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About the School of Drama

The University of Washington School of Drama is one of this country’s leading training institutions for theatre artists and scholars. Seventeen faculty and 17 staff members serve 260 undergraduate majors and 65 graduate students. The School offers a four-year undergraduate liberal arts education, Masters of Fine Arts degrees in acting, design, and directing, and a PhD in theatre history and criticism.

Mission

The School of Drama investigates the art of theatre and performance — its practice, history, meaning — and fosters a spirit of inquiry by providing artists and scholars with tools for critical and inventive thinking and opportunities for practical application.

Values

Excellence The School of Drama is committed to extending the limits of those creative and analytical processes which continually renew the art.

Tradition and Innovation The School of Drama is committed to studying long standing theories and practices, while remaining equally committed to innovation and new vision.

Intellectual and Creative Vigor The School of Drama is committed to creating an active learning environment, which fosters rich, meaningful work and contributes to a rich and lasting community.

Integrity and Respect The School of Drama  is committed to promoting the development of strong character expressed as public involvement, individual responsibility and continuing commitment to personal growth beyond the University experience.

Commitment to education

MFA students in acting, design, and directing practice their stagecraft during a full and varied play season. Up to ten shows are mounted annually at the Penthouse Theatre, the Playhouse Theatre, and the Meany Studio Theatre. Works range from Shakespeare to Arrabal, Euripides to Chekhov, new plays and musicals, as well as contemporary favorites from Horton Foote, Sarah Daniels and Alice Childress.

BA students pursue a broad liberal arts education while gaining hands-on experience in mainstage and workshop productions. Undergraduate students produce original works in the Cabaret studio in Hutchinson Hall and have formed a group called the Undergraduate Theatrical Society (UTS). UTS lends support and resources to undergraduate projects and has been instrumental in the increased number of shows and festivals put on by our BA students.

The reputation of the Ph.D. program is also distinctive. Doctoral students are frequently invited to serve as panelists at theatre conferences around the world. While contributing to the scholarship of theatre history, theory and criticism, Ph.D. students teach in the BA program and serve as dramaturgs for UW productions. A sampling of schools where our graduates teach includes Purdue, Ohio State, University of Hawaii, University of Minnesota, Tulane University and University of Texas at Austin.

Bachelor of Arts

Overview of the Program

The BA program is dedicated to providing a well-rounded major within a liberal arts context. The School of Drama recognizes and supports the view that a drama major, like a history or English major, is an end in itself. More than 40% of this major is devoted to history, literature and criticism; the balance of the coursework provides work in all elements of production.

The drama student should be as equipped for an intellectual life as any other liberal arts major, and a breadth of general education requirements is viewed as a means to an enriched artistic expressiveness. The faculty considers the optimum preparation for the theatre artist to be comprised of a liberal arts undergraduate major in drama and a graduate conservatory education. In this way, it resembles other professions, e.g., medicine or law.

Program of Study

Undergraduate majors are required to complete core courses in  acting, design and technical theatre, theatre history/dramatic  literature and criticism, as well as electives at the 300-400 level. Drama  elective courses include courses in intermediate and advanced  level  acting, design and technical theatre; stage management and a  directing series. For BA core requirements, see the Undergraduate  Advising Home Page.

The BA program is projected to be a four-year degree, although some students have found it to take longer. Duration in the program can be affected by the timeliness of the major declaration, amount and type of transfer credits, if any, and quarterly credit load.

The faculty encourages drama students to complete the required core courses as early as possible to allow maximum opportunity for advanced level coursework and enrichment during the senior year.

Admission Requirements

Undergraduates entering the BA program in Drama must first be admitted to the University. Admission to drama major status requires the completion of five prerequisite courses: two from Drama 210, 211, 212; one from Drama 290, 291, 292; Drama 251 and Drama 302. A student must achieve an average GPA of 2.50 or higher for the five courses.

Application Procedures

No audition is required to enter the undergraduate program. (Auditions are required, however, for such classes as intermediate and advanced level acting.)

Drama Scholarships

Full-time undergraduate drama majors may apply for annual School of Drama scholarships. Applications are available early spring with awards usually $100 and $2000. Awards are determined by a faculty committee on the basis of demonstrated merit, talent, financial need and contribution to the school.

For more detailed information, check out the Undergraduate Advising Home Page by CLICKING HERE.

Meet a few of our gifted faculty

Valerie Curtis-Newton

Directing, Acting, Head of the Directing Program
206-616-7148
valcn@u.washington.edu

Associate Professor in Acting and Directing and Head of Directing, Valerie is currently an Artistic Associate at A Contemporary Theatre (ACT) where she oversees the Hansberry Project, an African American theatre lab. She has directed projects for professional companies including Actors Theatre of Louisville, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, The Mark Taper Forum, Seattle Childrens Theatre, Northwest Asian American Theatre and Capitol Repertory Theatre.

