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THEATRE AT WINTHROP UNIVERSITY!

Welcome to Winthrop University and the Department of Theatre and Dance.

The mission of Winthrop University’s Department of Theatre and Dance is to foster individual students' aesthetic, intellectual, and creative development within thecontext of a liberal arts education as they pursue a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre or in Dance. Through class instruction, private coaching, mentoring, and performance, the department advocates both theoretical and creative explorations to achieve an understanding of the social, political, historical, and technological aspects of theatre and dance. We strive to afford opportunities for students to develop a significant level of competency in one emphasis in theatre (performance, design/technical, K-12 teacher certification) or in dance (performance, K-12 teacher certification).

The department does not require an audition in order to be admitted as a theatre or dance major.  Dance students are admitted as pre-dance majors.  They may apply for full admission to the dance major in their second semester. The department does require auditions for scholarship applicants.   

Participation opportunities in theatre and dance are readily available in both production and performance each semester and students are encouraged to be actively involved. The department produces four faculty-directed mainstage productions (three in theatre, one in dance), two student choreography showcases, and up to six student works each year.  Academic credit is available and encouraged for production work.  Students may also take advantage of the department's special relationship with Actor's Theatre of Charlotte to work in a professional setting.

To learn more, CLICK HERE

Winthrop University is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Theatre (NAST) and by the National Association of Schools of Dance (NASD).  Accreditation through these organizations means that the Winthrop University theatre and dance programs meet the highest standards of excellence for faculty expertise, for quality of facilities, for curricular offerings, and for quality of artistic work.  If you have questions, call us at 803-323-2287 or email us at theaterdance@winthrop.edu.

PRODUCTION PROGRAM

Participation opportunities in theatre and dance are readily available in both production and performance each semester and students are encouraged to be actively involved.  The department produces four mainstage productions (three in theatre, one in dance), two choreography showcases, and six studio theatre productions each year. Academic credit is available and encouraged for production work.

Participation in Winthrop Theatre and Dance productions is open to all Winthrop students.  The department casting policy states:

"The Department of Theatre and Dance at Winthrop University encourages all students to audition for and participate in theatre and dance productions.  The department practices non-traditional casting which allows for ethnic minorities and females to be cast in roles where race, ethnicity, and/or gender are not absolutely essential to the artistic work."

Audition notices are posted on campus, in The Johnsonian, and announced in theatre and dance classes.  Audition procedures and casting are at the discretion of the director.  Students interested in stage managing for faculty directed productions are encouraged to apply to the department chair. Crew vacancies are filled with the approval of the Technical Director.

Theatre Auditions:

There are unified theatre auditions held three times a year; once in August for all fall theatre productions, in November for early spring theatre productions, and in January/February for the remainder of the season. All students, regardless of major, are encouraged to audition for all productions. During the unified audition period students will have the opportunity to sign-up and audition for any and all productions for that semester. 

After the initial audition, the directors will post callback lists in the greenroom. Students on the callback lists should read the callback instructions, initial their names, and attend callbacks as scheduled.  After the callback period, the directors will meet to discuss casting options and generate their cast lists. The cast lists will then be posted in the greenroom. Students must be in good academic standing to be eligible to be cast in all theatre productions.

OUR FACILITIES!

The Department of Theatre and Dance is housed in Johnson Hall, which it shares with the Department of Mass Communication. Johnson Hall was built in 1920 and is listed in the National Register of Historic Buildings. In 1993, a $6.5 million renovation and addition to Johnson was completed, greatly enhancing the quality and quantity of space for both departments. In 2005 the department installed new floors in both dance studios in Johnson Hall.

JOHNSON THEATRE

Johnson Theatre is a proscenium theatre seating 281 on the main level and 50 in the balcony in a continental plan (no center aisle). The proscenium opening is 37' wide by 22' high. The stage extends 33' upstage of the plasterline with an additional 16' downstage of the plasterline when the orchestra pit is covered. The stage floor is partially sprung with a composition board covering. Digital sound and lighting control rooms are located at the rear of the auditorium. A Telex communication system links the control rooms, box office, fly gallery, grid, stage manager positions stage left and right, orchestra pit, scene and costume studios, green room, dressing and makeup rooms.  Below the stage are storage areas for furniture. In 2006 we installed a new sound mixing board in the all-digital sound booth.  

