Much Ado About a New Thing

FDU will bring the curtain up this fall on a new undergraduate theater arts program that takes advantage of the University’s distinctive tri-campus resources and locations.

Students will specialize in diverse areas of theater such as acting, design, directing, playwriting, and theory and literature. Students will begin their studies on the Florham-Madison Campus and spend a semester at Wroxton College in England studying Shakespeare and other subjects. They then will study at the Teaneck-Hackensack Campus, complete the program and participate in unique internship opportunities afforded by the resident American Stage Company and the campus’s proximity to New York City.

Introducing the BA program, University College Interim Dean Michael Sperling and Becton College Acting Dean Martin Green pointed to the “multiple employment opportunities” available for those working in all facets of theatrical productions as well as the University’s “long tradition of supporting theater.” The new program builds on the theater concentrations available on both campuses. The University also boasts two mainstage theaters (in Becton Hall at Teaneck-Hackensack and Dreyfuss Hall at Florham-Madison), a black box theater on each campus, a newly created student theater (the Russell H. Ratsch Experimental Theatre) on the Teaneck-Hackensack Campus as well as the presence of an in-residence professional group (American Stage Company), a highly regarded program at Wroxton and, of course, proximity to one of the great theater capitals in the world, New York City.

The deans added that FDU’s offering will be distinctive because it will provide a practicum with the well-known regional theater company American Stage and a guaranteed international experience at Wroxton with activities connected to important theaters in London and Stratford-upon-Avon, such as the Royal Shakespeare Company.

The curriculum will comprise foundation courses (Theater Survey, Introductory Acting, Directing and Stagecraft) followed by a choice of one of five tracks or major electives that meet the needs of students interested in a variety of careers in theater or who may be interested in pursuing postgraduate study. The total major is 42 credits.

A core of theater faculty is in place, and FDU will draw on the talent of theater professionals in New York City to serve as adjunct faculty. The University is undertaking a search for an individual with a national reputation to serve as the program’s director.

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