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The Theatre Program at Connecticut College

While our theater program emphasizes acting and directing, we'll encourage you to study and work on all elements of theater: acting, directing, design, technical theater, playwriting, dramaturgy, and dramatic literature - so that you understand the process of creating theater from initial idea to final performance.

We believe that the best theater arises from collaborations based on mutual respect, and that the power of a creative ensemble is greater than the sum of its parts.

We seek to balance the experiential development of a student in the studio and on the stage with his or her intellectual development in the classroom; in this way we provide each student with multiple opportunities to explore his or her individual creative abilities.

We believe that a broad liberal arts education in theater produces graduates who are adaptable and self-directed. This education serves as a foundation for future development as thinking artists and productive citizens.

THEATER COURSES

We believe that the best theater education combines experiential courses that emphasize learning through doing with theater studies courses in which students explore dramatic literature and performance within historical and cultural contexts.

We offer studio courses, in which your artistic skills as an actor, director, designer, or playwright will be challenged and strengthened.

Courses in theater history and dramatic literature (both inside and outside the department) will develop your analytical skills and provide you with opportunities to explore theatrical performance as a forum through which social concerns are debated and discussed.

OUR FACILITIES

PALMER AUDITORIUM

The fully equipped Palmer Auditorium seats approximately 1,300 and houses theater classrooms and offices for the theater department and the onStage series, the College's performing arts series. OnStage brings professional music, theater and dance companies to campus for performances and workshops. All performances are open to the public. Students may purchase tickets at a discounted rate.

Recent on-stage theater performances include: L.A. Theatre Works, "The Great Tennessee Monkey Trial," starring Edward Asner; Sweet Honey in the Rock; The Acting Company in "The Turn of the Screw" and "Moby Dick Rehearsed". Anyone can work backstage (work-study or non-work-study students) building or lighting sets as well as loading and running any of the visiting productions. Among the celebrities who have come to Palmer Auditorium: Hillary Rodham Clinton, Toni Morrison, Lynn Redgrave.

TANSILL BLACKBOX THEATER

The Tansill Black Box Theater provides an intimate space for every conceivable type of performance. Moveable platforms can be used to construct a stage in the center of the room, against the back wall or in a corner.  Seating for audiences of 150-200 can be adapted to any stage configuration. The first floor contains dressing rooms for performers, public restrooms and the box office.

RESEARCH IN THEATER

Throughout the academic year, students, faculty, and guest artists collaborate on four theatrical productions.  In most productions, students act, stage-manage, build costumes, sets and props under the supervision of faculty directors and designers. 

Recent productions include "Where We're Coming From," an original ensemble-created performance exploring issues of race and ethnicity at Connecticut College and beyond, directed by Nancy Hoffman and Leah Lowe; "Naga-Mandela" by Girish Karnad directed by Tim Golebiewski; and Stephen Sondheim's "Company," directed by Gerald Moshell.

One production each year, however, is directed by a senior student who works with a faculty adviser. Recent student-directed main stage productions include Vaclav Havel's "The Increased Difficulty of Concentration," directed by Ben Fisher '08; "Uncle Vanya" by Anton Chekhov, directed by Amy Meyer '07; and "Wonder of the World" by David Lindsay-Abaire, directed by Ashleigh Catsos '06.

THE STUDENT EXPERIENCE IN THEATER

You will have multiple opportunities to become involved in the theater department's activities and production season. We stage four main stage productions through the course of the academic year, two each semester.

Auditions for the productions are held at the beginning of each semester. Students are active in all aspects of production -everything from performing to stage-managing to working backstage. Everyone is welcome. You do not have to be a theater major or minor to audition for productions and freshmen are often cast. If you have an interest in technical theater or stage management, please let us know and we will try to find a way to accommodate your interest.

Each year, a senior directs one of the theater department's main stage productions. If you are interested in directing the student production during your senior year, you should plan on stage-managing a production prior to the spring of your junior year, when applications to direct the student production are due. 

The Reading Committee is a group composed of both theater faculty and students that selects the theater department's main stage season. The Reading Committee is responsible for selecting the junior who will direct the department's student-directed main stage production as a senior.