JOHNSON STUDIO THEATRE

Johnson Studio Theatre is a flexible "black box" 38'x 35' with a floor to grid height of 17'. A 5' wide tech deck 11' above the floor surrounds three sides. Lighting positions are supplied by the rail of the deck and a suspended steel pipe grid. The Studio Theatre is equipped with a dimmer-per-circuit 36 dimmer lighting system by Colortran, newly installed in 2006. A portable sound system is located on the tech deck. Movable risers and folding chairs provide seating for up to 100, dependent on configuration. The flooring is composition board. New drapes were hung in 2006.

To learn more about our facilities, CLICK HERE.

THEATRE AWARDS AND SCHOLARSHIPS AT WINTHROP!

Dean's Meritorious Scholarships

These scholarships are given in amounts of $200-$500 and are available for first year students majoring in either theatre or dance.  Decisions concerning these awards are made as a result an audition or portfolio review prior to enrolling at Winthrop. For out- of-state applicants, a scholarship award of $500 per academic year will waive out-of-state fees. Click here for the application information for students who plan to enroll in 2009-2010.

Producers Circle Scholarships

The department faculty awards this scholarship to theatre and dance majors who have established themselves in the program by being active in the department and who maintain at least a 3.00 GPA at the time of application. Scholarships range from $200 to $500 per year. 

Florence A. Mims Scholarship

Florence A. Mims served on the English faculty of Winthrop College from 1924 to 1963.  She started the Drama Club which would eventually lead to the establishment of the theatre program in 1954. This scholarship, ranging between $500 and $700, is awarded annually to a rising senior theatre student, selected by the faculty for exceptional scholarship, contribution to theatre, and artistic promise.

Blair Beasley Directing Award

Blair Beasley was on the theatre faculty from 1977 to 2001. His special interest was in directing and the teaching of directing.  This interest inspired his former students and friends to establish with him a scholarship in his name. The faculty award this $750  scholarship to a student who shows promise in the field of stage direction.

Martie Curran Endowed Scholarship in Theatre

This scholarship was created in 2006 by the Alumni Association to honor long-time Director of the Alumni Office, Martie Curran. The faculty award this scholarship to an outstanding theatre major.

Lyssa Rauch Memorial Scholarship

This scholarship was created in 2007 to honor the memory of Lyssa Rauch. The faculty award this $750 scholarship to a rising senior majoring in Theatre Education who is actively involved in theatre with a secondary interest in vocal music, instrumental music, dance, or children's theatre. The recipient should possess the same contagious zest for life and personal courage embodied by Lyssa Rauch. 

For details on awards and scholarships, CLICK HERE.

MEET A FEW OF OUR GIFTED FACULTY!

Andrew Vorder Bruegge, Chair of Theatre and Dance

Over his career as an educator Dr. Vorder Bruegge has taught a wide variety of theatre and dance courses, including acting, directing, theatre history, dramatic literature, dramatic theory, playwriting, script analysis, musical theatre, theatre management, voice and diction, stage combat, early dance, and dance for the theatre. At Winthrop University he teaches Theatre History and Literature I and II and directs/choreographs departmental productions. In the 2006-07 season, he directed Oklahoma, produced in collaboration with the Department of Music. In the 2007-08 season he directed Edward II by Christopher Marlowe.

Dr. Vorder Bruegge is active in a number of professional organizations.  He reviews books regularly for the Sixteenth Century Studies Conference; serves as a regional respondent for the American College Theatre Festival; and reviews textbooks for several major publishers.

