THE PROGRAM IN THEATRE IS AT THE HEART of the liberal arts experience at Hamilton. It focuses not only on the process of creating performance art, but on the growth of the performer as well. Students in theatre develop the tools with which to approach other disciplines with creativity and rigor. The demands and rewards of artistic performance encourage personal responsibility and empowerment, and they build a sense of community both within the creative ensemble and between performer and audience. Through classes, workshops, projects and productions, students are helped to find and develop their own identities. More ...
Academic Program
RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES
At Hamilton, students of theatre and dance have diverse performance, directing, choreography and design opportunities. Auditions for main stage theatre productions are open to all students. Each year, faculty members and students produce two or three plays directed by faculty members, two dance concerts choreographed by faculty members, and as many as 10 productions directed, choreographed, designed, performed and produced by students. Students and faculty also participate in the national American College Dance Festival.
The College and the department sponsor two visiting artists series — Classical Connections and Contemporary Voices and Visions — that bring renowned performers to campus. In addition to seeing the work of these guests, students participate in workshops, seminars and classes with the artists. Recent visiting artists and master teachers have included Pilobolus, Dance Brazil, Feld Ballets/NY, the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, Anne Bogart, the Saratoga International Theatre Institute, Fred Curchak, Meredith Monk, Bread and Puppet Theater, the Joe Goode Performance Group and Sweet Honey in the Rock.
Student theatre majors have taught and performed at local schools and art centers as well as with summer theatres. Students interested in arts administration gain experience in the department box office and as house managers. Many theatre majors secure internships with summer theatres after their junior year. Theatre and dance students also participate in many outstanding programs abroad and have studied in such places as Sri Lanka, Nepal, India, Bali, Germany, London and Paris.
THE SENIOR PROGRAM
The Senior Program is the culmination of one’s Hamilton experience in a focused project, carried out under the close supervision of a faculty member. It draws together coursework and creativity, theory and practice. Students in theatre and dance have a variety of options in writing, performance, directing, choreography and design as they pursue the senior project that concludes the Senior Program.
Each theatre student produces a senior project in which he or she not only directs and, where appropriate, acts in or writes a one-act play, but produces a major scholarly paper based on this experience.
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RESOURCES
Hamilton offers a variety of classroom and performance facilities: Wellin Hall, Minor Theater, List Dance Studio and Beinecke Events Barn. In addition, the theatre and dance programs provide a range of specialized staging and design equipment as well as stock and computerized lighting systems in various production shops.
Theatre is by definition inclusive and interdisciplinary. Courses, productions and concerts at Hamilton offer a broad perspective on the history and role of the performing arts and their place in different cultures. Students learn to recognize and honor difference and diversity as they are immersed in unfamiliar cultures in performance and study. Through a balance of theory and practice, students gain an understanding of Western performance techniques and dramatic literature, non-Western forms and drama, and non-text-based genres of performance. And they become acquainted with the ways in which Western forms of theatre increasingly blend with and affect non-Western theatre.
Close Interactions
In the classroom, in rehearsal and in tutorials, our program depends on close collaboration between students and faculty members. The process of learning and making theatre always involves close interaction, sometimes one-on-one and sometimes in small groups. The result is a way of teaching and learning that transcends what is found on paper or in books; it engages the student's entire being.
Performance and Scholarship
Hamilton's program in theatre focuses equally on performance and scholarship. Each student receives a thorough grounding in performance, history, criticism and creative techniques in a classroom environment, then applies it in the laboratory of the theatre. Formal and informal opportunities for performance abound, from major productions to senior projects to playwriting, directing and acting showcases.
Theatre is by definition inclusive and interdisciplinary. Courses, productions and concerts at Hamilton offer a broad perspective on the history and role of the performing arts and their place in different cultures. Students learn to recognize and honor difference and diversity as they are immersed in unfamiliar cultures in performance and study. Through a balance of theory and practice, students gain an understanding of Western performance techniques and dramatic literature, non-Western forms and drama, and non-text-based genres of performance. And they become acquainted with the ways in which Western forms of theatre increasingly blend with and affect non-Western theatre.
Close Interactions
In the classroom, in rehearsal and in tutorials, our program depends on close collaboration between students and faculty members. The process of learning and making theatre always involves close interaction, sometimes one-on-one and sometimes in small groups. The result is a way of teaching and learning that transcends what is found on paper or in books; it engages the student's entire being.
Performance and Scholarship
Hamilton's program in theatre focuses equally on performance and scholarship. Each student receives a thorough grounding in performance, history, criticism and creative techniques in a classroom environment, then applies it in the laboratory of the theatre. Formal and informal opportunities for performance abound, from major productions to senior projects to playwriting, directing and acting showcases.
Theatre is by definition inclusive and interdisciplinary. Courses, productions and concerts at Hamilton offer a broad perspective on the history and role of the performing arts and their place in different cultures. Students learn to recognize and honor difference and diversity as they are immersed in unfamiliar cultures in performance and study. Through a balance of theory and practice, students gain an understanding of Western performance techniques and dramatic literature, non-Western forms and drama, and non-text-based genres of performance. And they become acquainted with the ways in which Western forms of theatre increasingly blend with and affect non-Western theatre.
Close Interactions
In the classroom, in rehearsal and in tutorials, our program depends on close collaboration between students and faculty members. The process of learning and making theatre always involves close interaction, sometimes one-on-one and sometimes in small groups. The result is a way of teaching and learning that transcends what is found on paper or in books; it engages the student's entire being.
Performance and Scholarship
Hamilton's program in theatre focuses equally on performance and scholarship. Each student receives a thorough grounding in performance, history, criticism and creative techniques in a classroom environment, then applies it in the laboratory of the theatre. Formal and informal opportunities for performance abound, from major productions to senior projects to playwriting, directing and acting showcases.
AFTER HAMILTON
Hamilton graduates who concentrated in Theatre are pursuing careers in a variety of fields, including:
Owner, Zephyr Gallery
General Manager, Actors Theatre of Phoenix
Prenatal Massage Therapist, Hyde Park Therapeutic Massage
Manager, Duxbury Performing Arts Center
Producer, NBC TV
Stage Electrician/Board Operator, South Coast Repertory Theatre
