Department of Theatre Mission Statement
As a community of Theatre artists we cultivate the stewardship of intellect and imagination in a forum for civic dialogue as we seek to understand our calling in Christ.

A caring yet challenging team of faculty mentors will work alongside you to discover and develop your creative gifts.

Together we cultivate the stewardship of intellect and imagination as we consider theatre art from a variety of Christian perspectives. In a dynamic exchange between learning and doing, between theory and practice, students engage theatre as a forum for civic dialogue where history, culture, politics, and religion meet to give form and meaning to our world.

Upon graduation our students are not only prepared to meet the artistic and technical challenges of twenty-first century theatre, but also to serve and lead a new generation of artists and scholars.

Theatre opens You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown on Feb. 4 ......

Based on the comic strip "Peanuts" by Charles M. Schulz                                                       Book, Music & Lyrics by Clark Gesner
Additional Dialogue by Michael Mayer
Additional Music & Lyrics by Andrew Lippa Directed by Carol Jones

Directed by Edward R. Cohn

Musical Direction by Elaine Henderson

Conducted by Tim Dixon

Feb. 4, 5, 6, 11, 12, 13 @ 8 p.m.; Feb. 7 & 14 @ 3 p.m.

Based on the beloved comic Peanuts, this updated classic enjoyed a successful run recently on Broadway. The show is a day made up of little moments picked from all the days of Charlie Brown, from Valentine's Day to the baseball season, from wild optimism to utter despair, all mixed in with the lives of his friends (both human and non-human) and strung together on a single day, from bright uncertain morning to hopeful starlit evening. Two new songs, Beethoven Day and My New Philosophy, are added to a score which includes the wonderful numbers The Baseball Game, Suppertime and Happiness.

Pizzazz

by Hugh Leonard

Directed by Dawn Hawbaker

March 4, 5, 6 @ 8 p.m.

Pizzazz is a cleverly plotted, lively comedy about relationships. With its compelling play of words, Pizzazz tells the story of two apparent strangers – Marion, an American, and Dr. Conroy, an Irishman, who are inadvertently stranded on a Boat Jetty on the River Shannon, in Ireland, waiting for an indefinite boat strike to end. To kill the long, tedious hours, the vivacious Marion draws Olivia (her secretary), the reluctant Dr. Conroy, Mrs. Hand (the cleaning lady) and Rooney (the desk clerk) into an intriguing series of psychological games about relationships.  It has been described as a Chinese Box of a play for it is not what it seems.

Doubt:  A Parable

by John Patrick Shanley

Directed Valerie Rea Smith

April 15, 16, 17, 22, 23, 24 @ 8 p.m.; April 18 & 25 @ 3 p.m.

Doubt is the Pulitzer and Tony award-winning play that took Broadway by storm.  Although it is set in a Bronx Catholic school in 1964 its premise seems to be lifted from today’s headlines.  This suspense drama follows a conservative nun who grapples with moral uncertainty when she is faced with concerns about one of her male teachers. You will leave the theatre debating the play and the nature of your own doubts.

Additional productions:

The department will also produce two senior acting showcases, one with Bryant Vance and Richard Chagnon (doubled-billed with The Bald Saprano) and the second with Sarah Burgess (doubled-billed with Pizzaz).

Tickets for all shows are available at the door or by calling the Box Office at 691-6036.