Theatre

Jessica Hester, Chair
105 Tyler Hall
315-312-2140
www.oswego.edu/theatre

Professors: Mark Cole, Kathleen Macey

Associate Professor: Jessica Hester

Assistant Professors: Timothy Baumgartner, Jonel Langenfeld-Rial

The Theatre Department is an accredited member of the National Association of Schools of Theatre. The program offers a major leading to a BA in Theatre with concentrations in Acting/Directing, Design/Technical Theatre, History/Criticism and Music Theatre. A minor in theatre is also an option. The program includes introductory, intermediate and highly specialized advanced course work in all areas.

Mission Statement:

The Theatre Department provides students with the knowledge and skills to prepare for a career in the theatre and its related fields through a combination of academic and production experiences. While serving students in career preparation and enrichment through a diversity of courses and productions, the department is also dedicated to enhancing the cultural life of the campus and the larger community.

Academic and Performance Programs:

We recognize that the immediacy of theatre, its collaborative nature and ability to share stories on an elemental level to a community are what ultimately draw students together to make theatre. Theatre is, as Robert Edmond Jones wrote, “to be aware of the Now.” The department is dedicated to training students in this awareness through study of the theory, craft and history of theatre while holding itself to high artistic standards of production in the context of a Liberal Arts program.

The Theatre Department produces at least four major productions during the academic year staged in Waterman Theatre (a 500-seat proscenium theatre) and a flexible lab space. Programming features the classics, contemporary drama and musicals as well as numerous smaller scale activities such as student theatre, workshop productions, collaborations with the Music Department, readings of original plays and workshops with visiting artists. The department supports productions presented by ARTSwego, a campus-based performing arts series. The department also participates regularly in the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. Internships and study abroad opportunities are available and encouraged.

Program Viability:

The department has a high rate of success in graduates who have started and maintained careers in “the business” and/or entered graduate school.

The department maintains a large, active, and helpful alumni network that ranges from regional theatre to Broadway and includes TV and film.

Students who have a background working summer stock or other professional venues may wish to explore the possibility of completing a BA degree through Oswego’s Vocational Technical Education program. Information about this program is found in the Vocational Teacher Preparation section of the catalog.

Arts Management Minor 
Audio Design and Production Minor 

The Theatre Department cosponsors this interdisciplinary minor.

Arts Concentration - Childhood Education 1-6
The Departments of Art, Music, Theatre, and Curriculum and Instruction cosponsor this concentration area.