He has worked as a translator/adapter, director, performer choreographer, and playwright. His directing credits include Sophocles’ Electra, Arnold Wesker’s Roots, Jean Racine’s Andromache, John Webster’s The Duchess of Malfi, and Tom Stoppard’s Travesties. He has choreographed productions of The Mikado, Anything Goes, The Pirates of Penzance, Dido and Aeneis, Godspell, Amahl and the Night Visitors, and The Fantasticks. He has choreographed stage combat for productions of MacBeth, Cyrano de Bergerac, Jungalbook, and Search and Destroy. 

Dr. Vorder Bruegge has translated various comedies by Alfred de Musset as well as Jean Racine’s Phaedra and The Litigators (including a special adaptation for the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival). In more recent years, Dr. Vorder Bruegge has turned his attention to playwriting.  He has composed three full-length dramas: The Transfiguration of Wonder Woman, The Widows of Ashur, and Alceste’s Return, a “sequel” to Molière’s The Misanthrope that was given a staged reading at The Playwrights’ Center (Minneapolis) in early 2005. 

His performance credits include Herod in The Play of Herod, Harvey Green in Ten Nights in a Barroom, the Player in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, and as a member of the ensemble of Musica della Fiamma (an early music consort) and as a member of the ensemble of The Roc Havre Dance Ensemble. Dr. Vorder Bruegge was the co-founder and co-director of The Roc Havre Dance Ensemble for over a decade. During that time he led ensemble on tours to the United Kingdom, Mexico and the Stratford (Ontario) Shakespeare Festival.

Andrew Vorder Bruegge, Ph.D., Dept of Theatre and Dance
115 Johnson Hall
Rock Hill, SC 29733
Phone: 803-323-2287
E-mail:  vorderbruegg@winthrop.edu

Melody Daniel, Lecturer in Theatre, (Acting)

Melody Daniel, a native of Greenville, SC, received her BA in Acting from Washington University in St. Louis and her MFA in Acting from West Virginia University. At Winthrop, Ms. Daniel has taught classes in Acting, Acting for the Camera, and Theatre Careers. Past teaching also includes classes in Voice and Diction and workshops in Auditioning and Camera Acting.

As an actor, Ms. Daniel enjoys performing in everything from new plays to musicals to the classics. Some of her roles have included Audrey in As You Like It, Halie in Buried Child, Catherine in Pippin, and Debbie in The Heidi Chronicles. She has worked with the ETA Hoffmann Theater in Bamberg, Germany and studied at Shakespeare’s Globe in London, England. Areas of special interest include theatre as cultural exchange and dialect coaching. Ms. Daniel founded Skillbuilder Communication Resources to provide vocal coaching and presentation skills training to companies and individuals.

Melody Daniel, Dept of Theatre and Dance
230 Johnson Hall
Rock Hill, SC 29733
Phone:  323-4528
E-mail: melody@teamdaniel.com

Biff Edge, Assistant Professor and Technical Director

Biff Edge, a native of Covington, has worked with various theatre companies around the U.S., including Theatre Charlotte, The Actors Theatre of Charlotte, The Cumberland County Playhouse (Tennessee), The Clarence Brown Theatre (Knoxville, TN), The Bijou Theatre (Knoxville, TN), and The Depot Theatre in upstate New York.  He also had an opportunity to study abroad with Jean Guy Lecat, Petr Matasek, Marina Raytchinova, Frank Hanig, and Susaena Raschig.

Up until 2007 Mr. Edge spent four years as the Technical Director and Production Manager for Theatre Charlotte, where he also designed either sets or lights for four of the five mainstage productions each season.  He also worked regionally designing lights and sets for a variety of production companies, including the original production of Carey Ann’s Kiss.

Biff Edge, Dept of Theatre and Dance
236A Johnson Hall
Rock Hill, SC 29733
Phone: (803) 323-2430
E-mail:  edger@winthrop.edu

Daryl Phillipy, Assist. Prof. of Theatre (Acting, Voice, Directing)

Daryl Phillipy has previously been the head of acting at Eastern New Mexico University and Southern Arkansas University before becoming the head of acting at Winthrop in 2007.  Daryl has had opportunity to work professionally throughout the southeastern and southwestern United States on stage and television. He has directed several productions during the course of his teaching career in 2005 he received the Director’s Choice award for Excellence in Production at the Arkansas KC/ACTF for his direction of Athol Fugard’s Master Harold…and the boys. Daryl is also active with KC/ACTF as a regional respondent as well as providing workshops on acting and movement.

