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 WELCOME TO KEENE STATE COLLEGE DEPARTMENT OF THEATRE AND DANCE!

The Department of Theatre and Dance at Keene State College is dedicated to providing a comprehensive course of study that balances theory and practice within a sound liberal arts education. The collaborative nature of theatre and dance disciplines fosters an atmosphere in which our students work closely with peers and faculty to gain practical experience in all facets of production and critical engagement. As artists and teachers, our primary focus is to encourage and guide our students as they find their creative voices and experience and question the world through the arts.

The ideal graduate of the Theatre and Dance program will be well prepared for a lifetime of participation, appreciation, and continuing study in these Performing Arts.

The Theatre and Dance major gives students the opportunity to specialize in Acting, Directing, Design and Technical Theatre, Choreography and performance, and Dance Education. The Acting and Directing specializations offer advanced performance work, with core course sequences and a wide variety of individual courses in specialized areas. The Design and Technical theatre specialization allows students to study design and theatre technology within the framework of both theoretical and practical courses, using the sophisticated facilities of the Redfern Arts Center on Brickyard Pond as a laboratory. The Dance Option focuses primarily on modern dance technique and theory, choreography, dance history, and performance with a specialization in Choreography and Performance or specializations in Dance Education leading to Dance Teacher Certification.

The Acting Specialization allows you to explore and discover who you are and what moves and affects you – what makes you who you are – while you also discover new lives and worlds through actively participating in the performance experience. You will be introduced to the basics of the Stanislavski System, from intention play to scene scoring to character creation to playing moment-to-moment. You will be able to practice your art through a wide variety of scene and monologue work spanning improvisation, new and classic playwrights, and even Musical Theatre. You will also work on expanding your acting technique through classes that focus specifically on the physical and vocal demands of the art form. And you will do all this in small classes with caring but demanding faculty who are always willing to give you the extra attention a dedicated actor needs. You will be able to put your class work to the test through live performance – and with the performance of plays by Arthur Miller, Tony Kushner, Oscar Wilde, William Shakespeare, Aeschylus, newly created student written and directed works, as well as musicals to name just a small sampling – you will be exposed to every kind of theatre imaginable. Through this performance experience you will discover the importance of ensemble as you and your classmates create new worlds.

In addition, our partnership with the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival means that you have the opportunity to participate in the Irene Ryan Performance Scholarship Competition on the regional and national levels every year. Also, master classes for actors are frequently presented by the professional performers who come to Keene State as part of the Redfern Arts Center subscription series, as well as by alumni of our program who have gone on to either further study (in graduate schools across the U.S., as well as in the School at Steppenwolf in Chicago and the Circle in the Square Theatre School in New York City) or professional employment.

TALENT SCHOLARSHIP

The Department of Theatre and Dance offers a four-year talent scholarship for an incoming freshman. This scholarship, awarded through audition, video screening and/or portfolio presentation, contributes $3000 each year toward the recipient’s college tuition, and is renewable for a total of four years as long as the holder remains in good academic standing. This scholarship is based entirely on talent; need is not a factor.  Auditions for actors, dancers, designers, and technicians, are held annually in the spring semester.  Check with the Department for Audition dates. IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT STUDENTS MUST BE ACCEPTED INTO THE COLLEGE BEFORE THEY MAY AUDITION FOR THE TALENT SCHOLARSHIP.

To achieve these goals, the Theatre and Dance program at Keene State focuses heavily on developing our student’s creative skills through the exploration of their imaginative and conceptual abilities and, at the same time, expecting them to counter-balance these creative skills with the traditionally academic ones of reading, writing, research, analysis, and critical thinking.  A true artist is able to understand and blend the workings of mind, spirit and body. 

Our program grew out of our desire to engage our students more closely and personally.  This close relationship is essential to building the trust and respect necessary to help students free themselves of pre-conceptions and cultural inhibitions and truly find ways to explore with their imaginations.  

Our Faculty & Staff:

Elisabeth Roos    Marcia Murdock

Daniel Patterson  Ron Spangler

Celine Perron       William Seigh

Nancy Aubrey, Administrative Assistant
PeggyRae Johnson, Theatre History, Acting, Directing faculty
Craig R. Lindsay, Technical Director
Marcia Murdock, Coordinator of dance
Daniel L. Patterson, Professor, acting and directing
Céline Perron, Professor, Scenic and Lighting Designer, chair
Mary Robarge, costume shop foreman
Elisabeth Tobey Roos, Professor, Costume Designer
William R. Seigh, Professor of dance
Ronald B. Spangler, Associate Professor, acting and directing
Vaughn West, Acting, Directing Faculty
Kim Dupuis, Acting Faculty (Artistic Director of the Edge Ensemble)
Jenny Fulton, Adjunct technical and design faculty (Freelance set and costume designer)
Keith Stevens, Adjunct faculty (Managing Director, Peterborough Players)

To learn more about our wonderful faculty and staff, CLICK HERE!

