Vanderbilt's Department of Theatre offers a vital center of innovative scholarship, teaching, creative expression, and exploration. The study of theatre introduces students to a major form of literature and performing arts, thereby developing a familiarity with one of the greatest cultural heritages and an understanding of human behavior and civilization as it is reflected through the ages. Theatre uniquely shapes perceptions about life into an active experience. Because this process encourages critical thought and discussion, the department provides a singular and important aspect of a liberal arts education through its production season and course work. Viewed as a practical extension of the department's curriculum, plays are produced in Neely Auditorium, a laboratory where students learn to form creative expressions as well as to evaluate and to critique them.
On one level, the Department of Theatre helps the general liberal arts student develop reasoned standards of criticism and an understanding of the intimate correlation between the theatre and the society which it reflects, preparing Vanderbilt graduates for successful careers in theatre as well as other fields of interest. For its majors and minors, the department provides a more detailed and specialized study of the major components of theatrical endeavor, allowing opportunities for the practical application of course work in the productions staged at the theatre. In many cases, the department helps to prepare students with professional aspirations as either artists or teachers in their specialized area of interest.
Work in the productions at Vanderbilt reflects the instruction that occurs in the classroom at Neely Auditorium. Because the academic endeavors require hands-on, project-oriented teaching, students can expect small-to-medium class enrollments and numerous opportunities for exposure to faculty instruction outside of the classroom. The department's curriculum includes courses in acting, directing, design, technology, dramatic literature, theatre history and criticism, and playwriting. The Department of Theatre frequently offers a Maymester program of study of theatre in London and the U.K. Students can either major or minor in theatre at Vanderbilt. The major consists of a minimum of 35 credit hours that include courses in acting, directing, dramatic literature, theatre history/criticism, design, technology, and stagecraft. For the minor, students select one of three more narrowly focused tracks (dramatic literature/theatre history, acting/directing, or design/technology) and complete a minimum of 18 credit hours of course work.
Students may also learn about theatre by studying with Coe Artists, distinguished guest-artist professionals brought to campus each year to benefit majors, minors, and those with a serious interest in theatre. Weeklong master classes are taught by playwrights, actors, designers, and directors from the professional world of theatre, television, and film. Previous Coe Artists have included such celebrated artists as Tim Miller, Sojourn Theatre, Katie Pearl, Lisa D'Amour, and Shawn Hall. Theatre also brings professional directors and designers as Coe Artists to campus to work within the department's production season.
Students have the opportunity to participate in a variety of theatrical experiences working with professional guests, as well as hear professional artists speak as guest lecturers.
Theatre majors and minors from Vanderbilt have entered a wide variety of professions and post-graduate opportunities after they graduate. Those seeking employment in the fields of theatre, film, radio, or television have secured positions at appropriate graduate schools or internships with professional companies immediately following their study at Vanderbilt. Many distinguished professional theatre companies across the nation, television networks in New York, and the film industry in Los Angeles include Vanderbilt University Theatre alumni as writers, actors, designers, technicians, dramaturgs, and stage managers. In addition, many Vanderbilt theatre students have secured teaching assignments at either the college/university level (once they have completed appropriate post-graduate education) or the elementary/secondary education level. Theatre also prepares students for success in other professions including medicine, law, education, policy, engineering, and business to name a few.
The study and practice of theatre offers individuals opportunities to participate through a variety of means: to collaborate with all other members of a production team; to express elements of abstract thought in both oral and written form; and to develop the critical ability to assess and analyze aesthetic choices.