Theatre
As old as Western civilization itself, theatre endures because plays don’t exist in a cultural vacuum—they reflect history, economics, religion, philosophy, psychology, and sociology. Similarly, theatre artists are more than just craftspeople. You must strive to create ideas. That’s why the Hillsdale Theatre major is more academically rigorous than at other undergraduate institutions. We’ll continually challenge you to make connections between seemingly disparate things—which is actually excellent preparation not only for the stage, but for life itself. The department hosts visiting artists, goes on an annual trip to the Stratford Festival in Ontario, and has taken productions to the world-famous Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Theatre is offered as both a major and minor.
Featured Faculty
Theatre
James M. Brandon
I was drawn to theatre because it was the one discipline that offered me the opportunity to combine my interests in literature, history, and the performing arts.James M. Brandon, Theatre
Dance
Holly Hobbs
“It is essential to foster creativity and enable dancers to efficiently extend themselves through diverse qualities of movement.”
Holly Hobbs, Dance
Theatre
Michael Beyer
Theatre
Corinne Langford
The goal of the costume designer is to let the audience know who that character is before they even open their mouth on stage. It’s not just throwing something on somebody. As people, we choose things for certain reasons. Maybe it makes us feel good about ourselves, maybe it has a certain style. As a costume designer, I get to do that for characters and concepts and try to convey those things.Corinne Noelle Langford, Theatre
Featured Courses
Featured Course
Acting I: Basic Performance Techniques
Read More about "Acting I: Basic Performance Techniques"The course serves as a unifying introduction to acting and direction, with emphasis on dramatic spontaneity and on the visual and kinetic dimensions of the art.
Read More about "Acting I: Basic Performance Techniques"American plays from the colonial period to the present will be examined in relation to changing political, social and cultural issues in the United States and to the search for—and development of—a distinctly “American” theatrical identity.
Read More about "History of American Theatre"Intended for the serious performer, this class will prepare students to proceed from character analysis to finished performance makeup.
Read More about "Makeup Design"Tower Players
The Tower Players generally performs three main-stage productions each year, as well as numerous one-act and workshop productions.
Alpha Psi Omega
This national dramatics honorary recognizes students for their contributions to the College theatre program.