About Us
| The Theater Program at George
Mason University stresses the ideal that serious practical
training and experience, combined with the breadth and vigor
of liberal arts study, offers its graduates the best preparation
for a life in the theater. Its mission is to use theater
as a means of preparing students for a complex and challenging
future, regardless of where their interests and training
may lead them.
The Theater Department prepares its vocational graduates
for entry into the professional and/or graduate study with
rigorous, concentrated, and individualized training. Theater
students develop the ability to solve problems creatively,
think critically, write clearly, and express themselves
comfortably through speech and movement. In addition, students
establish a personal work ethic and take responsibility
for personal and group efforts. |
Photo by: Connor Dale
Mephisto - Spring 2005
|
The Department offers a bachelor of arts degree in Theater.
There are approximately one hundred students in the program, and
enrollment continues to grow. Students begin the major by taking
the university's general education courses that are required of
all majors. Students are then required to take courses in history
of the theater, acting, directing, dramaturgy, script analysis,
technical theater, as well as theatrical literature and criticism.
Through play production practicum courses, students earn credit
for working on shows. The degree is completed with upper-level
courses from the following areas of specialization: performance,
design and technical theater, and theater studies.
Theater students are expected to be self-directed and are encouraged
to develop a resume of personal experience that includes class
work, theater productions, internships, and summer field experiences.
Individual opportunities are limited only by the student's desire
to create them.
Photo by Evan Cantwell
The Trial -Spring 2005
|
The GMU Players, a dynamic faculty-directed student organization,
produces seven productions each season. These include Mainstage
Productions, which are directed by faculty and Studio Productions
which are selected and directed by students. Auditions are open
to all Mason students. They may also work as stage managers or
designers, on construction and lighting crews, and as crew supervisors.
The GMU Players perform in the TheaterSpace, a 150-seat flexible
venue; the Black Box Theater, an acting and directing classroom;
and the Harris Theater,a 500-seat tradtional proscenium stage
with a counterweight fly system.
The Theater of the First Amendment (TFA), an Actors' Equity
company that is part of the College of Visual and Performing Arts,
gives students the opportunity to work side by side with theater
professionals. TFA recruits students for its technical crews and
auditions students for appropriate roles given the needs of individual
productions. George Mason's theater program allows students to
take what they learn in th classroom and test it against the demands
of professional theater
Alumni from Mason's Theater Program are working professionally
in Washington, D.C., New York City, Chicago, and Las Angeles.
Their training at the university has helped them land positions
in acting, stage managing, technical work, design, and literary
management.
The theaters at George Mason are always alive with activity.
TFA produces three plays annually, and the GMU Players stage at
least three major faculty directed (Mainstage) productions, four
smaller student directed (Studio) productions, along with numerous
workshop presentations, readings, and an annual "Shorts"
Festival. Please visit our Performances
page for the season schedule.
The Theater Department is located on the 4th floor of the Performing
Arts Building at the Fairfax, Virginia campus. The building is
equipped with two black box theaters, a scene shop, a costume
shop, and a design studio. For a brochure or more information,
email the deartment at: theater@gmu.edu
or call the Theater Department Office at: (703) 993-1120.
