Theatre Arts, Bachelor of Arts
Faculty: Barbara Kahl, Malissa Kano-White (Chair); Marc Shaw
Adjunct Faculty: Gary Burlew; Kathryn T. Smith
Major
Theatre Arts
Minor
Theatre Arts
About
Hartwick’s Theatre Arts Department engages undergraduate students in the creative, intellectual, and experiential practice of theatre within a liberal arts education. We strive to produce versatile theatre practitioners who have the knowledge and experience to create theatre as independent and collaborative artists.
Our inter-disciplinary curriculum is designed for students planning careers in theatre, those who will enhance other careers, and those who choose to enrich their lives through theatre. A student-centered program, we strive to challenge each student to become actively involved in all aspects of theatre through the annual production of 2-3 main stage productions and 15-20 student directed and/or produced Lab productions. Theatre Arts students gain real world experience by providing technical support to visiting professional theatre and dance companies. Beyond performance and production opportunities, students collaborate with Theatre Arts faculty to create Applied Theatre and Community-based Service Learning projects in the interrelated fields of public health, social activism and education.
Students who demonstrate exceptional abilities in performance, scenic, lighting, sound or costume design, stage management or dramaturgical analysis may be nominated to present their work at the annual KC/ACTF Region 1 theatre conference. Hartwick students have won regional and national awards in Scenic and Media Design, Poster Design and Best 10-minute Play competitions. In addition, several original plays written by both students and professionals have received their premiere performance at Hartwick, the most notable of these were Ghost Dance, written by Nobel Laureate Derek Walcott—a Region II winner in the American College Theatre Festival XXII, and student Rob Shimko’s Specks, the co-winner of the Michael Kanin National Short Play Award for the Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival XXX.
January Term off-campus classes offered in England and New York City provide students the opportunity to see and learn from professional productions and to meet the people who produce them.
Recent Theatre Arts graduates have gone on to graduate school at Yale school of Drama, University of Missouri Kansas City and NYU Tisch graduate school for Musical Theatre and Dramatic Writing programs. Recent graduates have worked for Juilliard, Smithsonian Discovery Theatre, MSNBC TV, the Vineyard Theatre (NYC), Adirondack Scenic Studios, Manhattan Children’s Theatre, Glimmerglass Opera, Portland Stage, the Theatre Development Fund and more. Others have used their theatre training as part of their preparation for work in film, television, and teaching.