Theatre

Faculty

Kate Bredeson
Theatre history, theatre theory, dramaturgy, playwriting, directing, gender and theatre. On sabbatical 2023-24.

Catherine Ming T’ien Duffly
Acting, directing, contemporary American theatre, performance theory, community-based performance.

Peter Ksander
Scenography, stage design, design history, contemporary performance.

Jenna Tamimi
Theatre history and literature, performance studies, directing, gender and performance.

Barbie Wu
Acting and performance.

Curriculum

Theatre is essential to the liberal arts. The focus of our program is reading, studying, and making plays and performance. We believe that with each play we study or perform, we learn about a different world, and delve into that world’s cultural values, social and religious practices, gender roles, race relationships, and political debates. Engaged in this way, theatre is among the most successful disciplines at providing a truly interdisciplinary liberal arts experience.

Reed’s theatre department mirrors the college’s liberal arts mission. We believe that theatre students should have a broad education in theatre history, theory, and practice. All theatre majors are required to have coursework and production experience both onstage and backstage, and all majors are required to take classes in theatre history, directing, acting, performance studies, and design, as well as a variety of electives. We offer additional coursework in dramaturgy, design, playwriting, performance studies, gender and theatre, race and performance, and translation and adaptation.

Most of our classes, and all of our productions, are open to both majors and nonmajors, and each year our productions involve many students from across campus in all aspects of production, from working on costume creation in the costume shop to being a stage manager backstage or a performer onstage. Like all seniors in the college, Reed theatre seniors carry out a yearlong written thesis project. Most students elect to supplement their written thesis with production work of some kind, pending department approval of the size and scope of the project. The faculty work as theatre professors and also as collaborative artists who produce a full season of student, staff, and faculty work in the Performing Arts Building.

Junior Qualifying Examination

Students are evaluated through a qualifying examination undertaken as part of the Junior Seminar (THEA 301 ). Performance on this exam as well as departmental courses determines the nature and scope of the thesis project that each student may undertake. Students are expected to have completed the laboratory requirement (THEA 100 ) by the time this exam is taken, and it is recommended that they have completed THEA 202 , THEA 204 or THEA 205 , THEA 331 , and at least one course in theatre history.

Juniors who plan to propose a production component to their senior thesis research are required to undertake a major production assignment in the area of their proposed thesis research during their junior year. This should be planned in consultation with theatre faculty.

Senior Thesis

The senior thesis of a theatre major may be a research-centered project or a project that integrates research with production. Recent production projects have been undertaken in directing, playwriting, acting, dramaturgy, and design.

Programs

Majors

Theatre

Minors

Theatre Minor

Reed College Catalog