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THE DEPARTMENT OF THEATRE, DANCE AND MEDIA ARTS

The Department of Theatre, Dance and Media Arts is your start to a career on stage, behind the scenes or anywhere in between.

The department includes both a wonderful Theatre program and a challenging Dance program. A program in Media Arts is currently being developed. Theatre degrees now offered are a BFA in Theatre with an emphasis in Acting/Directing or Technical Theatre/Design and a BFA in Theatre Education Studies. In the area of Dance, a BFA in Dance is offered. A minor in Media Arts is expected to be in place by Fall of 2004.

The department is very production oriented with numerous undergraduate opportunities for performance and design. Outstanding full-time faculty and staff and gifted adjunct or part-time faculty, many of whom pursue professional careers, provide a nurturing, positive, creative and highly challenging atmosphere for students. In addition to course work devoted solely to developing the student/artist’s gifts, the programs include a broad based core curriculum of learning geared toward developing the student as a human being and citizen of the 21st century.

Theatre, Theatre Education, Dance and other careers in the entertainment industry, including film and television, are not for everyone. But our dedicated, talented students who complete our programs often find many professional opportunities and entry to the nation’s top graduate schools. Over 90% of our graduates are still active in their respective fields years after graduation. UCO theatre and dance alumni can be found in LA, New York, Dallas, Austin and many parts in between, still pursuing their professional goal

WELCOME TO THE DEPARTMENT OF THEATRE AT UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA!

Theatre is a thriving program at UCO with a growing number of majors each year. There are two options in the Theatre Program – one is a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre in which the student can emphasize Acting/Directing or Technical/Design. We also have a new option in Theatre Education Studies.

Students have the opportunity to be a part of four main stage productions, about twenty senior directed one-act plays, and two improvisational shows every year. Additionally, a number of students participate in music theatre productions produced by UCO’s School for Music. We also provide technical support for UCO President Roger Webb’s "Broadway Tonight" series, which brings five touring productions to campus each year.

Since 1998, the department has had an alliance with Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park, so many of our students are active in a winter Shakespeare production at Stage Center in Oklahoma City and also with OSP’s three play summer season at Hafer Park in Edmond, Oklahoma.

We often receive comments lauding our students’ professionalism, talent, training and commitment. As a result, even while they are pursuing their studies, they are much in demand as actors and for their design and tech work, in area theatres. These companies include Carpenter Square Theatre, Oklahoma City Repertory Theatre, Jewel Box Theatre, Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma City and The Pollard Theatre. Several are also active in independent films and local/regional television commercial work. During summers, there are very few theatre courses on campus because many of our students are either participating in Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park, or are hired at area and regional theatres.

Our program has been active in the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival since its inception, both with participating and associate productions. We regularly host the program’s state festivals on our campus. Our productions are often nominated to go on to the regional festivals.

Our students traditionally also do well in the KCACTF Irene Ryan competition. It is a rare year when at least one of our students does not make the finals in our region.

Each year, the department brings in a guest director to direct one of the four major productions. We also try to enrich our program by bringing in people working in the profession.

The vast majority of our students wish to pursue a career in the entertainment industry, particularly in film and theatre. Some wish to teach theatre. We keep close contact with our graduates and alumni because of the wonderful relationships forged when they were students, and also so that they can assist us with program changes.

Our theatre program provides a challenging educational opportunity for a young artist to develop within a positive creative setting. We expect a lot from our students because their career goals will demand a lot from them. All this while at the same time engaged in producing theatre from the classics to cutting-edge contemporary. What could be better?

RECOGNITION!

Recent awards include:

• PTERODACTYLS, a 2005 theatre production directed by UCO professor Daisy Bristow, received numerous awards and was selected as the alternate production at the 2006 Kennedy Center / American College Theatre Festival.

• The production of "Accidental Death of an Ancarchist" was considered for a performance at the 2004 National Kennedy Center / American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF).