Valerie has participated in new play development for the New York Theatre Workshop, The Children's Theatre Company of Minneapolis, The Mark Taper Forum, Seattle Repertory Theatre and at the ACT/Hedgebrook and Seattle Rep/Hedgebrook Women Playwrights Festivals working with playwrights including Kia Corthron, Caridad Svich, Gina Gionfriddo, Laurie Carols and Valetta Anderson. In addition, she has served as Artistic Director for The Performing Ensemble of Hartford and the Ethnic Cultural Theatre at the UW, and was a participant in the 1997-98 NEA/TCG Career Development Program for Directors assisting Tina Landau, Douglas Hughes, Lisa Peterson, Gordon Edelstein and Sharon Ott.

Valerie is a recent recipient of both the Stage Directors and Choregraphers Foundation's Sir John Gielgud Directing Fellowship and a UW Presidential Faculty Development Fellowship and is an alumna of Holy Cross College and the University of Washington (MFA).

Shanga K. Parker
Head of Undergraduate Acting Program
206-543-4220
shangap@u.washington.edu

Shanga Parker, Head of the BA program, teaches Acting and Directing in the PATP and BA programs. Associate Professor Parker has acted professionally in regional theatres including A Contemporary Theatre, Rites and Reason Theatre, Intiman Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, Tacoma Actors Guild, South Coast Repertory, Actor’s Theatre of Louisville and at the International Theatre Festival in Sibiu, Romania. He has also directed at the Rites and Reason Theatre, Ball State University and the Public Theatre of Kentucky.  Television credits include “Married...with Children”, “Family Matters” and “Fresh Prince of Bel Air.” He received his training at Brown University and UC/San Diego and is a member of AEA, SAG and AFTRA.

Andrew Tsao
Professional Actor Training Program, MFA in Directing Program
Web site
206-616-9792
tsao@u.washington.edu

Associate Professor Andrew Tsao has directed dozens of prime time episodes for network television, including such award winning shows as Home Improvement starring Tim Allen, The Tick, Friends, Caroline in the City and many more. He served as resident director at the Indiana Repertory Theatre, and was the artistic director of The New Harmony Project, where notable writers including Horton Foote, Robert Schenkkan and Angelo Pizzo developed new work under his leadership.

He has directed regionally at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Center Theatre Group in Los Angeles, Shakespeare Festival L.A., East West Players, Pan Asian Rep and others. He has been awarded the Center for Leadership Arts Award in Indianapolis, served as a panelist for the NEA Theatre Grants Program, and been a guest artist for the directing program at California Institute of the Arts and the Film Department at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. 

He received his MFA in directing from California Institute of the Arts and is a member of the Directors Guild of America and the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers.   University Week article about Andrew's Acting for the Camera class.

Our  Theatres

With funds from the Works Progress Administration, Hughes had two theatres built on campus between 1938-1940: The Showboat Theatre, a 200-seat faux Mississippi steamboat which sat on pilings at the UW’s Portage Bay waterfront, and The Penthouse Theatre, an Art Deco-styled arena stage that was the first of its kind in the country.

The Penthouse Theatre and The Playhouse Theatre, fully modernized, remain in full use today. The School also produces in the Studio Theatre in Meany Hall, a 250-seat house.

The Glenn Hughes Penthouse Theatre. On the Historic Register, the Penthouse was the first Theatre in the Round (arena) built in the United States.  This 160 seat theatre was completely renovated in 1991 when it was moved from its original south campus location.  It also houses a rehearsal hall, faculty offices and prop storage and is located near Hutchinson Hall.

The Playhouse Theatre Originally a storehouse and remodeled into a theatre in 1930, the Playhouse Theatre (originally called the Seattle Repertory Playhouse), was the very first state sponsored theatre in nation, and was home to WPA projects and the Negro Federal Theatre Projects.  It has a thrust stage and seats 210. Located at 4045 University Way NE.  This theatre is closed for renovation until spring 2009.

Meany Studio Theatre Located on the lower level of Meany Hall for the Performing Arts on the UW Campus, the Studio Theatre is an end stage theatre and seats 250.  The larger performance hall seats 1200 and has a proscenium stage.

Hutchinson Hall The home of the School of Drama on campus, the building contains 3 black box performance spaces open to the public.  Room 201 houses the Studio 201 Series and can seat up to 75.   The Cabaret is the undergradate stage and Studio 218 is primarily used for directing projects.

Contact Us

UW School of Drama
Box 353950 | Seattle WA 98195
206.543.5140 phone
206.543.8512 fax
uwdrama@u.washington.edu

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