Visual & Performing Arts

Program Description

Wright State University

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Wright State University (WSU) is a dynamic and diverse institution, with nearly 15,000 students pursuing studies in more than 100 undergraduate majors and forty graduate and professional degree programs. Named after aviation pioneers Orville and Wilbur Wright, the University seeks excellence in all of its academic programs, many of which receive national recognition. The Department of Theatre, Dance, and Motion Pictures is recognized as one of the premier performing arts programs for undergraduate training and performance in the nation. The department has established a growing reputation for superior theatrical production of musicals and dramas and has been repeatedly spotlighted. Some of these spotlights include winning a record fourteen awards from the American College Theatre Festival (ACTF) in 1997 for 1913: The Great Dayton Flood; being the only university in a four-state region to take two productions to the XXI Kennedy Center ACTF regional competition in 1998; the department’s design/technology area winning the USITT National Olympics in 1995, 1997, 1999, and 2002; and, in the area of film, winning awards at the Los Angeles Independence Film Festival and the Sundance Festival.

Campus and Surroundings

 Wright State campus is adjacent to downtown Dayton, which is home to the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, Dayton Ballet, Victoria Theatre, Human Race Theatre Company, Benjamin & Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center, Dayton Opera, and others. Wright State is also within an hour of Columbus and Cincinnati, which have many performing arts organizations.

Program Facilities

 The Department of Theatre, Dance, and Motion Pictures is housed in a state-of-the-art facility that includes acting and dance studios, a movement studio, a lighting and graphics lab, and motion-picture production facilities. Main-stage theater productions are held in the newly renovated Festival Playhouse, a 380-seat proscenium theater. Studio productions are in a 100-seat black box theater, and a student-performance theater that seats 92. The department has access to a comprehensive collection of play scripts, musical theater scores and soundtracks, and a videotape library.

Faculty, Resident Artists, Guest Artists and Alumni

 Chair W. Stuart McDowell is the founder and former artistic director of the Riverside Shakespeare Company in New York City and director of numerous professional productions across the country. Faculty members have worked with leading theater and dance companies throughout the country. Guest artists have included Austin Pendelton, Tom Jones, Shirley Jones, Ricky Ian Gordon, Jason Robert Brown, and Michael-John LaChuisa. Current notable alumni include Brad Sherwood (Whose Line Is It Anyway?), Erik Bork (recipient of two Emmy Awards), Nicole Scherzinger (lead singer of Pussycat Dolls), Chauncey Jenkins (Color Purple, National Tour and Broadway production), Heather Douglas (Chicago-London), Martin Fahrer (Art Director, Nickelodeon Television), and Carrie Hill (Master Electrician, Court Theatre). There are numerous recent graduates on national tours. The winners of the first annual Roger Sturtevant Award, given by Actors Equity, were Meegan Midkiff (2001 WSU) and Nick Verina (2005). This national award was given to 1 female actor and 1 male actor who demonstrated outstanding abilities in musical theater.

Student Performance Opportunities

 Students may work on six main-stage and three studio productions as actors, designers, dancers, or technicians. Students are also offered directing, design, choreography, acting, and dance opportunities in student productions in the directing lab and studio theater. Students majoring in motion picture production are required to complete a fully realized film prior to graduation.

In 2005, a Tom Hanks Scholarship and Guest Artist funds were established to enhance programs in the department.

Cooperative Agreements

 Performance opportunities are also offered with the Human Race Theatre Company, Dayton Opera, the Dayton Ballet, and the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company.

Career Placement

 Acting/Musical Theatre students may perform a “Showcase” in New York City. Auditions for professional companies are held on campus.

Application Procedures

Deadline--freshmen and transfers: March 1. Required: high school transcript, college transcript(s) for transfer students, interview, audition, SAT or ACT test scores, photograph, audition for acting and musical theater applicants, portfolio for scholarship consideration. Auditions held 6 times on campus and off campus in Louisville, KY; Atlanta, GA; videotaped performances are permissible as a substitute for live auditions. Portfolio reviews held on campus.

Undergraduate Contact

Ms. Victoria Oleen, Managing Director, Department of Theatre, Dance & Motion Pictures, Wright State University, 3640 Colonel Glenn Highway, T148 CAC, Dayton, Ohio 45435; 937-775-3072, fax: 937-775-3787.