• More than 20 awards were received at the 2003 Oklahoma II Festival - Awards included "Respondent's Choice" for "Fences" and the "Regional Committee's Choice" for "Accidental Death of an Anarchist".  21 students were recognized for their work.

• Student Matt Charnay received a KCACTF National Selection Team Fellowship, representing Region VI at the 2004 National Festival.

• Student Richard Kingston was the runner-up for the Property Design award at the 2004 KCACTF Region VI Festival.

• Student Courtney Drum received the Lee Hicks Partner Award in the Irene Ryan Acting Competition at the 2004 Region VI Festival.

• Three students and their partners were selected out of 174 entrants to perform in the Irene Ryan Acting Competition.

Also be sure and check the College of Arts, Media & Design ALUMNI PAGE to see the achievements of our theatre alumni.

OUR THEATRE DEGREES

The Theatre Department offers a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Theatre with an emphasis in Acting/Directing or Technical /Design, as well as a BFA in Theatre Education Studies. All of the theatre degrees require a broad general education in theatre and the opportunity to specialize in particular aspects of performance, educational theatre or technical theatre/design. This is combined with core curriculum course work which helps emerging artists to become educated as well as artistic. Our students' educational experience includes plentiful performance and design opportunities. We help students respond to our ever changing 21st century by helping them develop skills which encourage thinking "outside the box."

Select degree to obtain additional information through the University's main site: BFA IN THEATRE ,  BFA IN THEATRE EDUCATION STUDIES

THEATRE AUDITIONS AND SCHOLARSHIPS

Any student who is interested in theatre and has the qualifications for entrance to the University of Central Oklahoma is welcome to become a theatre major. However auditions are required for those seeking theatre scholarships. The program is very demanding, as is the profession. After one or two semesters, it will be obvious to the student whether or not he or she will be fulfilled working as a theatre professional or educator, or working within some aspect of the entertainment industry.

There are individual conferences with each student in May, at which the student’s progress is discussed with the theatre faculty. At that time, recommendations are made in order to help the student further develop. As a result of these conferences and the individual mentoring which takes place throughout the year, some students choose to pursue other courses of study. Additionally, the faculty is developing a sophomore year interview/presentation which will be used to evaluate a student's achievements and potential to continue in the BFA program.

Students who wish to apply for a theatre scholarship awarded by the department, is invited to come to campus for an interview and/or audition with the department chair, Dr. ROBERT MCGILL. Auditions will consist of two contrasting monologues of any reasonable length. Tech Theatre/Design Interviews will be arranged by the Technical Theatre faculty. Tuition waivers, partial tuition waivers and cash scholarships are available. The amounts awarded each year are based on talent and need.

To schedule an audition/interview, for more information and to request scholarship forms, call the Department Administrative Secretary Sandy Adams at (405) 974-5511 or email at sadams16@ucok.edu

Take a moment and view the photos of our wonderful STUDENTS AT WORK!

MEET SOME OF OUR GIFTED FACULTY!

 Dr. Robert McGill, Department Chairperson, Associate Professor, rmcgill@ucok.edu

In addition to his years at UCO, Bob McGill has taught graduates and undergraduates at St. Lawrence University, the University of Oklahoma and Wayne State University in his native Detroit. Bob majored in Theatre at the University of Detroit, got his Masters at Northwestern University and completed his Doctorate at the University of Michigan, where his dissertation topic was on the Stratford, Ontario Shakespearean Festival.

Bob has directed over 100 plays of all genres and forms, but is particularly devoted to the classics. He regularly directs for Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park and at UCO, he has produced plays by Goldoni, Feydeau, Williams, Shakespeare and O’Keeffe. Several of these productions have won numerous awards in the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. While at Wayne State he adapted and directed the award winning House of the Blind, a version of Sophocles’ Theban Plays.

