Theater

Mission
The School is dedicated to the overall advancement of the performing arts through active participation in artistic and humanistic dialogue. It is committed to challenging, enriching and educating students through the creation and study of theater that reflects the best standards in the profession. As one of the region’s primary cultural resources, the School seeks to engage, entertain, and enlighten the people of the university, the larger community and the geographic region.

Some of these "outcomes" cross over between disciplines; but, as opposed to providing separate outcomes for each of the disciplines we associate with theater, I have taken the liberty where outcomes are tied to specific disciplines, of making note of some distinctions; for example: between students in Production Design and Technology, as opposed to students in Acting or Management.

• Acceptable levels of communication skills, both oral and written, appropriate to entry into the world of the professional theater, or entry into a graduate program, as determined by a faculty active in the profession. These should include demonstrated abilities with computers.
• Entry level, discipline specific skills and techniques. For the actor, for example, these might include development of a natural voice and elimination of regionalisms, a natural physical alignment which eliminates pedestrian physicality, along with a heightened sensitivity to others. For the Design/Tech student, these might include proficiency with a number of design techniques, and familiarity with contemporary equipment and practice, along with drafting and computer skills. For the Management student these might include demonstrated familiarity with various management tools, leadership and organizational skills, etc.
• Demonstrated understanding/appreciation of the place of the arts and humanities in a contemporary social context, and a historical one, as well as a practical appreciation of the marketplace.
• Demonstrated ability to apply critical and thinking skills to their discipline appropriately.
• Demonstrated familiarity with the wide variety of disciplines associated with the contemporary theater and the relationship of their specific discipline to others.