Although the Department of Theatre and Dance and the Department of Music offer majors and minors in the performing arts, they welcome all Wittenberg students to participate in and study the performing arts. These departments believe that their performance and classroom opportunities provide students a sense of belonging to the Wittenberg Community, offer them opportunities for creative expression, and develop their intellect and talent. In the New Student Showcase, first-year thespians and entertainers perform in theatre and musical numbers during Family Weekend for their fellow students and visiting family members.

This Fall 2008, instead of participating in the traditional New Student Showcase, the members of the Bread and Puppet Theater Company took a group of first-year students under their collective wing for a unique educational opportunity.  WittSem students were part of an intensive weeklong theater residency that culminated with a performance of a show titled "Sourdough Philosophy Circus and Pageant".