Our Facilities:

The Main Theatre:

The Main Theatre of the Redfern Arts Center on Brickyard Pond is a 572 seat proscenium with a stage that allows for the presentation of most professional touring shows.
Seating in the Main Theatre is divided into three sections. The Orchestra section, closest to the stage, seats 170. The Loge section in the center of the house seats 100. The Balcony section comprises the rear of the house and seats 302. A steep rake in the Loge and Balcony section provides these seats with excellent sightlines, and allows patrons to be closer to the stage. Wheelchair seating is provided in the Orchestra section and at the sides of the Loge section.

Artists who have performed in the Main Theatre include: Pilobolus, Shakespeare & Company, Groovelily, Iceland Dance, Imago Theatre, The Acting Company, Dallas Brass, John Irving, Rubberbandance Group, and the Aquila Theatre Company.

In addition, the Main Theatre is also heavily used by the Departments of Theatre Arts and Music. The Theatre Department usually performs two plays and a full length dance concert in the Main Theatre each season. The Music Department uses the Main Theatre for its larger performing groups including the Concert Band and Jazz Ensemble. The Main Theatre is also the site of the Keene State College Spring Honors Convocation.

Recent Theatre and Dance productions include: Annual Dance Concert #37, A Lie of the Mind by Sam Shepard, The Threepenny Opera by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill, The Matchmaker by Thornton Wilder, Agamemnon by Aeschylus, The Children’s Hour by Lillian Hellman, Urinetown by Hollman and Kotis, After the Fall by Arthur Miller, Our Country’s Good by Timberlake Wertenbaker. Two Gentlemen of Verona by William Shakespeare, and The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde.

The Wright Theatre:

The Wright Theatre was named after Ruth McCaffery Wright '29, and dedicated in May 1995. The Wright Theatre is a 100 seat, flexible 'black box' theatre, allowing for a variety of theatre configurations. It is used primarily by the Theatre Department as a performance space and classroom. Recent Productions staged in the Wright Theatre include:  Art by Yazmina Reeza, Eleemosynary by Lee Blessing, This is Our Youth, by Kenneth Lonnergan, The Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged) by Daniel Singer, Adam Long, and Jess Winfield, The Dining Room by A. R. Gurney, Fat Men in Skirts by Nicki Silver, The Rimers of Eldritch by Lanford Wilson, Crimes of the Heart by Beth Henley, and Mrs. Warren’s Profession by G. B. Shaw.

Alumni Recital Hall:

The Alumni Recital Hall of the Redern Arts Center on Brickyard Pond is a 360 seat music performance space with excellent acoustics. Funding for this space was provided by Keene State Alumni, and their contributions are noted by plaques on the seats and a large chart outside the Hall's entrance.

The Alumni Recital Hall is the primary performance space of the Keene State College Music Department which uses the space for a variety of small ensemble and recital performances. Presenting Series artists who have performed in this space include: The Apple Hill Chamber Players, Alice Artz, guitar, New England Bach Festival, The Flirtations, Ellen Powell, jazz vocalist, Jerome Harris and Peter Orth.

Our Upcoming Season:

Welcome prospective students! There are some very exciting developments that we want to make everyone aware of for the upcoming year. We are tremendously excited and we think you will be too! 

We have now established a new specialization in Dance Education within the Dance Option of the Theatre and Dance Major. This new specialization will lead to a dance teacher certification!

To Learn more, CLICK HERE!

Our season of performances is also something we are very excited about. This year’s works will be presented in the Original 3-D !!! and include:

Agnes of God by John Pielmeier

Directed by Vaughn West. October 11-15, 2011 at 7:30 p.m. (with 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. shows on  the 15th). In the Wright Theatre.

