An education in theatre and performance studies gives students useful tools to contribute to and create positive changes in the public as well as the private sphere. Theatre in higher education creates not only strong theatre artists and articulate theatre educators, but also effective public leaders and compassionate visionaries in all professions.
Theatre in higher education encourages students to understand the unique history, theory and practice of theatre and performance through intellectual and experiential investigation. Students engage in academic coursework in the history and theory of theatre and drama, the study of acting and directing, the exploration of performance and cultural studies, the art of theatrical design and stage technology, the business of theatre administration, and the examination of related interdisciplinary topics such as anthropology, music, English, psychology and dance. Theatre in higher education enables students to learn about diverse historical eras, communities, styles of production, technologies, and playwrights through various types of artistic productions. Theatre in higher education creates opportunities for crossing cultures within the theatrical experience. It challenges students to investigate cultural performances onstage and off, and to imagine new avenues for the creative spirit. The major in theatre arts or performance studies prepares students to pursue professional goals as artists and educators. They may choose careers as teachers, actors, directors, playwrights, critics, dramaturgs, designers, administrators, and managers. These careers can be pursued within the academy, performing arts organizations, related non-profit organizations, and the media.
Theatre in higher education also provides students with crucial life skills which they can use in a wide range of professions as well as in their day-to-day relationships with others. Theatre and performance studies allow students to think precisely in the moment, to speak confidently in public, to write with clarity and intelligence, and to work productively with others, thereby providing them with useful skills for a host of other professions, including business, government, law, journalism, the natural and social sciences, economics, languages and literature, the fine arts, industry, and related disciplines. Theatre and performance studies majors learn to grasp complex problems and produce imaginative solutions, to explore alternative goals and investigate the various means of achieving them, to establish long-range objectives and develop the discipline, organizational skill, artistry, and self-assurance to achieve those objectives. Because the theatre is a collaborative art, students acquire skills in interpersonal communication and group problem-solving. Because performance is an interdisciplinary pursuit, students learn to coalesce research and insights from a rich variety of sources. Theatre in higher education answers today's market demand for skills in creative, critical, and collaborative thinking.
Theatre in higher education increases the students' cognitive abilities. Students' intuitive, perceptive capacities--qualities highly valued by the best business managers--are awakened by theatre training. Psychologist Howard Gardner posits a theory of multiple intelligences which states that each individual learns through seven intelligences: linguistic, logical/mathematical, visual/spatial, kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, and intrapersonal. Theatre education cultivates all of these intelligences. Through experiential learning, students increase their interpersonal skills, including the ability to notice and make distinctions among others' moods, temperaments, motivations and intentions. They also build strong intrapersonal skills, including the ability to access, understand, and discriminate among one's own feelings. This process creates self-aware, motivated, perceptive and passionate communicators. As a result, students have a sense of connectedness to their own lives and the lives of others.
Theatre and performance can help transform human
beings by acknowledging and celebrating the cultures and contributions
of diverse communities; helping people learn to live in relation to one
another; empowering all participants in the art--creators and audience
members--to act on and change the conditions of their lives. Creating
and participating in theatre is an act of courage--each human being who
encounters theatre is encouraged to imagine. And through the imagination,
we can make significant, constructive changes in our communities.
"Theater is about problem-solving... In a theater work, there are problems
that presuppose various solutions, each quite different from the other, but
all equally credible. Theater teaches us that there is more than one way
to describe the same issue, equally revealing, equally compelling. It is
another form of tolerance and understanding. Theater is about making
choices!"DEAN DONALD HARRIS
Dean of the College of the Arts, Ohio State University
"Young people who learn the arts do better in every phase of their lives."MERYL STREEP
Academy-Award Winning Actor
Lead Actor in "Sophie's Choice," "The Bridges of Madison County," and
"Marvin's Room""My theatre education at the college level has given me the desire and
respect for research, as well as the discipline and techniques which I
apply to my work today."ISAIAH WASHINGTON
Studied at Howard University
Lead Actor in "Clockers," "Get on the Bus," and "Love Jones"
"Although I have read all the modern plays I could lay my hands on, and
many books on the subject of drama, I realize how inadequate such a
haphazard, undirected mode of study must necessarily be. With my present
training I might hope to become a mediocre journeyman... I want to be an
artist or nothing."EUGENE O'NEILL
Playwright "Moon for the Misbegotten," "Desire Under the Elms,"
and "Long Day's Journey Into Night"
(A letter written to George Pierce Baker in 1914 asking to be
admitted to the theatre program at Harvard University)
"Each time that I plunge into a new theater experience whether in the
classroom or in a professional theater situation it becomes immediately a
provocation to learning or to learning anew from the starting position. I
must then reexamine or reabsorb my own culture or a new one. Theater
provides a bridge with which all persons should cross for on the other side
lies civilization."LLOYD RICHARDS
Artistic Director, The National Playwrights Conference at the Eugene
O'Neill Theatre Center
Former Artistic Director, Yale Repertory Theatre
Director of Broadway Productions of August Wilson's "Fences,"
"Joe Turner's Come and Gone," and "The Piano Lesson"
"Higher education in theatre and the other arts provides students with
crucial life skills that are fundamental to success in the business world,
regardless of whatever career choice an individual decides to pursue.
Effective interpersonal communication, group problem-solving ability,
organizational skills, creative thinking and enhanced self-esteem are all
benefits of a quality arts education experience."RICHARD S. GURIN
President & Chief Executive Officer, Binney & Smith Inc.
