Theatre and Speech
How do I get to be in a theatre production?
Our theatre productions are open to all Miami students and cast through auditions. At the beginning of the year, the Department of Theatre holds an open house, where the forthcoming season of plays and the dates of auditions are announced. When you come to school, you can contact the theatre office in the Center for Performing Arts (513-529-3053) for dates of auditions and for reading copies of the plays. You'll also find audition announcements posted in residence halls and classroom buildings. Miami University Theatre presents four to six shows in its major season. Recent productions on the main stage include "The Arabian Nights" and "Art." The experimental theater is home to the SecondStage series, which features two productions annually.
Are most of the people in the productions theatre majors?
Our productions usually have non-majors participating in all areas. Performance, management, and technical areas are open to all students regardless of major, and any student may choose to volunteer or to register for credit for work on theatre productions.
What jobs can you do besides acting?
Support activities include front of house and audience development, as well as working with scenery, lighting, sound, costumes, make-up, and properties. These areas are open to any Miami student. Auditions for the orchestra in musicals are done through the music department, while singers and dancers audition through the theatre department.
How about speech and debate?
Speech and debate competitions at Miami are organized within the Forensics program, a co-curricular program of the Department of Communication. Miami's combined speech and debate program has been ranked within the top five combined programs nationally. The program is open to students regardless of competitive background.
Miami's speech team has been in the top 10 of national programs for more than 25 consecutive years, and Miami's string of five consecutive Division I national championship titles remains an unprecedented achievement. Results from both the American Forensics Association and the National Forensics Association show that since 1999, Miami's speech team has won 21 national championship titles, more than any other university in the country. In debate, Miami has qualified for the prestigious National Debate Tournament for the last five years.
In 2009, Miami switched from NDT (policy) Debate to Parliamentary Debate, and we have already made a name for ourselves as one of the most competitive in the region. Our faculty and graduate students make up one of the nation's best forensics coaching staffs in the nation. In the past, a number of national champions in persuasion, extemporaneous speaking, debate, and general public speaking have worked as speech and debate coaches within the program.
The program includes special campus activities that reach more than 1,000 students a year in demonstrations that include Audience Debate Forums, Speech Team showcase, and a weekly television news analysis current events show.
