Learn about... James Madison University
We Are A National University
The Catholic University of America is unique as the national university of the Catholic Church and the only higher education institution founded by the U.S. bishops. Established in 1887 as a papally chartered graduate and research center, the university began offering undergraduate education in 1904. It is committed to being a comprehensive Catholic and American institution of higher learning.
The university motto is “Deus Lux Mea Est” — “God Is My Light.” Academic colors are gold and white. Athletic colors are red and black.
Success Begins at CUA.
Catholic University offers the resources of a major research university and the comfortable feel of a liberal arts college with more than 3,100 graduate students and 3,000 undergraduates. Here you will study with men and women who are at the forefront of their fields.
A Capital Location.
Students at Catholic University have the best of both worlds: they study and live on the largest campus in Washington, D.C., where they can enjoy a complete collegiate experience, but they are also located in the heart of the nation’s capital.
Traveling by Metrorail, which is near the edge of campus, students are only a five-minute ride away from Union Station, Capitol Hill and the Library of Congress, and within easy reach of the abundant array of educational, cultural, social, political and professional opportunities that Washington has to offer.
Many first-time visitors to campus are captivated by the university’s expansive setting among tree-lined rolling hills where the skyline is dominated by the adjacent, majestic Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, the largest church in the United States.
Personalized Attention
Catholic University excels in offering to its students a welcoming and cooperative learning environment with personalized attention from its faculty and staff. This attention is the reason many students give for choosing to attend CUA.
Faculty are dedicated to nurturing the whole person, preparing students for success in life. The shared Catholic identity is an essential, binding element of the CUA community, which embraces members of other faith groups as well.
Spiritual Life
The Catholic University of America has a rich tradition of Catholic spirituality. Its Office of Campus Ministry offers many venues for spiritual devotion and growth, including daily Mass, nightly rosary, weekly eucharistic adoration and 10 student-run retreats each year that enable students of all religious traditions and of all levels of spirituality to deepen their faith.
Students participate in campus liturgies as eucharistic ministers, lectors, altar servers, sacristans and music ministers. They can pray and worship at the university’s two main chapels and at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, which is adjacent to campus.
2007–2008 Fast Facts
Campus
Acres 193
Major buildings 55
Library volumes 1.4 million
Academic Offerings
Doctoral programs 41
Master’s programs 90
Bachelor’s programs 83
Joint master’s programs 21
Faculty
Full-time 344
Part-time 370
Full-time faculty with doctoral or terminal degrees 98%
Full-time faculty who are Catholic 58%
Students
Undergraduate 3,326
Graduate 3,114
Religious Affiliation
CUA welcomes members of all religious faiths.
Catholic students: Undergraduate 88%, Graduate 59%
Geographic Distribution of New Students
Our Students come from all of the 50 states.
South Atlantic 9%
South Central 2%
Middle Atlantic 64%
New England 15%
North Central 4%
Pacific and Mountain 4%
Foreign countries 2%
Foreign countries represented 99
Meet The President!
Very Reverend David M. O’Connell, C.M., is the 14th President of The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C
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WELCOME TO RESIDENCE LIFE!
The Residence Life program at The Catholic University of America is focused on creating residential living communities that support the university's mission, values, and Catholic identity and that promote the retention of students at all levels.
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Want to know more?
Contact Admissions by CLICKING HERE!
The Catholic University of America
620 Michigan Ave., N.E.
Washington, DC 20064
202-319-5000
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The Acting Program At...
Catholic U of America
THE THEATRE DEPARTMENT AT THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA
The Department of Drama offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs that provide for the development of imaginative, disciplined expression in the theater, and for students' intellectual growth and cultural enrichment. In its degree programs, the department provides prospective teachers, actors, directors, designers, playwrights and scholars with practical skills and sound knowledge of the history of the theater.
The theatrical art, in addressing our imaginations, intellects, emotions, faith and moral being with compelling immediacy, synthesizes a liberal arts education. The faculty is committed to providing both challenging theatrical productions and a challenging academic program in the belief that each enriches the other.
In leading toward the B.A. degree, the department differs from specialized conservatory training by offering a program that informs and is informed by a full liberal arts education. Opportunities for performance and technical work accompany the season productions and numerous laboratory productions every year. Drama majors must earn crew credits by working on department productions.
JUST A FEW OF OUR GIFTED FACULTY!
Gail Stewart Beach , Chair, M.F.A., University of Hawaii.
