the official requirements, which are what actually governs and which change from year to year. The free official pamphlet is the fuller guide.
Sources for this page
- Theater Merit Badge Requirements, Merit Badge Hub, last modified 2025-09-19 · The requirements themselves, and the free official pamphlet linked from them.
- Guide to Advancement, 2025, Section 7.0.0.3 · The process every merit badge is earned through, which this page does not repeat.
- Guide to Advancement, 2025, Section 7.0.4.3 · Which version of a changed requirement applies to a Scout who has already started.
- Guide to Advancement, 2025, Section 4.0.0.1 · Why the requirements are not in the Guide to Advancement and are expected to change annually.
Last checked against its sources on .