Theatre Arts
The Theatre Arts Programs at MMC offer professional theatre education and training combined with a liberal arts education. It is our philosophy that the more well-rounded the education of theatre students, the better prepared they are to create and produce compelling and imaginative theatre. Individualized attention and a strong faculty advisement program enable qualified students to take on substantial projects and roles. Independent study projects provide opportunities for specialized training and performance experience. Junior and senior level students may also study abroad for credit at schools such as the British American Drama Academy in London and Accademia dell’Arte in Arezzo, Italy. Internships in a variety of settings (Broadway, Off- and Off-Off-Broadway, television, film, and dance) allow students to develop experience and a potential network in the NYC performing arts community. We believe in training individual creative artists and encourage our students to explore all that the College and NYC have to offer. Co-curricular minors in Drama Therapy, Arts for Communities, Music, and Arts Management can complement the BFA majors in Acting, Musical Theatre, and Design and Technical Production, and the BA major in Theatre Arts.
Performance opportunities include mainstage and studio productions such as The Balcony, Love and Information, Bring It On, 10 out of 12, Blues for Mister Charlie, Electra, On Strivers Row, Machinal, The Laramie Project, Starlight Express, An Enemy of the People, and Oh What a Lovely War. The MMC Directing Projects are performed in the Bordeau Box Theatre each semester. These short, contemporary plays are directed by students in the Directing III class, designed and stage managed by students, and cast with student actors. MMC Playwriting Projects provide student playwrights with an opportunity to hear and see their works-in-progress. Through our Professional Preparation courses in acting and musical theatre, students present audition material in Senior Showcases for select panels of agents and casting directors through which they receive individual personal guidance and advice for starting their professional careers.
MMC Theatre Arts programs are unique in offering specialized opportunities to the qualified student. Theatre faculty teach students through flexible programs in which intensive production experience can be gained. MMC Theatre Arts graduates leave with viable, competitive portfolios. They have made successful careers in theatre, film, and television, and have been accepted into highly competitive graduate programs.
The Theatre Arts Department is committed to creating a culture and curriculum that are ethical and equitable. The Department faculty and staff pledge to develop and implement recruitment strategies, curriculum, pedagogy, and theatre production practices that are anti-racist, anti-sexist, gender, body, ability and LGBTQIA+ inclusive. Systemic discrimination and oppression exist in society, including in the professional theatre; therefore, academic institutions like ours must work diligently to dismantle and reform those systems. The Theatre Arts faculty and staff will engage and collaborate with students in teaching, service, and scholarship that challenges racism, sexism, and all forms of bias and oppression, while also empowering all of us to eradicate these structures. We endeavor to hold our faculty, staff and students accountable to this ongoing work on equity now and into the future.
Admission to the Programs: The BFA Acting and BFA Musical Theatre programs require an audition as part of the application process. The BFA in Design and Technology and the Theatre Arts Program (BA) concentrations in Directing, Writing for the Stage, and Producing & Management require an interview as part of the application process. The Theatre Arts Program (BA) concentrations in Theatre & New Media, and Theatre History and Performance Texts, require a special application as part of the application process. Consult the Theatre Arts department website for more information.
Special Notes: Students may not audit performance and production courses, or start full-year courses in the Spring Semester, without departmental approval. Additional studio fees may be charged for certain performance and production classes to offset costs of maintaining facilities and equipment. For additional information about policies and programs, students should consult the current MMC Theatre Arts Student Handbook, available in the Theatre Office and online on the MMC web site.
| Division: |
Fine and Performing Arts |
| Division Office: |
Nugent Hall, Theatre Office |
| Office Phone: |
212-774-0760 |
| Division Chair: |
Katie Langan, B.A.
