Theatre Program

A statement from the Theatre faculty 

• We stand in support of Black lives, in our program and beyond.

• We are interrogating the structures of white supremacy we inhabit and have upheld. We recognize that people have experienced harm in our program. We are sorry.

• We recognize and thank the artists of “The Ground We Stand On” for their clear articulation of demands for academic institutions in We See You White American Theatre.

• We are working both individually and collectively, at both the department and the program level, and have been meeting regularly since June. We are committed to continuing to do so.

• We are creating an evolving document/action plan in response to the demands. We pledge to incorporate student voices. 

Signed,

Deanna Zibello, Theatre Program Director

Matthew Cohen

Rebecca Engle 

Beckett Finn

Victor Malana Maog

Amissa Miller

Tara Sundy

We See You White American Theatre

In July 2020, a group of over 250 BIPOC theatre artists released an open letter and list of demands entitled "We see you, white american theatre." In homage to August Wilson, the group calls themselves The Ground We Stand On.

The Theatre Faculty are currently engaged in discussion of this document, and plan to post a list of action items soon.

Auditions

No audition is required to major or minor in Theatre at Saint Mary’s College. Auditions are required for most productions. The Saint Mary’s Theatre Program practices culturally inclusive casting, and we welcome first­-years, transfers and beginners in our productions. All roles are open.

The Theatre Program offers two separate degree tracks:

• Performance & Theatre Studies

• Design & Technical Theatre

Our curriculum integrates practical and technical coursework with performance and production opportunities, and with the study of theatre history, theory, and dramatic literature, producing deep thinkers and dynamic theatre-makers.

Welcome Victor Malana Maog

Performing Arts welcomes Victor Maog, 2020-21 Visiting Professor in Theatre.

Victor Malana Maog was born in the Philippines, raised in the Bay Area, and is a graduate of New York University Gallatin School, with a concentration in Global Leadership and Performance Studies. A highly respected theatre director, educator, and arts leader with more than twenty-five years of experience directing projects, programs, and companies, Victor locates his work at the intersection of world-class art-making, popular culture, and forward thinking community engagement.

Victor’s love for theatre began while watching religious festivals as child in the Philippines. He says, “My grandmother would take me to epic religious festivals - masks, processions, weeping, … it was like a dream to go from the city to this mythical place in the midst of Holy Week. I was fixated and my love of pageantry was born.”

Oskar Eustis (Public Theatre) describes Maog as “one of the leading lights of his generation – smart, talented, capable, and an artist with deep principles and integrity.” Maog is equally at home directing classic plays like The Tempest, Twelfth Night, and Cyrano and musicals like Spring Awakening, Ragtime, and South Pacific. New work creation has taken him from major theatres in New York and Los Angeles to non-traditional projects in Chicago’s South side and Cambodia. From 2016-18 he served as Show Director for Disney Parks Live Entertainment, creating and directing stage shows and large scale events and spectacles for millions of people.