Theatre Arts & Dance

Acting / Dance / Technical Theatre / Theatre Studies

Department Office
Ives Hall 205
(707) 664-2474
www.sonoma.edu/theatreanddance/

Department Chair
Kristen Daley

Performing Arts Program Specialist
Billie Bartlett-Johnson

Faculty

Acting: Paul Draper, Danielle Cain, Doyle Ott, Jody Banks, Stanley Anderson, Ken Sonkin, Alexis Macnab

Dance: Kristen Daley, Christine Cali, Jennifer Jaffe, Molly Lynch-Seaver, Nancy Lyons*, Farrah McAdam, Scott Wells, Jennifer Meek Satoh, Jasen Valdez

Theatre Studies: Scott Horstein, Dubravka Knezevic, Judy Navas, Jonathan Spector

Technical Theatre: Anthony Bish, Peter Crompton, Mary Nagler, Juliet Pokorny, Theo Bridont, Martha Clarke

*Professor Emeritus

Guest Artists

Sonia Alvarez, Theo Bridant, Danielle Cain, Adam Chanzit, Martha Clark, John Connole, Lidsay Gauthier, Alex de Grassi, Mark Haim, Rob Brent Hamilton, Jane Hammett, Eric Handmon, Risa Jaroslow, Pamela Johnson, Jennifer King, Julia Kwitchoff, Liz Lerman, Carter Lewis, Brent Lindsay, Chris Littman, Cassie Meador, Mathew Cumbie, Rogelio Lopez, Nancy Lyons, Will McCandless, Amanda McTigue,Jennifer Meek-Satoh, Jesse Olsen, Kyoungil Ong/Ong Dance Company, Maureen O’Sullivan, Doyle Ott, John Ross, Greg Sarris, Ken Sonkin, Dario Tongelson, Tori Truss, Mark Valdez, Nichele Van Portfleet, Jorge Vasquez, Wade Madsen, Sylvia Waters and Ana Marie Forsythe (The Ailey Legacy Residency), Scott Wells, Russ Wigglesworth, Urban Bush Women, Harry Waters Jr.

Vision

WE believe in a world where the artist is transformative, essential and engaged.

Mission

The Department of Theatre Arts and Dance offers students a home where they can seek their potential and develop their voice as artists, through the study and collaborative making of live performance.

Core Values

Student centered: We believe first and foremost in creating experiences that serve our students’ needs and passions.

Rigor

We believe that performance training can inspire us to the highest standards of professionalism and personal achievement.

Full Engagement

We believe in making work that has value beyond the dance and theatre world and directly engages our campus and local community.

Theatre Arts and Dance majors and minors gain professional training for a career in the arts; a deep impression of ensemble and individual creativity; key academic and critical thinking skills; and a lasting sense of community. We feature a rich set of courses; a wide range of performance styles and opportunities; personal contact with faculty and guest artists, with particular connections to the contemporary Bay Area scene; focused and comprehensive individual advising; and a supportive and caring staff.

Students of theatre and dance develop artistic skill and kinesthetic intelligence while growing in human understanding and empathy. They learn to embody and project their own beliefs and to explore the cultures and beliefs of people who are different from them. Our theatre and dance faculty cultivate innovative approaches to theatre and dance, while respecting and learning from the past.

The department offers numerous performance opportunities and actively encourages and supports the development of new work by both students and faculty. The Departments of Theatre Arts & Dance program is closely associated with SSU’s Department of Music in the area of voice and musical theatre. Together, the Department of Theatre Arts & Dance and the Department of Music form the Center of Performing arts which offers over 200 student performances of theatre, dance, and music each year.

Programs

Theatre Arts, Minor