Questions of faith and morals consume the tormented trio at the heart of John Pielmeier's Agnes of God. Agnes, a novice in a convent, described by her mother superior as ''different, special, blessed with the voice of an angel,'' is found unconscious in her room with a dead baby in a nearby wastepaper basket. The young woman claims to remember nothing of how the baby got there and refuses to confront the reality of the event. Who is the infant's father, and who was involved in the baby's murder? Charges are being considered against Agnes, but not before the court psychiatrist, Dr. Martha Livingstone, completes her brutal, at times unprofessional investigation of the disturbed girl's psyche. Mother Miriam Ruth, the convent's mother superior, might know something about what happened. But her desperate desire to protect the fragile Agnes, and her distrust of the cynical ''lapsed Catholic'' psychiatrist, prove near insurmountable barriers to totally honest communication. Meanwhile, Dr. Livingstone has emotional baggage of her own to deal with as well.  So this is far from just a murder mystery: it runs much deeper than that. We are presented with two, conflicting, sets of beliefs to choose between.  Who is right, the voice of Science, or Religion? Will Agnes be saved by truth, or innocence?  Logic, or faith? Cloistered ignorance, or harsh reality? The answers become less and less clear as the plot unfolds. No character is quite what they at first seem; each has something to hide; each has an unstated motivation that drives their actions and their thoughts, for better or for worse.

The Rocky Horror Show by Richard O’Brien

Directed by Ron Spangler with Musical Direction by Don Baldini and Choreography by Marcia Murdock. November 16-19, 2011 at 7:30 p.m. in the Main Theatre. (There may be a midnight showing as well!  Stay Tuned!)

The Rocky Horror Show tells the story of engaged sweethearts Brad and Janet who on the way to visit an old college professor, run into tire trouble and are forced to seek refuge in a castle full of the maddest, sexiest group the world has ever seen. Follow the adventure as both of them meet Riff Raff, Magenta and Columbia and Dr Frank N Furter as they embark on a night that they will never forget. This irresistible riot of a musical has seduced audiences all over the world for more than 30 years, featuring the timeless classics Dammit Janet and The Time Warp. Get ready for Rocky! BE WARNED, THIS SHOW IS RUDE!

Tentative Student Show. Senior directing student directs this capstone project in the Wright Theatre on Dec 1, 2 & 3. 

Rashomon  by Fay and Michael Kanin

Based on Japanese folk stories by Ryunosuke Akutagawa and the film by Akira Kurosawa. February 28-March 3, 2012 (with  2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. shows on the 3rdth), 7:30 pm in the Wright Theatre at the Student Center. Directed by PeggyRae Johnson.  

Rashomon is an incisive meditation on the nature of human weakness, human virtue, and the illusory nature of truth. Infused with passion, insight, and wit, it is a play that challenges our sense of perspective.  When a Samurai is murdered and his wife is assaulted by a roving bandit in feudal Japan, a beguiling mystery begins to unfold. Though the bandit is quickly apprehended and brought to trial, the truth proves far more illusive, as wildly contradictory versions of what happened are brought to light. But which version contains the ultimate truth?  Delicate yet powerful, sensitive yet brutal, Rashomon is a mesmerizing play packed with vibrant characters and relentless suspense. Murder mystery has seldom been as stylish, graceful, and thought-provoking!

Tentative Student Show. Senior directing student directs this capstone project in the Wright Theatre on March 22, 23 & 24. 

An Evening of Dance April 18-21, 2012

Directed by Marcia Murdock. 7:30 p.m. Main Theatre. The Theatre and Dance Production Season concludes with the tradition that began 36 years ago: a concert dance celebration of choreography and performance. As if to announce that spring is here, this modern dance event presents an exciting collection of faculty, student, and guest artist choreography to inspire, enliven, and enrich its audiences. Each piece in this concert will bring a new perspective that will engage and transport viewers and each will entertain with the honest beauty of dance.

All this and more! Check us out at by CLICKING HERE!

In addition to which there is a rich and full season of Performances presented by the Redfern Arts Center on Brickyard Pond’s Presenting Series. Learn more by CLICKING HERE!

And, of course, we will be taking our annual field trip to the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, Region I Festival held this year in Fitchburg, MA.  We always take a number of students to this entertaining and educational Festival of workshops and performances.  In addition, we have had one of our shows selected to perform at the festival in two of the last three years!

Opportunities for students abound and we feel our work this year will tie us ever more closely to our mission statement:

“The Department of Theatre and Dance is dedicated to providing a comprehensive course of study that balances theory and practice within a sound liberal arts education. The collaborative nature of theatre and dance disciplines fosters an atmosphere in which our students work closely with peers and faculty to gain practical experience in all facets of production and critical engagement. As artists and teachers, our primary focus is to encourage and guide our students as they find their creative voices and experience and question the world through the arts. The ideal graduate of the Theatre and Dance program will be well prepared for a lifetime of appreciation, participation and further study in these Performing Arts.”

So welcome and please come see us!

Celine Perron
Chair, Theatre and Dance
Keene State College

Visit us on the Web by CLICKING HERE!

Visit the main Keene State College Website by CLICKING HERE!