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Theatre Program
From Shakespeare to Sondheim, from "In the Heights," to "...and Jesus Moonwalks the Mississippi" we stage productions that challenge our performers, thrill audiences and showcase the brilliance of our faculty, and we have the national honors to prove it.
The Theatre Program at Saint Mary’s provides conservatory-caliber training in a uniquely student-centered Liberal Arts setting.
We believe that the theatre is a force that can wake us up and spark ethical action in the world.
Through theatre training - whether as actors, directors, designers, playwrights, technicians, or stage managers – we can find greater freedom, generosity, and courage, in our creative work and in our relationships with others.
The Saint Mary’s Theatre Program is a close-knit community, fostering a collaborative (not competitive) environment; yet we are located within striking distance of the Bay Area’s vibrant performance scene. Thus we offer the best of both worlds: individualized attention and mentoring, alongside unique opportunities to engage with working professionals. Our students are challenged, and inspired, by an array of master classes, guest speakers, theatre-going excursions, internships, and more.
The Theatre Program offers two separate degree tracks:
Performance and Theatre Studies
Our curriculum integrates practical and technical coursework with performance and production opportunities, and with the study of theatre history, theory, and dramatic literature, producing deeper thinkers and more dynamic theatre-makers.
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. We welcome first-years, transfers and beginners. All roles are open.
Welcome Amissa Miller
Performing Arts welcomes new full-time theatre faculty member Amissa Miller, whose educational background includes a BA in Drama and Spanish from Spelman College, an MFA in Dramaturgy and Script Development from Columbia University, and graduate coursework in Educational Theatre at New York University.
Professor Miller brings to Saint Mary's extensive experience in dramaturgy, playwriting, and directing. As a facilitator of arts-based programming in youth and community settings, her focus has been on applied theatre, storytelling, and social justice education. Most recently, at UT Austin - where Professor Miller was an Interactive Theatre Specialist in the Voices against Violence program - she worked with students to create theatre performances which sparked dialogue about consent, interpersonal violence prevention, and healthy relationships.
Says Miller, "As an artist and educator, I am dedicated to creating work that strengthens communities through inclusion and access."
Jiwon Chung is a professional actor, director, educator and a key theorist of Theatre of the Oppressed. Grounded in the work of Augusto Boal. with whom he studied extensively, Chung's focus is on theatre as a tool for social and political change. Through Boal's Interactive Theatre, Chung empowers others to challenge, resist, and transform systemic oppression, structural violence and injustice. He is the Artistic Director of Kairos Theater Ensemble and past President of the national organization for Theater of the Oppressed. Chung is also a Visiting Associate Professor of Art and Social Justice at Starr King School/GTU and a Teaching Artist at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre School, though his work as an educator often takes him around the country and across the globe.
