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2011-12 Season
Theatre Department
Fine Arts Center
105 Upper College Road
Kingston, RI 02881
Box Office: 401.874.5843

About the Theatre Department

Mission Statement

The URI Theatre program provides a conservatory experience within a pre-professional liberal arts setting. The distinguished faculty, guest artists and staff place an equal emphasis on the theoretical and practical understanding of theatre. Artistically vibrant, relevant and rooted in collaboration, our unique production program enriches all students and serves the educational and cultural needs of the university and the greater community.

Philosophy

The URI Theatre B.F.A. program is intended for highly motivated students who wish their education to emphasize a major theatrical field of interest. The program offers concentrated studies in acting, directing, design and theatre technology and stage/theatre management. Students may select one or two concentrations and the specific requirements of these areas are flexible enough to suit students' individual needs.

The faculty and staff of URI Theatre believe that a well trained, well rounded theatre graduate must have basic training/exposure to all areas of theatre in their first two years of residence. For example, all theatre majors begin by taking introductory coursework in basic classes such as acting, script analysis, stagecraft, costuming, stage management and directing. With each semester, they cover basic theatre studies as they also pursue intensive training in their preferred concentration. By their junior and senior years, they are receiving specific coursework in their concentration only and they are perfecting their craft in the classroom and on the stage.

Our philosophy of training is rooted in performance experience. All B.F.A. acting majors are required to audition for all main stage productions beginning in their freshman year. Though not required, other B.F.A. theatre students are also encouraged to audition if they choose. Auditioning well is an art in itself and we believe that with practice, students will improve their auditioning abilities to ultimately land the role. Many other programs deny freshmen the ability to audition but we want URI theatre students to enter the production program as soon as they are qualified.

theatre students For directing, design tech and management B.F.A.s, the performance experiences begin with crew work and evolve into assistant designers, directors or stage managers. By senior year, design, directing or management opportunities present themselves in main stage productions or in student directed works. Similar to the acting students, the classroom is the experimental/theoretical side of the training program and the production season allows all students to present their creative talents before an audience. Theatre is meant to be seen and URI Theatre provides an environment that encourages risks, allows failure, and promotes growth while simultaneously meeting our university's mission to make seminal contributions to the field. Our program is highly selective and, through annual reviews, only the best students continue in what is highly recognized as one of the most rewarding, competitive fields.