(Makers of Crayola Products)
I am trying to bridge the gap between psychologists and software design
engineers. I draw heavily on my theatre background for this work. I bring
what I learned in theatre studies about people to my work in technology. I
value and consciously apply aesthetic criteria and intuitive thinking to my
work. I've found that the most highly skilled engineering designers depend
on both."SUSANNE JUL
PhD Candidate in Computer Science with an Undergraduate Focus in
Theatre
University of Michigan
(quote Strings Magazine)
"Theatre studies taught me to overcome fear, speak with
authority, and probably most importantly practice empathy. I could not
have become a successful financial planner without the application of that
creative process to my work with clients."MAUREEN ACETO
C.F.P. (certified financial planner), Vice-President Benefits, Inc.
Graduate: University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee BFA 1971
"The influence of theater in my education manifests itself
everyday in my executive work life. Especially important to my career
success has been developing the art of self-expression. My theatre
training has given me the critical communication skills and confidence to
present with clarity, poise, and impact."LIN WILENSKY
Project Consultant, The Walt Disney World Resort
"Theatre, one of the oldest and most enduring forms of art, enables us to
understand not only the past but also the present. Theatre history and
dramatic literature are embodiments of the cultural assumptions and values
that in each era have made theatre a mirror of society and this mirroring
can bring the concerns of the time to the forefront."DR. OSCAR BROCKETT
Author, "History of Theatre"
Z.T. Scott Family Chair in Drama and Director of the Center for
Dramatic and Performance Studies,
Department of Theatre and Dance, The University of Texas at Austin
"Some of us make theatre: that's our profession. All of us 'are' theatre:
that's the essence of our human condition. As human beings we are 'actors'
(we act out our lives) and 'spectators' (we observe ourselves in action) -
We are 'playwrights' of our own words and 'directors' of our deeds. To be
human is to be able to invent the future and not merely to wait for it. To
teach and to learn theatre, is to learn and to teach humanity."DR. AUGUSTO BOAL
Author, "Theatre of the Oppressed"
Founder and Artistic Director of the Centers for the Theatre
of the Oppressed in Rio de Janeiro and Paris
Engaging with theatre arts shapes people to be articulate communicators, effective listeners, perceptive
thinkers, and task-oriented leaders. Performing in the theatre or spending an evening as a spectator creates a
sense of community that can ripple into wider social spheres. Theatre education prepares citizens to function
effectively and joyfully in cultural life."
JILL DOLAN
President, ATHE
The Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE) is an organization
of individuals and institutions that provides vision and leadership for
the profession and promotes excellence in theatre education. ATHE
actively supports scholarship through teaching, research and practice and
serves
as a collective voice for its mission through its publications, conferences,
advocacy, projects, and through collaborative efforts with other
organizations.
For further information regarding membership and this document, please contact:
ATHE
PO Box 9098
Berkeley, CA 94709-0098
Task force members: Mark Heckler (President ATHE, Director, School of
the Arts, University of Colorado at Denver), Jill Dolan (President Elect
ATHE, Executive Officer, PhD Program in Theatre, Graduate Center, City
University of New York), Ann Marie Costa (Chair, Rationales Task Force,
Associate Professor, Department of Theatre, Davidson College), Gay Gibson
Cima (Professor, Department of English, Georgetown University), Kate Davy
(Dean, School of Fine Arts, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee), Paul Kassel
(Assistant Professor, Department of Theatre Arts, Bradley University),
and Joni L. Jones (Associate Professor, Performance Studies in the Department
of Speech Communication, University of Texas at Austin).
The Association of Theatre in Higher Education is making available to both members and non-members its *Learning for a Lifetime* publication. This brochure was created by ATHE's Advocacy Committee as a document to advocate for theatre's place of importance in higher education. The brochure includes a rationale statement from the Association for Theatre in Higher Education and it is accompanied by endorsements from business executives, professional artists, and academic administrators. It is an educational and marketing tool that can be used in recruiting theatre and performance studies students, assisting the Office of Admissions, educating campus administrators and advocating for theatre arts on a local and national level. We are pleased to make it available to ATHE members and non-members at a minimal cost.
For your convenience, the following is an electronic form for
pricing and ordering the brochure in a variety of quantities. Brochure
prices quoted include the cost of printing, shipping, and handling.
Please either print
the form and mail it to the address at the bottom, or complete
it and E-mail to: Ann Marie Costa at ancosta@davidson.edu
Name:
Organization/Affiliation:
Mailing Address:
Phone number:
Fax number:
Number of brochures desired:
Cost for ATHE Members ($1.00 plus $.10 handling per brochure, plus cost of shipping):
1 brochure -- $1.65
5 brochures -- $6.75
10 brochures -- $13.50
15 brochures -- $19.50
20 brochures -- $25.00
25 brochures -- $30.50
50 brochures -- $59.00
75 brochures -- $88.50
Cost for Non-members ($2.50 plus $.10 handling per brochure, plus cost of shipping):
1 brochures -- $3.15
5 brochures -- $14.24
10 brochures -- $28.39
15 brochures -- $42.00
20 brochures -- $55.00
25 brochures -- $68.00
50 brochures -- $134.00
75 brochures -- $201.00
Please allow 10 working days for fulfillment of your order. For orders not priced above, or for orders of 100 or more brochures, please contact or E-mail Ann Marie Costa at ancosta@davidson.edu for exact cost. For orders under 100, payment must be received before order will be fulfilled. Please make checks payable to: ATHE.
Mail to:
Ann Marie Costa
Advocacy Chair of The Association for Theatre in Higher Education
Department of Theatre
Davidson College
PO Box 340
Davidson, NC 28036
Tel. # 704/892-2578
Fax # 704/892-2593
E-mail: ancosta@davidson.edu