Gail Stewart Beach was a free-lance designer in the Baltimore-Washington area, specializing in dance until she became the resident costume designer at Catholic University in 1987, working on over 60 shows in that time. She has continued designing in the area as costume designer for the Doug Hamby Dancers and the Phoenix Dance Company, as well as other modern dance companies, and the UMBC Artists-in-Residence program. Other theatre work has included costumes for Much Ado About Nothing at the Folger Shakespeare Theatre, Justice for the Library of Congress, and Hedda Gabler, The School For Scandal, And the Nightingale Sang and The Turn of the Screw at Everyman Theatre in Baltimore.
Gail has also designed costumes for Longacre Lea Productions since its inception, which have included Pinter’s Hothouse, Stoppard’s Dogg’s Hamlet, Cahoot’s Macbeth, and Ionesco’s Man with Bags. She collaborated with Kathleen Akerley on Catalyst Theatre’s Shkspr Prjct and designed for Catalyst Theatre’s production of Eleemosynary, by Lee Blessing. Recently she participated in the co-production of Swift To My Wounded… at the National Portrait Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution. She is a member of United Scenic Artists local 829. Courses: Introduction to Design, Costume Design, Costume Construction, Theatre I, Asian Theatre.
Email Gail Beach: beach@cua.edu
Thomas F. Donahue , Professor, PhD., University of Maryland.
Dr. Donahue is a member of United Scenic Artists. He is the Executive Producer of the Festival of Religious Art, a bi-annual arts stival, which had its premier season this year. As a professional designer Dr. Donahue has worked with the National Theatre, Olney Theatre Center, Pennsylvania Theatre Company, Barter Theatre along with many others. His design for opcelebration hosted by the University.
Dr. Donahue is also a founding member of the Shaker Mountain Performing Arts Feera includes work with the Baltimore Opera Company, Summer Opera Theatre Company, The Young Victorians, The Peabody Conservatory of Music, and the Shaker Mountain Festival. He is the resident scenic and lighting designer for the department. Courses: Introduction to Design, Stage Lighting, Scenic Design, Production Design and Management, Scene Design and Application.
Email Dr. Donahue: donahuet@cua.edu
Marietta Hedges, Assistant Prof. Acting, BA, NYU; M.F.A., Columbia.
Marietta Hedges has worked as an actor in theatre, film and television in London, New York, San Francisco, and the Baltimore/Washington D.C. area. Her credits include performances at The Camden People's Theater and at the Etcetera Theater Club, London; La Mama, The Connelly Theater, The Present Company, Jean Cocteau Rep and The Ionesco Festival in New York, and regionally at the California Conservatory Theater, the Winter Harbor Theater and the Baltimore Theater Protanamo which received readings in Washington,D.C. and London and was produced at the 2006 new York International Fringe Festival.
Marietta has taught at the University of North Texas and in conservatories and actor training programs in New York and California. Marietta has conducted classes and workshope in the Viewpoints and in the pedagogy of Augusto Boal's Theater of the Oppressed at the American College Theater Festival, the New England Theater Conference, the South Eastern Theater Conference and at the Shanghai Theatre Academy in China. She holds an M.F.A. from Columbia University, where she worked with Anne Bogart, Andrei Serban and Kristin Linklater. Courses: Acting II, Acting III, Scene Study
Email Marietta Hedges: hedges@cua.edu
Gary Sloan , Assoc. Prof., Head MFA Acting, B.A., Wheaton; M.F.A., SMU.
Mr. Sloan has been a professional actor for twenty five years and performed leading roles in such theatres as the Roundabout, New Dramatists and the Classic Stage Company in N.Y., the Hudson Guild in L.A., the Folger theatre, Arena Stage, Studio theatre, Round House and the Shakespeare theatre in Washington, D.C., the Long Wharf theatre in New Haven, the Alley theatre in Houston, the Huntington theatre in Boston, Actors theatre of Louisville, Hartford Stage, Syracuse Stage, Center Stage, Cincinnati Playhouse, Stage West, Virginia Stage Co., the Berkshire theatre festival, Indiana Repertory, a tour with John Houseman’s The Acting Company and seasons with the Oregon, Dallas and New Jersey Shakespeare Festivals. On stage, he has appeared opposite such recognizable names as Tom Hulce, Peter Gallagher, Sigourney Weaver, Pat Carroll, Keith Hamilton Cobb, Mary Beth Hurt, J.T. Walsh, Stacy Keach, Fritz Weaver, Michael Learned, Lynn Redgrave and Hal Holbrook.
Television work includes recurring roles on General Hospital, the Guiding Light, As the World Turns, Search for Tomorrow, General Hospital and the recent appearance on the History channel as Alexander Hamilton in “The Duel between Hamilton & Burr with Richard Dreyfuss”. Teaching experience includes Southern Methodist University, Ball State University, St. Mary’s College, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival touring ensemble and the American Academy of Dramatic Art (L.A. & N.Y.) Courses: Acting I, Acting II, Performance Studio I, II, III and IV.