Daryl is a member of Association of Theatre in Higher Education, Voice and Speech Trainers Association and the Association of Theatre Movement Educators. He also served as a test consultant for the Educational Testing Service PRAXIS examination for theatre.

In 2006, Daryl received a fellowship from the Sasakawa Peace Foundation. The foundation offers an immersion into Japanese studies, with the aim of incorporating Japanese studies into the curriculum.  In 2007, Daryl attended the Teacher Development Program at The Actor’s Center, in New York City. He was able to study with colleagues from across the country in classes with world-class faculty. The faculty included. J. Michael Miller (founder of NYU school of the Arts), Ron Van Lieu (formerly head of acting at NYU and currently head of acting at Yale School of Drama), Christopher Bayes (head of physical acting at Yale School of Drama), William Esper (former chair of the Rutgers School of Drama), and Slava Dolgatchev (Artistic Director of The New Moscow Theatre).

Daryl continues to work professionally as an actor, director and educator. Daryl also enjoys spending time with his wife Lisa Weiss. They enjoy traveling, creating artwork, outdoor activities and cooking.

Daryl Phillipy, Dept of Theatre and Dance
228 Johnson Hall
Rock Hill, SC 29733
Phone:  803-323-4854
E-mail:  phillipyd@winthrop.edu

Annie-Laurie Wheat, Prof. of Theatre, (Script Analysis, Acting)

Annie-Laurie Wheat has an extensive record of professional and administrative achievements. Although she considers herself a theatre generalist with a broad range of teaching and professional experience, her primary efforts have been focused on costume design and directing.  She has designed and built costumes for nearly 100 drama, musical theater and opera productions, as well as over 50 dance pieces. Her recent professional design credits include Annie Get Your Gun and You're A Good Man Charlie Brown at the Jekyll Island Musical Theatre Festival, The Libertine for The Unseam'd Shakespeare Company in Pittsburgh, and The Music Man! for Mill Mountain Theater in Roanoke, VA.  Since the fall of 2001 Ms. Wheat is the resident costume designer for the Actors Theatre of Charlotte. The award winning company’s 2002-2003 season included Hedwig and the Angry Inch, The Laramie Project, Flaming Guns of the Purple Sage and The Waiting Room. She has directed pieces ranging from the rock musical Hair to the Greek tragedy Antigone.  At Winthrop in 2003 she directed A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, a co-production with the Department of Music. Ms. Wheat and the production team received a Presidential Citation for the work. 

Ms. Wheat regularly leads workshops and gives presentations at professional conferences and is an active participant in such national and regional groups as the National Association of Schools of Theater (NAST), the Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival (KC/ACTF), and the Southeastern Theater Conference (SETC). She has received six Meritorious Achievement Awards from KC/ACTF and has traveled extensively on NAST accreditation visits at colleges and universities across the country.

She holds a B.A. in Drama and Elementary Education from Tusculum College and an M.F.A. in Drama and Theatre from the University of Georgia. Prior to joining the Winthrop faculty, Ms. Wheat held faculty positions at Allentown College, Lehigh University and Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP). She also developed outreach programs in the local schools and community through the use of children's theater and puppetry, and obtained social equity grants from the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education to direct and develop on-campus creative arts programs for minority high-school students showing artistic and academic potential.  In May 2001 Ms. Wheat was honored with IUP's Distinguished Faculty Award for the Creative Arts and in 2002 received a Winthrop University Faculty Research Grant to bring the Amy Marshall Dance Company to campus for a weeklong series of master classes and performances.

Annie-Laurie Wheat, Dept of Theatre and Dance
115 Johnson Hall
Rock Hill, SC 29733
Phone: (803) 323-2397
E-mail:  wheata@winthrop.edu

If you have questions, call us at 803-323-2287 or email us at theaterdance@winthrop.edu.

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