B. THE DEPARTMENT OF THEATER AND DANCE

I. Department Overview

Created in 1977, IUP’s Department of Theater and Dance began with three faculty and twenty majors and has grown to a full-time faculty of ten with approximately 120 majors. The Department of Theater and Dance is dedicated to theater and dance as collaborative and highly disciplined fine arts that demand a broad based education. There is a Bachelor of Arts degree in theater, a theater minor and a dance minor. In addition, there is an Interdisciplinary Fine Arts B.A. degree with tracks in Music-Theater and Dance Arts. Graduates have gone on to distinguish themselves in theater, television, radio, film, management, advertising, business, law and education. Approximately one-third of our graduates have pursued graduate work.

Our department also provides academic service to the Robert E. Cook Honors College as well as the departments of English, Communications Media, Elementary Education, Health and Physical Education and Consumer Services. Introduction to Theater and Introduction to Dance are an integral part of the university’s Liberal Studies curriculum.

The department has presented:

1. Over 150 main season productions under the auspices of Theater-by-the-Grove

2. Hundreds of students directed and designed one-act and full length plays, including many experimental and original products, presented under the auspices of the “Acorn Projects”

3. Children’s theater productions toured to area elementary schools

4. Touring productions in both theater and dance to regional schools

5. Dance productions with the Dance Theater Company

6. Children’s theater productions through the summer company, Footlight Players

Residencies sponsored and supported by the department have included stage combat specialists David Leong and Brian Byrnes, playwright Edward Albee, make-up artist Bob Kelly, and puppeteer Brad Williams. Our majors also have the opportunity to internship with major regional theaters throughout the country as well as take advantage of many study abroad opportunities.

Waller Hall, completely renovated in 1988-89, is home to the department. In addition to a main, flexible, “black box” performance space, Waller houses a studio theater, classrooms, costume studio, scenery studio, dressing rooms and offices. Productions are also performed in adjacent Fisher Auditorium, which has a seating capacity of 1,600. (These performances are usually musicals produced in conjunction with the Department of Music.) Dance classes and performances are held in the dance studio in Zink Hall with an approximate seating capacity of 270.

In Spring of 1995, the Department of Theater and Dance was granted membership in the National Association of Schools of Theater (NAST). The department joins a select group of schools with nationally accredited theater programs.