Email Gary Sloan: gksloan@att.net
OUR HARTKE THEATRE 2007 / 2008 SEASON OF PLAYS!
October 4-7, The Beggar's Opera by John Gay, with Jonathan Dobin’s New Performing Edition freely based on the first printed edition of 1729, Directed by Carrie Klewin, M.F.A. directing candidate
Love, marriage and social conventions collide in 18th century London. This rarely produced comedy from 1728 is widely acknowledged to be the first satirical musical of its kind, as well as the predecessor to the modern musical. Dobin incorporates the instruments specified by Pepusch in the fully scored Overture adding instruments that were pro forma in the baroque orchestra and fleshing out the choral numbers and creating dances, duets, trios, as well as the preludes and postludes to the airs.
November 15-18, Listen by Meg Schadl, Directed by Gregg Henry.
What do you do when the world’s problems literally knock at your door? In Listen, a career woman immersed in the minutia of her life, is forced to look outside herself when the universe places the word’s issues directly in front of her. The premiere of a new play by our M.F.A. playwright.
February 14-17, The Perfect Ganesh, by Terrance McNally, Directed by Matt Ripa, M.F.A. directing candidate.
In this stirring and humorous Pulitzer Prize nominee, two middle-aged women decide to forgo their annual vacation with their husbands. Instead, Margaret Civil and Katherine Byrnes, friends through their social connections and comfortable, upper class New England lifestyles, book a two-week tour to India seeking adventure, insight and a “place to heal.”
April 24-27, Madwoman of Chaillot by Jean Giraudoux, Directed by Halo Wines.
Written in the mid-1940s, Giraudoux’s classic play was considered ahead of it’s time. With great wit and poignancy, Madwoman of Chaillot addresss subjects that are still topical today, such as greed in business, political corruption, and the frauds and crimes commited in the pursuit of profit. The play is filled with eccentric characters, each with a symbolic meaning, with truth spoken from the mouths of individuals who would seem the least credible.
From Jon Klein - Head of the M.F.A. Playwriting Program...
Stephen Spotswood, M.F.A. Playwriting student, just won the Paula Vogel Award, which is a national competition connected with the American College Theatre Festival, for his play THE AARONSVILLE WOMAN (recently read at the regional ACTF festival). This award includes a cash prize, admission to a Play Development Workshop at the Kennedy Center, and an invitation to join the National ACTF Festival held here at the Kennedy Center in April. Previous award winners have gone on to see professional productions of their plays, and I have no doubt that this play will do it as well!
About Our Graduate Acting Program...
The Graduate Theatre Programs at The Catholic University of America are designed on the premise that theatre is a fundamental cultural necessity that is enriched by and enriches the community in which it is located. We believe that theatre is a common ground for cultural discourse and that it is incumbent upon theatre artists to use their voices responsibly.
We strive to understand why theatre is an essential art, asking what we can achieve in theatre that cannot be achieved in other art forms. We challenge ourselves to recognize that by its nature performance is an innately spiritual act. We offer the training and experiences necessary for students to develop an imaginative creative process and disciplined personal expression in the theatre.
All of our endeavors are informed by a thorough knowledge of theatre history and theory along with a critical understanding of the world canon of drama. We engage professional artists from the local, national and international theatre community to support our mission and aid our students as they transition into the field.
NOTE: The M.F.A. programs in Acting and Directing enroll classes once every three years. The next class will be enrolled for Fall 2009. The M.F.A. program in Playwriting and the M.A. programs each enroll a class every year.
The M.F.A. Program in Acting: The world of the actor is an unrelenting mountain that demands an uncompromising search for self-awareness, characterization and an understanding of the human condition. The performance studies program enables the student to bring a high artistic and ethical purpose to a career in the theatre. We are dedicated to preparing our students for the theatre profession as well as developing a personal vision for his or her life's work. We are committed to providing opportunities for the students to connect with the local, national and international professional community.
Contact Us...
Drama Department
The Catholic University of America
620 Michigan Ave NE
Washington DC 20064
Phone: 202-319-5358
Fax: 202-319-5359
E-mail:cua-drama@cua.edu
TO VISIT THE THEATRE DEPARTMENT ON THE WEB, CLICK HERE!
Want to know more?
To fill out a brief information request form, CLICK HERE.
If you still have questions, contact CUA's Office of Admissions.
Mailing Address:
620 Michigan Avenue, NE
Washington, DC 20064
Campus Address:
McMahon 102
Phone: 202.319.5305
Toll-Free: 1.800.673.2772
Fax: 202.319.6533
Email: cua-admissions@cua.edu
We're available to assist you Monday through Friday,
9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (EST).
AND WHEN YOU ARE READY TO APPLY? CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING...
