NCCC has a long tradition of theatre excellence. The Theatre Arts curriculum prepares students for transfer to baccalaureate programs in performance and technical theatre. The program offers students the opportunity to develop their potential through a combination of challenging coursework and practical theatrical training in a liberal arts environment. Students have the opportunity to work on productions in their state-of-the-art 600 seat Main Stage Theatre as well as their intimate Black Box Theatre.
As one of the oldest professional theatre training programs in the region, Niagara University is well-known for preparing students for careers that take them anywhere from Broadway to Hollywood. One-on-one mentorship with theatre faculty gives increased confidence – both onstage and offstage – throughout every step of the experiential learning process.
Strengthened by their unique urban setting and diverse cultural community, Buffalo State Theater provides intensive individual artistic training supported by a robust liberal arts education. Through the vehicles of engagement, excellence and social responsibility they strive to develop the next generation of globally impactful artists and citizens.
It is the mission of the Department of Theatre and Dance to provide training for professional, community and academic theaters and dance companies within the framework of liberal arts education. The theatre and dance programs also serve as one means of acquiring a liberal education. A liberal education serves to broaden horizons, break down prejudices, and build inquiring open minds; it is of value no matter what the student’s future goals. Theatre and dance, which are ultimately concerned with all aspects of humankind’s experiences, have special relevance to a liberal education. The more the theatre or dance major in a liberal arts program understands about humankind, the more experiences they have entered into imaginatively and projected to others from the stage, the more they will be able to order, clarify and understand their own lives and the world in which they live.
GCC’s award-winning Theatre Arts program is designed to expose students to the richness of the performing arts and to provide a solid academic foundation for further study and career opportunities in theatre. As a graduate, students can transfer to a baccalaureate institution as juniors. GCC students who have transferred and graduated from four-year institutions have been featured in films, started theatre companies, served as artistic directors, interned for regional Equity theatres, designed costumes for college and Equity theatres, and taught acting at professional theatres to elementary and high school students.
Theatre and Dance at the University at Buffalo engages emerging artists, scholars, and audiences dedicated to sustaining and innovating the performing arts across disciplines. Their diverse programs integrate rigorous training, critical understanding, and impassioned creation supported by close faculty mentorship and developed in collaboration with internationally recognized guest artists.
