Overview
The University of Rochester International Theatre Program aims to offer students a comprehensive introduction to the performance aspects and technical demands of theatre within a liberal arts educational setting.
Concentrating on active learning, the Program is dedicated to producing four major productions every year.
Directed and designed by professional artists of international standing and reputation, these productions offer student actors rigorous challenges with significant professional support. In addition, smaller productions and workshops offer further opportunities for public performance.
As a part of the English department, the Theatre Program offers a full range of classes building performing talent and technique, as well as developing skills in stage management, design, technical theatre, and theatre technology.
Our season is drawn largely from the established dramatic canon, though contemporary work and musicals are also produced. In our productions we explore the ways a theatrical story can be told, pushing theatrical boundaries to create exciting work for a young, contemporary audience. Though our work is centered on the dramatic text, multimedia, music, dance, and puppetry have all made their appearance in our productions.
The program, established in 1990, has produced over 112 full productions, including 12 new play commissions or world premieres, and numerous other Rochester-area premieres. Adding to the diverse repertoire have been late-night festivals, new student play festivals, and works by writers such as Jonson, Chekhov, Shakespeare, Gorki, Pinter, Williams, Miller, Stoppard, as well as a host of contemporary voices.
International Theatre Program productions have been seen in Russia, New York City and Canada, and have twice been invited to the Kennedy Center College Theatre Festival. Additionally, original work created and/or developed at the UR International Theatre Program has gone on to have a further life in New York City and nationally.
Although not specifically focused on training students to be theatre professionals, the Program is proud of its alumni who are working as actors, stage managers, and theatre technicians in New York, Los Angeles, Washington DC and other areas, both nationally and internationally. We are equally proud of the students who have applied the lessons they've learned in theatre to their careers outside of the performing arts (graduates of the Program work in careers across the spectrum of the humanities, science, and technology), and have become discerning, appreciative, and supportive theatre audiences and patrons.
To learn about more performing arts at Rochester visit the Institute for the Performing Arts site.
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