Department of Theatre

Studying Theatre at Denison

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Ace Morgan Theatre, located in Denison's Theatre Arts Building, is a 200-seat proscenium house.

The Department of Theatre offers a broad-based liberal arts education, emphasizing historical, social and theoretical study, along with studies in the various arts of theatre. We encourage our majors to complement their Theatre studies with challenging work in other disciplines. Many of our students choose to double major, or to pursue a major and a minor.

The major in Theatre is designed to aid the serious student in:

  • developing his or her artistic, creative, and intellectual potential
  • understanding fundamental principles of theatre arts
  • making practical application of those principles in stage production
  • developing analytical skill, facility in problem-solving, historical perspective, and appreciation of aesthetic form
  • developing a sound basis for graduate study in Theatre.

Our majors are encouraged to spend at least one semester in off-campus study. Many are placed in New York City with professional training programs or as assistants to theatrical directors, producers, and designers. Some choose programs that emphasize arts and literature in Europe.

A generous endowment from Denison alumnus Jonathan R. Reynolds, along with additional funding from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation, has enabled the department to create a residency program, which brings in a playwright for one semester every other year. Another facet of the gift has allowed for the creation of the Jonathan R. Reynolds Distinguished Chair in Theatre, presently held by Associate Professor and Chair, Cynthia Turnbull.


Theatre Productions

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Shakespearean comedy "The Two Gentlemen of Verona"

The department produces a wide variety of theatre productions each academic year. Participation in theatre productions is open to students at all levels and from all disciplines, and auditions are open to the entire campus. Academic credit can be earned for participating in theatre productions. Advanced students may have the opportunity to design and direct productions. A number of paid positions are available in the scene shop, costume shop and box office.

Denison has two primary theatre spaces: the Leroy "Ace" Morgan Theatre, a 200-seat proscenium house, and the 3600-square-foot Burke Black Box Theatre. Both theatres are used for main stage and student productions.

In addition to the theatre spaces, the department has excellent construction and support facilities: 

  • A fully-equipped 1800-square-foot scene shop
  • A paint storage and preparation room and a two-story electric paint frame
  • The Mulberry Lab, containing digital drawing, scanning, photoediting and film editing software and hardware, used in costume, scenic, and lighting design courses.
  • A satellite Mulberry Lab with two computers equipped with the same capabilities as the Mulberry Lab.
  • A second, fully-equipped shop for welding and metal fabrication and cabinetry and fine props construction
  • A fully-stocked electrics shop
  • An extensive costume shop with a separate cutting and pattern layout area
  • Extensive storage facilities that house many hundreds of props and costumes from every historical period
  • A theatre library, with hundreds of play scripts and theatre texts.

Theatre Major & Minor

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British comedy "Noises Off" by Michael Frayn

A Theatre major must complete 44 credits of theatre courses;

  • Introduction to Theatre Studies
  • Fundamentals of Theatrical Design
  • Directing: Realism
  • One of the following:
    • Acting: Realism I
    • Acting: Brecht and Beyond
    • Acting: Pre-20th Century Styles
    • Acting: Special Topics
  • Any two of the following:
    • History, Literature, and Theory of Theatre: Premodern World
    • History, Literature, and Theory of Theatre: Early Modern Europe
    • History, Literature, and Theory of Theatre: Modern World
    • History, Literature, and Theory of Theatre: The Americas
  • Theatre Seminar
  • Three elective courses in Theatre
  • A total of four credits of Practicum, from at least two different Practicum courses

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English Jingju adaptation of "The Taming of the Shrew"

A Theatre minor must complete 22 credits of Theatre courses:

  • Introduction to Theatre Studies
  • Fundamentals of Theatrical Design
  • One of the following:
    • Acting: Realism I
    • Acting: Brecht and Beyond
    • Acting: Pre-20th Century Styles
    • Acting: Special Topics
  • One of the following:
    • History, Literature, and Theory of Theatre: Premodern World
    • History, Literature, and Theory of Theatre: Early Modern Europe
    • History, Literature, and Theory of Theatre: Modern World
    • History, Literature, and Theory of Theatre: The Americas
  • One elective course in Theatre
  • Two credits of Practicum from different Practicum courses

What Do Theatre Majors Do After Denison?

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World premiere of an adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's "The Death of Ivan Ilych" by Donald Freed

A major in Theatre is uniquely qualified to produce rational, independent, critical thinkers who possess a broad range of transferable skills that serve our graduates well, no matter what what sort of career they pursue. The study of Theatre:

  • encourages creative thinking
  • fosters a compassionate understanding of human nature
  • demands the mastery of superior communications skills.

