Engage
students in the discovery of a creative vision through the process of developing skills in the collaborative art of theatre and performance.
Department of Theatre
Welcome to the Miami University Department of Theatre
We can't think of a better way to explore, articulate, and share our stories than through theatre and dance. On stage and in the classroom, we explore theatre and dance as mediums for personal growth and social change.
Theatre Program Overview
Peter and the Starcatcher
By Rick Elice
Music by Wayne Barker. Based on the novel by Dave Berry and Ridley Peterson.
Directed by Madsie Flynn
November 20-24
Tony-winning Peter and the Starcatcher upends the century-old story of how a miserable orphan comes to be The Boy Who Would Not Grow Up (a.k.a. Peter Pan). A wildly theatrical adaptation of Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson’s best-selling novels, the play was conceived for the stage by directors, Roger Rees and Alex Timbers, and written by Rick Elice, with music by Wayne Barker. From marauding pirates and jungle tyrants to unwilling comrades and unlikely heroes, Peter and the Starcatcher playfully explores the depths of greed and despair... and the bonds of friendship, duty, and love.
Our Goals
Students are at the center of all we do. Our academic degrees are designed to allow students to tailor a course of study suited to their personal interests. Students join our season selection committee and help us choose shows that address their needs and that engage the campus community. Our Independent Artists Series provides students the chance to create their own work and see it performed.
Promote
the full range of human understanding and experience in thinking about moral and ethical questions by engaging in the study and creation of theatre.
Engage
in the practice and study of theatre and performance for a deeper understanding of one's self and respect for the complex identities of others, their histories, and their cultures.
Celebrate
the expression of the human spirit through the creative process of theatrical production.
Our Mission
The Department of Theatre is committed to developing passionate, creative thinkers with artistic vision through a program of study that emphasizes the interplay between critical thinking and artistic practice.
We situate ourselves within a strong liberal arts tradition, celebrate its interdisciplinary resources, and encourage multiple connections to our surrounding communities.
We enable and require our students to study, test and explore theatrical practice, cultural contexts, and the ethical and social concerns of art makers in a plural and global society.
We are committed to helping our students identify and develop their own personal strengths, provide them with the tools to realize their potential, and embrace the challenges of independent thinking, global awareness, and artistic and scholarly passion.
Our Major and Minors
Theatre takes us to new worlds. Introduces us to extraordinary characters. Helps us better understand our own feelings and those of the people around us. Theatre nourishes our souls.
Miami's theatre degrees are ideal for anyone who loves the potential of theatre, and wants to explore all that goes into making theatre with meaning. We emphasize the skills integral to making theatre: creative problem solving, risk taking, collaboration, and cultural awareness. And we provide solid foundations in skills of specific theatre artists, including actors, directors, technicians, designers, stage managers, dramaturgs, and playwrights. Study theatre at Miami, and you might uncover talents you never knew you had!
Our courses introduce you to a wide range of theatrical voices and perspectives, and ask you to actively engage in making the world a better place through the development of your own unique theatrical vision and personal aesthetic.
Opportunities to create theatre are integral to our degrees, with credit offered for traditional theatrical experiences and for the development of new or devised work. Through the study and practice of theatre, we strive to develop creative thinkers with artistic vision, continually exploring the relationship between critical thinking and artistic practice.
Our Facilities
The Center for Performing Arts is the home of the Department of Theatre. It houses all our faculty and staff offices and most of the production facilities, including the Gates-Abegglen Theatre, W. Paul Zimmerman Experimental Theatre (Studio 88), scene shop, costume shop, and prop shop.
Our 2023-24 Season
Support Miami Theatre
Theatre Fund
Supports all aspects of the Department of Theatre including productions, hosting guests artists, and student opportunities.
Paul K. Bryant-Jackson Memorial Scholarship
Supports educational diversity at the university by providing annual scholarships for theatre students from underrepresented groups.
The Marty J. and Lin Conaway Bennison Fund
Supports student costs of attending KCACTF
Youth Theatre Resource
Supports theatre programming for and outreach to young people to engage them in live theatre.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Department of Theatre
The Department of Theatre recognizes the historical, economic, physical, and cultural obstacles that have excluded many from making and seeing theatre. We acknowledge that we have been complicit in racism and other practices that have made theatre at Miami University inaccessible. As a department we want to strive to tell the stories of ALL people, and we resolve to make ALL welcome in our classes, productions, and audiences. In order to do this, we recognize we must transform our practices to become antiracist and inclusive. During the 2020-2022 academic years we renewed our commitment to transformation through reflective practices to create an action plan that will lead to change. We will update this plan annually to share actions we have undertaken. This is a working document, and we invite everyone to participate in our path towards transformation. With this statement and our action plan, we resolve to:
- Transform the composition of the department so that we are a community of diverse artists who tell diverse stories
- Become aware of our implicit biases and assumptions as artists so that we can be open to dialogue and deeper understanding
- Prioritize the safety and well-being of artists by recognizing how demands for productivity can distort our creative process
- Make space for voices that have been silenced and activate opportunities for student and community participation
- Employ pedagogies that recognize and value different ways of knowing and being in the world
- Welcome ALL people to our spaces with accommodations as necessary, practicing kindness and respect in our work
- Advocate for antiracist practices and inclusion in our theatre profession and the arts and strive for social justice in the theatre that we make together
Accreditation and Affiliations
We are fully accredited with the National Association of Schools of Theatre (NAST).
We hold memberships and/or affiliations with the Association for Theatre in Higher Education, Black Theatre Network, the United States Institute for Theatre Technology, Mid-American Theatre Conference, Southeast Theatre Conference and the American Society for Theatre Research.
Department of Theatre
Make Theatre. Make a Difference.
Contact Us
119 Center for Performing Arts
Oxford, OH 45056
513-529-3053
theatre@MiamiOH.edu