klangan@mmm.edu |
| Administrative Coordinator: |
Barbara Tiernan
btiernan@mmm.edu
|
Department Faculty:
Jill C. Stevenson
Professor of Theatre Arts
Chair, Department of Theatre Arts
B.S., Valparaiso University
Ph.D., CUNY Graduate Center
Phone: 212-517-0617
jstevenson@mmm.edu
Barbara Adrian
Professor of Theatre Arts
B.A., James Madison University
M.F.A., Brooklyn College of CUNY
C.M.A., Laban Institute of Movement Studies
Phone: 212-774-0711
badrian@mmm.edu
John Basil
Associate Professor of Theatre Arts
B.S. & M.F.A., Temple University
Phone: 212-774-4874
jbasil@mmm.edu
Emily Clark
Assistant Professor of Theatre Arts
B.A., Marymount Manhattan College
M.Ed., University of La Verne
M.Ph., CUNY Graduate Center
Phone: 646-393-4131
eclark@mmm.edu
Kevin Connell
Professor of Theatre Arts
B.F.A., The Ohio State University
M.F.A., University of California, San Diego
Phone: 212-774-0713
kconnell@mmm.edu
Robert Dutiel
Associate Professor of Theatre Arts
B.S. & M.F.A., University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Phone: 212-774-0763
rdutiel@mmm.edu
Bethany Christine Elkin
Assistant Professor of Theatre Arts
B.A., Marymount Manhattan College
M.F.A., San Diego State University
Phone: 646-393-4136
belkin@mmm.edu
Kenneth Finkle
Assistant Professor of Theatre Arts
B.F.A., NYU Tisch School of the Arts
M.F.A., Columbia University
Phone: 646-393-4134
kfinkle@mmm.edu
Mary R. Fleischer
Professor of Theatre Arts
B.A., SUNY, Purchase
M.A., Hunter College of CUNY
Ph.D., CUNY Graduate Center
Phone: 212-774-0761
mfleischer@mmm.edu
Timothy Johnson
Associate Professor of Theatre Arts
B.M.E., Baldwin-Wallace College
M.F.A., University of Washington
Phone: 212-517-0812
tjohnson3@mmm.edu
Karen Hummel Kinsley
Assistant Professor of Theatre Arts
B.F.A., University of Montana
M.A., CUNY Graduate Center
Phone: 212-774-0747
kkinsley@mmm.edu
Brandon Logan
Visiting Instructor of Theatre Arts
B.F.A., The University of Cincinnati
mlogan@mmm.edu
Michael Mendez
Visiting Instructor of Theatre Arts
B.F.A., University of Arizona
mmendez3@mmm.edu
David Mold
Professor of Theatre Arts
Chair, Division of Fine and Performing Arts
B.F.A., Boston University
M.F.A., The Theatre School, DePaul University
Phone: 212-774-0764
dmold@mmm.edu
Jeffrey A. Morrison
Associate Professor of Theatre Arts
B.A., University of Pennsylvania
M.F.A., University of Wisconsin at Madison
Carson Hall 506
Phone: 212-517-0405
jmorrison@mmm.edu
Ellen Orenstein
Associate Professor of Theatre Arts
B.A., Wesleyan University
M.F.A., University of Washington
Phone: 212-774-4873
eorenstein@mmm.edu
Ray Recht
Professor of Theatre Arts
B.F.A., Carnegie Mellon University
M.F.A., Yale University
Phone: 212-774-0762
rrecht@mmm.edu
Christine Riley
Assistant Professor of Theatre Arts
B.M., Ithaca College
M.M., Arizona State University
Phone: 212-517-0508
criley@mmm.edu
Mark Ringer
Professor of Theatre Arts
B.A. & M.F.A., University of California at Los Angeles
Ph.D., University of California, Santa Barbara
Phone: 212-774-0712
mringer@mmm.edu
Lori Ann Zepp
Assistant Professor of Theatre Arts
B.A., Bennington College
Phone: 212-774-0771
lzepp@mmm.edu
Richard Niles
Professor Emeritus of Theatre Arts
B.F.A., NYU, Tisch School of the Arts
M.F.A., Brooklyn College of CUNY
Ph.D., The Graduate School and University Center, CUNY
Haila Strauss
Professor Emerita of Dance
B.A., Sarah Lawrence College
M.A., Columbia University
hstrauss@mmm.edu
Elizabeth Swain
Professor Emerita of Theatre Arts
B.S., CUNY
M.A., City College, CUNY
Ph.D., The Graduate School and University Center, CUNY
eswain@mmm.edu
Theatre Arts Courses (THTR)