Great drama encourages those who encounter it to:

  • test their most cherished assumptions
  • confront complex dilemmas of ethics and morality
  • creatively involve themselves as responsible members of their society.

Theatre majors regularly pursue careers in:

  • professional acting, directing, design, and management
  • secondary school and college or university teaching
  • advertising, business, and government.

Many of our majors continue their education in graduate and law schools.


Our Professors & Administrators

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Irish drama "Dancing at Lughnasa" by Brian Friel

•    Associate Professor Cynthia Turnbull joined the faculty at Denison in 1996. In 2008, she was named the Jonathan R. Reynolds Distinguished Professor in Theatre. She earned a B.S. at Nebraska Wesleyan University and an M.F.A. at the University of Texas, Austin. She has designed costumes for over twenty Denison productions and has directed the children's plays Jungalbook andThe Legend of Sleepy Hollow, as well as The Snow Queen, for which she also wrote the script. She has designed costumes for the Texas Shakespeare Festival, the Zilker Park Summer Playhouse in Austin, Texas, the Ohio State University Opera, the Pittsburgh Playhouse and the Contemporary American Theatre Company for productions of The Grapes of Wrath and Copenhagen. For Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, she designed the costumes for their touring production of The Amazing Adventures of the Marvelous Monkey King, a Jingju play for children. She is a member of United Scenic Artists Local 829 as a Costume Designer.
•    Associate Professor Peter Pauze joined the faculty at Denison in 1994. He earned a B.A. at Gordon College and an M.F.A. at the University of Georgia. He serves as scenic and lighting designer for the department and teaches courses in theatrical design and theatre studies.
•    Associate Professor Mark Evans Bryan joined the faculty at Denison in 2002. He earned a B.A. at Denison University, an A.M. from the University of Chicago and a Ph.D. at Ohio State University. He teaches courses in the history and theory of theatre, playwriting, and dramatic literature. He is a playwright whose work has been published in the Kenyon Review and performed in the United States, Europe, Asia and Australasia.  His historical and critical scholarship has appeared in theKenyon Review, the Journal of American Drama and Theatre, and the Blackwell Companion to Twentieth-Century American Drama.
•    Assistant Professor Cheryl Kennedy McFarren joined the faculty at Denison in 2009.  She holds an M.F.A. in acting from the National Theatre Conservatory in Denver, as well as a Ph.D. in Theatre from the University of Colorado at Boulder. She specializes in the teaching of acting, with an emphasis on teaching the performance of heightened language. As an actor, she has worked professionally with the Berkeley and Colorado Shakespeare Festivals, the Denver Center Theatre Company, Germinal Stage (Denver), and the Commonweal Theatre Company (Lanesboro, MN).
•    Assistant Professor Mark J. Seamon joined the faculty at Denison in 2009.  He holds his B.A. in Communication and Theatre from the University of Notre Dame, M.A. in Theatre from Miami University (Ohio), and Ph.D. in Theatre from The Ohio State University. Mark's research interests include acting and directing, contemporary American drama, solo performance, theatre for young audiences, musical theatre, and race and gender studies. Mark is a director, stage manager, and active member of the Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE), the American Society for Theatre Research (ASTR), and the Mid-America Theatre Conference (MATC). He teaches acting and directing at Denison.
•    Technical Director and Instructor Andrew S. Johns joined the department in 2001.  He earned an M.F.A. in Technical Production from the University of Delaware. He has worked as a scenic carpenter at the prestigious Goodman Theatre in Chicago, and in a variety of technical positions at the Wolf Trap Opera Company, the Brevard Music Theatre, and the Utah Shakespeare Festival. He serves as the department's technical director and teaches courses in stagecraft and theatre appreciation.
•    Academic Administrative Assistant Marilyn Sundin joined the department in 1979 after earning an M.F.A. in Theatre at The Ohio State University. She is active in local theatre companies as a director, performer, and playwright. Sundin also supervises the Denison Theatre Box Office.
•    Costume Shop Supervisor Joyce Merrilees joined the department in 2002.  She earned a B.S. in Textiles and Clothing from The Ohio State University. She has operated a custom sewing, tailoring and alterations business for more than fifteen years. 


For more information about the department and curriculum, go to:

Theatre Department or contact:

Kirk Combe, Chair
Theatre Arts Building
Denison University

Granville, Ohio 43023
 
Phone:  (740) 587-6247

Fax:  (740) 587-5755

 

For more information, contact Sundin.


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