Group Art Attack is an active student theater organization that stages a variety of plays and performances throughout the academic year and provides further opportunities to direct, act, stage manage, and produce.

STUDY AWAY

Students majoring in theater often elect to spend one intensive semester away, which provides them with a unique opportunity to experience the rigors and standards of conservatory training within the context of their liberal arts experience.

The college accredits two programs as study away semesters: The O'Neill National Theater Institute at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in nearby Waterford, CT and the O'Neill Moscow Art Theater Semester (MATS) in Moscow, Russia.

Theater students have also studied in Italy at the Accademia Dell'Arte, in London at the British American Drama Academy and the London Dramatic Academy and in programs in Spain, New York City and others.

THEATER ADMISSION INTERVIEWS

Do I need to audition to get into Connecticut College?

No. There is no absolutely no need to audition. We do encourage you to schedule an interview with a member of the theater faculty to discuss Connecticut College's program, and your theatrical interests and experiences. Be sure to schedule an interview well in advance - our faculty have very full schedules.

Although the theater department is closed during the summer months, you may contact Leah Lowe to arrange an interview, mllow@conncoll.edu

During the academic year, (after August 21, 2008), please call Donna Holman, the Academic Assistant for the theater department, (860) 439-2605 between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., for an appointment. If no one is in the office when you call, leave a detailed message with a phone number and time when you can be reached. Someone will get back to you as soon as possible.

We look forward to meeting you.

Meet a Few of Our Gifted Faculty

Linda L. Herr, Professor of Theater
Theater Department Chair

An accomplished actress and director, Professor Linda Herr has directed many productions at Connecticut College in recent years, including "The Waiting Room," by Lisa Loomer (1997) "Suddenly Last Summer," by Tennessee Williams (1992) and "Love of the Nightingale," by Timberlake Wertenbaker (1991). Her courses center around the art of stage direction. These include Contemporary European Theater, American Drama, Theater and Culture, Theories of Performance and History of the Avant-Garde.

Herr's work as an actor and director is diverse. She has acted in many productions, including Lady MacBeth in "Macbeth," Maggie in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," Martha in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" and Amanda in "Private Lives." Her work as a director includes "All's Well that Ends Well," "Look Homeward, Angel," "Picnic", "A Doll's House," and "The Glass Menagerie." In addition, she is currently working on the literary staff of Primary Stages, an off-Broadway theater in New York City.

Leah Lowe, Associate Professor of Theater, Chair

Leah Lowe holds an MFA in Directing from the University of Minnesota and a Ph.D. in Dramaturgy from Florida State University. She has worked in a variety of professional and educational theaters. Among the many productions she has directed are The Glass Menagerie, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, The Shaugraun, The Triumph of Love, and her own adaptation of Beaumarchais' The Marriage of Figaro.

She worked on the dramaturgical staff of Florida State University's Theatre Southeast, and in the Twin Cities, at the Guthrie Theatre and the Great American History Theatre. For several years, she was an active member of the Mickee Faust Club, a grassroots theatrical collective specializing in original political satire.

 Nancy Hoffman, Visiting Assistant Professor of Theater

Professor Hoffman believes a fundamental role of theatre is to build bridges between human beings. She feels stories are a basic human need, right alongside food, clothing and shelter. People need to be able to voice their stories as well as listen to others’. To hear and be heard are revolutionary events, especially during a collective experience such as theatre.

In the interest of building bridges, Professor Hoffman is especially interested in the comic. She views comedy as a font of forgiveness; we have an environment in which we can laugh at ourselves and find common ground between others and ourselves. Comedy can break through internal and social barriers, yield perspective on the human experience, and return us to our lives restored. Toward these ends, Professor Hoffman holds that every being on this planet is fascinating.

Learn more about these wonderful teachers and all of our faculty by CLICKING HERE

CONTACT US!

Phone: 860-439-2605, Fax: 860-439-2595

E-mail Us!

Mailing Address:

Department of Theater
Connecticut College
Palmer Auditorium
Box 5512
270 Mohegan Avenue
New London, CT 06320-4196

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