He teaches courses in Shakespearean acting, play structure, classical acting, audition techniques, playwriting and introduction to the theatre. He is married to Kathryn Huey O’Meara McGill, who is the co-founder of Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park and an adjunct professor in the department.

 Dr. Don Bristow, Professor, dbristow@ucok.edu

In his more than 35 years at UCO, Dr. Bristow has directed nearly 100 productions, including such diverse works as The Cherry Orchard, The Tempest, Cloud 9, The School for Scandal, Oleanna, Fool for Love, and See How They Run. His productions of Uncle Vanya, The Runner Stumbles, and scenes from Remote Control were selected for presentation at Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Region VI Festivals.

Dr. Bristow has also been seen on stage, playing a number of roles at UCO and at local theatres. These have included The Rabbi in Zalman, or The Madness of God, Sir Peter in The School for Scandal, Barney in Last of the Red Hot Lovers, and Teddy in Arsenic and Old Lace (with Carol Cooke and Betty Garrett.) Dr. Bristow travels to London regularly and sponsors a Study Tour in London Theatre every two to three years. His teaching specialties include Directing, Acting, Theatre Speech and Dialects, and Theatre History.

 Daisy Bristow, MFA, Assistant Professor, dbristow1@ucok.edu

Daisy Bristow has directed numerous plays including Pterodactyls which was selected as an alternate production by the National Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, out of approximately 1,300 plays nation wide. She is a Lessac (voice and movement) Practitioner, a member of the Scene Actors Guild and Actors Equity Association. Bristow's textbook, "Interactive Introduction to Theatre: Improving Life One Act at a Time," was published in January 2008.

 Chris Domanski, MFA, Assistant Professor, cdomanski@ucok.edu

Originally from Michigan, Chris Domanski holds an MFA in Sceneography from the Ohio University School of Theatre.   He came to UCO from New York City, where he worked as an assistant on numerous Broadway productions and also co-founded the Vampire Cowboy theatre group, of which he remains a resident designer.   Chris was the recipient of The Tobin Foundation Award for design excellence at the USITT Young Designers Forum in 2003.   As a result, his work was presented at the Prague Quadrennial Exhibit.   

 Angela Marks, MFA, Assistant Professor, amarks@ucok.edu

A native of Ft. Washington, Maryland, Angela received her BFA from West Virginia University and her MFA from the University of Georgia. Since moving to Edmond in 1998, she has been the Staff Lighting Designer at UCO. Of the shows she has designed, she has most enjoyed Cabaret, Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Back to the 40’s with the Boiler Sisters, The Rocky Horror Show and the Kaleidoscope Dancers Concerts. She has designed lights for Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park, Carpenter Square Theatre and Synchronicity Theatre Company.

STUDY ABROAD & TAKE YOUR ART TO OTHER COUNTRIES!                   

Go beyond books and expand your horizons with the College of Arts, Media & Design’s Arts Abroad program. Perhaps you will have a chance to perform in the same concert halls as the some of world’s greatest composers, or you could examine the art of the Renaissance first-hand. Maybe you will see one of Shakespeare’s plays performed in the Globe Theatre, or you might head to New York City to check out the latest in design.

The College considers studying abroad to be a vital part of your education. Much of the material studied in the classroom comes alive during these experiences, and students gain new perspectives which will benefit them for years to come. Each school and department within the College offers study tours as a part of the Arts Abroad program. You have the opportunity to earn college credit as well.

For more information about upcoming study tours, contact our director of the arts abroad program, Dr. Bill Hommel, bhommel@ucok.edu

CONTACT US!

For more information:

General Information: Sandy Adams, (405) 974-5511, sadams16@ucok.edu

Theatre: Dr. Robert McGill, (405) 974-5511, rmcgill@ucok.edu

Mailing Address:

Department of Theatre, Dance and Media Arts
University of Central Oklahoma
100 N. University Dr., Box 86
Edmond, OK 73034-5209

AND VISIT US ON THE WEB!

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