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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:
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.
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.
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.
Julie Douglas is an actor, theater-maker, teaching artist and clown. She has trained and performed internationally in Italy, Russia, and Bali, as well as with Bay Area companies such as Impact Theatre, SF Shakespeare, Shotgun Players, and Shakespeare Santa Cruz. Julie also gets silly on a regular basis as a hospital clown with The Medical Clown Project. A regular faculty member of ACT’s MFA and Studio programs, Julie teaches students of all ages for a range of theatre companies, schools, and community groups, from San Francisco Shakespeare and Cal Performances to Stanford Live and Contra Costa Civic Theatre. She holds an M.F.A. in Ensemble Based Physical Theatre from Dell'Arte International School, and she is a certified instructor of the Michael Chekhov Technique.