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WHY MAJOR IN THEATRE AND DANCE

AT CAL STATE FULLERTON?

The Cal State Fullerton Theatre program is among the top sixteen most highly recommended undergraduate programs in the nation, according to the most recent Performing Arts Major’s College Guide published by Macmillan Books. It is ranked with such prestigious schools as Juilliard, New York University, Boston University, and Northwestern University. CSUF’s Dance program is ranked under noteworthy programs, along with Brigham Young, Cornell, Duke, and American University. The Musical Theatre program ranks in the “Most Highly Recommended Programs,” along with the Boston Conservatory, Emerson College, and the University of Michigan! In a National accreditation review of the department, the evaluator wrote:

"THERE IS LITTLE QUESTION THAT THE CSU FULLERTON THEATRE DEPARTMENT HAS ESTABLISHED ITSELF AS ONE OF THE MOST EFFECTIVE AND RESPECTED THEATRE TRAINING PROGRAMS ON THE WEST COAST. THE GOALS AND ASPIRATIONS OF THE DEPARTMENT ARE CLEARLY DELINEATED, AND THE PHILOSOPHY STATEMENT INSPIRATIONAL."

WHAT’S SPECIAL ABOUT CAL STATE FULLERTON’S DEPARTMENT OF THEATRE AND DANCE?

We work closely with our students and they have a myriad of opportunities to experience the profession in and around the university. Thirty miles east of downtown Los Angeles and Hollywood, CSUF is a warm, friendly campus nestled between the mountains and the ocean in the personable haven of Fullerton in Southern California. The Department is in close proximity to major regional theatres and borders Southern California’s mecca of major film and television studios, over 100 producing theatres, and the nation’s premiere entertainment parks Disneyland, Knott’s Berry Farm, Six Flags, Universal Studios, etc. The CSUF Theatre and Dance Department sponsors internships with such prestigious industry leaders as the Mark Taper Forum, South Coast Repertory Theatre, NBC, CBS, Paramount Studios, Mali
Finn Casting, A Noise Within, The Chatauqua Theatre Alliance and a host of other companies. The program leading to the Bachelor of Arts degree is designed to provide an opportunity for students to:

• Realize their self-worth in becoming a true artist in the
business

• Recognize the shaping force of theatre, dance and
television

• Learn the skills necessary to work professionally in
theatre, dance, film, and television

• Pursue graduate studies

• Prepare for teaching theatre

THE HEART OF OUR PROGRAM

Our program focuses on the development of the complete artist. While public performance is at the heart of our program, we maintain a creative balance between academic courses and professional theatre training. The Department offers a B.A. in Dance and produces two mainstage Dance productions a year and one Choreographer’s Showcase per semester. In our quest to meet all of the needs of a theatre arts career, students choosing a B.A. degree in theatre have a choice of concentratins liberal studies;production/performance which includes emphases in the areas of acting, directing, playwriting, design/technical production; entertainment studies; and teacher education. We also offer a B.F.A. in Musical Theatre.

Performance opportunities include:
• A Theatre and Dance Season of 12-15 major productions
annually, drawing thousands of audience members to the
CSUF campus during the academic year;
• Touring theatre for young audiences, Kaleidoscope
Players, playing to 70-80 elementary schools and over
15,000 students each spring semester.
• Front and Center at the Anaheim Pond blending CSUF
students with professional performers and such figures
as Colin Powell, Christopher Reeve,Whoopi Goldberg
and Walter Cronkite in unique performance experiences.
• Vision and Visionaries, a marvelous song-and-dance
annual spectacle; American College Dance Festival
• Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival
• Musical Theatre Touring to local and regional venues.
Grand Central Artist’s Village Theatre

DEGREES INCLUDE
• Bachelor of Arts Training in Theatre and Dance
• Bachelor of Arts Training in Dance
• Bachelor of Fine Arts Training in Musical Theatre
• Master of Fine Arts in Acting, Directing, and
Design/Technical Production

CAREER TRAINING
A very important part of our department is our career development program. Aside from the aforementioned internship opportunities, we also offer mentor programs and ongoing special seminars covering all aspects of successfully
pursuing a career in the performing arts.

