Program in Theater and Dance

The purpose of the Program in Theater and Dance is to familiarize students, through rigorous exposure to professional practice, professional artists, and professional scholar-critics, with the nature of practical work in theater and dance. Courses in acting, directing, playwriting, design, performance history, criticism, dance history, modern dance technique, choreography, and repertory offer students an opportunity to involve themselves in the creative arts while simultaneously pursuing a liberal arts education. While there is no concentration in theater and dance, Program V in the English department enables students to combine a study of dramatic literature with studio work in theater and dance. (However, students should be aware that Program V in the English department and the Program in Theater and Dance are not the same “program”; they have different goals and different requirements.) In addition, students in any concentration can earn a certificate in the Program in Theater and Dance and thereby make theater or dance an important focus of their undergraduate curriculum.

Strengths of the Program in Theater and Dance are its intimacy and its faculty. Classes are generally limited to 16 students, and all students are given extensive personal attention by the instructor. Performance-based courses are workshops in which students are guided to prepare exercises or scenes for presentation in class. In addition, each year the program mounts theatrical productions and dance concerts that allow students to continue their in-class explorations under performance conditions. In the senior year, especially talented students have the opportunity to perform creative theses under the auspices of the program.

Some students take courses in the program because they feel they have genuine talent and want to pursue a career in one of the arts. By combining a significant amount of coursework with production and concert performances, these students develop a strong base on which to build in graduate study. Program students have gone on to leading arts schools, conservatories, and dance companies—and to successful careers in theater, dance, film, and television.

Other students enroll in program courses because they’ve always had a secret desire to perform because they’ve had a performance experience that made them curious about how to improve themselves, or because they are looking for a creative method of self-expression. The intensive personal work most program courses require often leads these students to discover surprising things about both themselves and the challenges posed by any artistic discipline.

Many Princeton students pursue theater or dance as an extracurricular activity; the program’s goal is to introduce those students and interested others to a professional approach to the arts. We aim to provide a home for students who already think of themselves as artists and for those who would like to learn what that might mean.