Theatre doctor with a degree (5)
I believe the answer is:
drama
'theatre' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'doctor with a degree' is the wordplay.
'doctor' becomes 'dr' ('Dr' can be a synonym of 'doctor').
'with' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'degree' becomes 'ma' (Master of Arts is a type of degree**).
'dr'+'a'+'ma'='DRAMA'
(Other definitions for drama that I've seen before include "sensation" , "Plays as a genre" , "Play, emotional series of events" , "Theatrical piece" , "Plays as branch of literature" .)