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
The department currently offers student assistantships to qualified, advanced undergraduate students in the areas of makeup, costumes, lighting, props, scenery and public relations. The department also has a number of scholarships.

ACCREDITATION
The Department of Theatre and Dance is proud to be one of the few schools in the nation to be fully accredited by both the National Association of Schools of Theatre and the National Association of Schools of Dance.

FACULTY AND FACILITIES
The excellence of the CSUF program can be seen in the faculty, staff and alumni. The faculty is composed of full-time theatre and dance specialists, many of whom are practicing theatre and dance professionals. Our faculty continually works in many of the country’s leading production companies, returning to share these experiences with their students.
In addition to a remarkable array of guest artists and lecturers: including Karen Morrow, Joanna Gleason, Harriet Harris, Uta Hagen, Faith Prince, Alice Ripley, James Whitmore Donald McKayle, Bonnie Oda Homsey, Larry Rosenberg, and members from world famous acting companies. Department productions are presented in one of five performance spaces:the 500-seat Little Theatre, the 200-seat Recital Hall, the flexible Arena Theatre, the Studio Theatre, or the Director’s Laboratory. The new performing arts addition will open in the Fall of 2005. It will include a 250 seat Thrust Theatre, a 150 seat Black Box Theatre, new costume, make-up, scenery, audio , lighting laboratories, three state of the art dance studios , and a musical theatre rehearsal room.
In addition to the theatres, the department also operates four dance studios and a large, well-equipped camera studio.

WHO ADVISES ME?
Theatre and Dance majors have full-time faculty members who advises new and continuing students.

COME VISIT!
We encourage visits throughout the year. Discover for yourself what we’re all about. For further information, please contact Chair Susan Hallman, Department of Theatre and Dance, California State University, Fullerton, P.O. 6850, Fullerton, California, 92834- 6850 or call (7l4) 278-3628.

(Click to download the PDF version of the overview.)


WHY MAJOR IN THEATRE AND DANCE AT CAL STATE FULLERTON? The Cal State Fullerton Theatre program is among the top sixteen most highly recommended undergraduate programs in the nation, according to the most recent Performing Arts Major’s College Guide published by Macmillan Books. It is ranked with such prestigious schools as Juilliard, New York University, Boston University, and Northwestern University. CSUF’s Dance program is ranked under noteworthy programs, along with Brigham Young, Cornell, Duke, and American University. The Musical Theatre program ranks in the “Most Highly Recommended Programs,” along with the Boston Conservatory, Emerson College, and the University of Michigan! In a National accreditation review of the department, the evaluator wrote: "THERE IS LITTLE QUESTION THAT THE CSU FULLERTON THEATRE DEPARTMENT HAS ESTABLISHED ITSELF AS ONE OF THE MOST EFFECTIVE AND RESPECTED THEATRE TRAINING PROGRAMS ON THE WEST COAST. THE GOALS AND ASPIRATIONS OF THE DEPARTMENT ARE CLEARLY DELINEATED, AND THE PHILOSOPHY STATEMENT INSPIRATIONAL." WHAT’S SPECIAL ABOUT CAL STATE FULLERTON’S DEPARTMENT OF THEATRE AND DANCE? We work closely with our students and they have a myriad of opportunities to experience the profession in and around the university. Thirty miles east of downtown Los Angeles and Hollywood, CSUF is a warm, friendly campus nestled between the mountains and the ocean in the personable haven of Fullerton in Southern California. The Department is in close proximity to major regional theatres and borders Southern California’s mecca of major film and television studios, over 100 producing theatres, and the nation’s premiere entertainment parks Disneyland, Knott’s Berry Farm, Six Flags, Universal Studios, etc. The CSUF Theatre and Dance Department sponsors internships with such prestigious industry leaders as the Mark Taper Forum, South Coast Repertory Theatre, NBC, CBS, Paramount Studios, Mali Finn Casting, A Noise Within, The Chatauqua Theatre Alliance and a host of other companies. The program leading to the Bachelor of Arts degree is designed to provide an opportunity for students to: • Realize their self-worth in becoming a true artist in the business • Recognize the shaping force of theatre, dance and television • Learn the skills necessary to work professionally in theatre, dance, film, and television • Pursue graduate studies • Prepare for teaching theatre THE HEART OF OUR PROGRAM Our program focuses on the development of the complete artist. While public performance is at the heart of our program, we maintain a creative balance between academic courses and professional theatre training. The Department offers a B.A. in Dance and produces two mainstage Dance productions a year and one Choreographer’s Showcase per semester. In our quest to meet all of the needs of a theatre arts career, students choosing a B.A. degree in theatre have a choice of concentratins liberal studies;production/performance which includes emphases in the areas of acting, directing, playwriting, design/technical production; entertainment studies; and teacher education. We also offer a B.F.A. in Musical Theatre. Performance opportunities include: • A Theatre and Dance Season of 12-15 major productions annually, drawing thousands of audience members to the CSUF campus during the academic year; • Touring theatre for young audiences, Kaleidoscope Players, playing to 70-80 elementary schools and over 15,000 students each spring semester. • Front and Center at the Anaheim Pond blending CSUF students with professional performers and such figures as Colin Powell, Christopher Reeve,Whoopi Goldberg and Walter Cronkite in unique performance experiences. • Vision and Visionaries, a marvelous song-and-dance annual spectacle; American College Dance Festival • Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival • Musical Theatre Touring to local and regional venues. Grand Central Artist’s Village Theatre DEGREES INCLUDE • Bachelor of Arts Training in Theatre and Dance • Bachelor of Arts Training in Dance • Bachelor of Fine Arts Training in Musical Theatre • Master of Fine Arts in Acting, Directing, and Design/Technical Production CAREER TRAINING A very important part of our department is our career development program. Aside from the aforementioned internship opportunities, we also offer mentor programs and ongoing special seminars covering all aspects of successfully pursuing a career in the performing arts. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE The department currently offers student assistantships to qualified, advanced undergraduate students in the areas of makeup, costumes, lighting, props, scenery and public relations. The department also has a number of scholarships. ACCREDITATION The Department of Theatre and Dance is proud to be one of the few schools in the nation to be fully accredited by both the National Association of Schools of Theatre and the National Association of Schools of Dance. FACULTY AND FACILITIES The excellence of the CSUF program can be seen in the faculty, staff and alumni. The faculty is composed of full-time theatre and dance specialists, many of whom are practicing theatre and dance professionals. Our faculty continually works in many of the country’s leading production companies, returning to share these experiences with their students. In addition to a remarkable array of guest artists and lecturers: including Karen Morrow, Joanna Gleason, Harriet Harris, Uta Hagen, Faith Prince, Alice Ripley, James Whitmore Donald McKayle, Bonnie Oda Homsey, Larry Rosenberg, and members from world famous acting companies. Department productions are presented in one of five performance spaces:the 500-seat Little Theatre, the 200-seat Recital Hall, the flexible Arena Theatre, the Studio Theatre, or the Director’s Laboratory. The new performing arts addition will open in the Fall of 2005. It will include a 250 seat Thrust Theatre, a 150 seat Black Box Theatre, new costume, make-up, scenery, audio , lighting laboratories, three state of the art dance studios , and a musical theatre rehearsal room. In addition to the theatres, the department also operates four dance studios and a large, well-equipped camera studio. WHO ADVISES ME? Theatre and Dance majors have full-time faculty members who advises new and continuing students. COME VISIT! We encourage visits throughout the year. Discover for yourself what we’re all about. For further information, please contact Chair Susan Hallman, Department of Theatre and Dance, California State University, Fullerton, P.O. 6850, Fullerton, California, 92834- 6850 or call (7l4) 278-3628.
	(Click to download the PDF version of the overview.)