THE BOX
www.clemson.edu/PerfArts
A community of creative, driven students. A faculty of dedicated, working professionals. Immerse yourself in theatre at Clemson and launch into a career in your art.
THINK OUTSIDE
THE BOX
WELCOME Our mission is clear – preparing students for lifelong careers in the theatre. Our curriculum, productions, and professional training educates and inspires future theatre artists and audiences. Our work enriches our university, our community, our state, and our nation. At Clemson you will do more than study your craft, you’ll actively put your skills to the test everyday. Theatre at Clemson, a part of the Production Studies in Performing Arts major, will engage you in the study of theatre, ensuring that you receive a marketable, broadbased, liberal arts education. Whether you are on a journey to act, direct, design, write, or become a technician, there is a place for you at Clemson.
Please vist our website to learn more.
www.clemson.edu/PerfArts
ADMISSION Admission to theatre concentration at Clemson is by audition/interview only. No cattle call here. We spend time with you on your audition date. We want to make sure that Clemson is the right fit for you and vice versa. Your audition is tailored to your particular skill set: • Actors present two contrasting monologues and, if you are a singer, 16 bars of a song. • Designers, directors, and technicians share a portfolio of your work.
• Playwrights bring writing samples. For additional information about our audition and interview process, visit http://www.clemson.edu/PerfArts/admissions/ TheatreAuditions.php
The Department of Performing Arts offers talent-based scholarship opportunities to majors.
MELISSA ARCTIC by Craig Wright
“I am so grateful and excited to be part of a unique program that pushes me beyond just the classroom to preapare me for a FUTURE CAREER.” -Elizabeth Haynes, (’17)
CLEMSON PLAYERS
The Clemson Players is the production arm of the theatre program. We produce four shows each year in both the 100-seat Bellamy Theatre and the 968-seat Brooks Theatre. Our plays and musicals offer a variety of playwrights, periods, genres, and design styles. Recent productions Eurydice Big Love Vincent In Brixton Melissa Arctic Working The Laramie Project Late: a cowboy song
2015-2016 Season Loot A Lie of the Mind She Loves Me God’s Country
COURSES ACTING & DIRECTING Acting I and II Stage Directing I and II Musical Theatre Vocal Performance Voice for the Stage Improvisation Stage Movement for Actors Advanced Scene Study for Actors Creative Drama DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY Stage Design Scene Painting Costume Design Costume Technology Stage Lighting I and II Introduction to Computer Drafting Stage Makeup Techniques Production Studies Stagecraft Stage Management Theatre Practicum LITERATURE Structure of Drama Dramatic Literature I and II THEATRE HISTORY Theatre History I and II African-American Theatre I and II Survey of Broadway Musicals I and II
PA CORE CURRICULUM
Students majoring in Production Studies in Performing Arts will explore a core curriculum that includes courses in professional development, selfmarketing and promotion, portfolio development, career planning, and arts administration.
OTHER OPTIONS Theatre Appreciation Applied Theatre for Business and Industry I and II Playwriting Independent Studies Creative Inquiry
AREZZO, ITALY
LONDON, ENGLAND
There are numerous study abroad opportunities as well. In recent years, Clemson Theatre students have studied abroad in Italy, Austria, Germany, France, Spain, and Taiwan with future possibilities in London beginning with the 2015-16 school year.
STUDY ABROAD
LYON, FRANCE
VIENNA, AUSTRIA
THEATRE
FACULTY WORKING by Studs Terkel
Tony Penna - Stage Lighting Director of Theatre MFA Boston University BA Hanover College Carol Collins - Playwriting MFA Yale School of Drama MA Eastern Michigan University David Hartmann - Scenic Design MFA University of Minnesota BFA University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Kendra Johnson - Costume Design MFA University of Tennessee-Knoxville BA James Madison University Matthew Leckenbusch - Technical Director MA Winthrop Univeristy BA Elon University Shannon Robert - Scenic Design MFA Florida State University BA and BFA William Carey University Kerrie Seymour - Acting MFA Trinity Repertory Conservatory BA St. Bonaventure University Richard St. Peter - Directing & Theatre History PhD Texas Tech University MFA Virgina Commonwealth University BA Christopher Newport University
Contact Information 864-656-3043 Perf-Arts-L@clemson.edu
ALUMNI Clemson Performing Arts alumni go on to do great things. Our alumni have worked at Carnegie Hall, The Old Globe, Spoleto Festival USA, Flat Rock Playhouse, and many other theatres across the country. We also have students on national and international tours. Many of our students pursue graduate school and internships when they leave the Clemson program. Our alumni have studied/interned at Carnegie Mellon University, Columbia University, Northwestern University, University of California at San Diego, and The Juilliard School.
KENDALL SHERWOOD (’09) The Clemson Performing Arts program gave me the opportunity to explore all areas of the field. I came in as an actor, dabbled in production, left as a playwright, and now work as a television writer. Thankfully, the program allowed me to craft my own road, even as the endpoint changed. I was also exposed to different aspects of producing, garnering skills I find very valuable when I’m working on set as a writer on TNT’s Major Crimes.
KATIE JONES & LAURIE JONES (’04, ’08)
SHAYAN SHOJAEE (’09)
Since graduation, Katie has worked with numerous theatre companies in Chicago, New York, and Florida, as a director, performer, puppeteer, and teacher. In Chicago, along with several other Clemson alumni, siblings Katie and Laurie started Wishbone Theatre Collective, now in its seventh season. Wishbone’s longest running play, SPANDEX, has been performed at fringe festivals in Chicago and Edinburgh, Scotland, and even made its Southern premiere at Clemson last fall. Laurie went on to get her MA in Human Rights at the University of York with an emphasis in Storytelling. She currently works at Brave New Films, a social justice documentary film company in Los Angeles. For the past two years, Katie has been in graduate school at Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. She will graduate in May with an MFA in Contemporary Performance.
Shayan is an actor based in New York. Following his graduation from Clemson, he was an acting apprentice at Actors Theatre of Louisville, where he appeared in the Humana Festival production of Heist! Since then, Shayan has appeared in episodes of Madam Secretary, Elementary, and Unforgettable. He is a cofounder of BrownNTann, a company that serves to produce and promote artists.
Christopher Joel Onken (’11) Christopher was an Associate Company Member with Playhouse on the Square
(featured in regional premieres of Other Desert Cities, Grace, The Lyons, and 4000 Miles) and an Acting/Teaching Intern with Orlando Shakespeare Theater (in Les Miserables, To Kill a Mockingbird, and The Merry Wives of Windsor). He has worked with Thin Air Theatre Company in Colorado and The Warehouse Theatre in Greenville, SC, among others.
Erin Lovelace (’10) Erin is an actress based in Chicago. She has appeared in commercials for Vidal
Sassoon, Goose Island Beer, and Shape Magazine, among others. Erin has worked with Janus Theatre Group (Pride and Prejudice), Endpoint Theatre (Fairways, The Musical), and Wishbone Theatre Collective (various credits).
Josh Carter (’14) Before graduating, Josh worked as a stage management intern at Ocean State Theatre Company in Rhode Island (The Sound of Music, 9 to 5 the Musical, God of Carnage). He spent a summer as the development intern at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago. Josh now works full-time as the Development Assistant at the Goodman. He has also stage managed at The Warehouse Theatre in Greenville, SC.
Hillary Porter (’11) Right before graduating Clemson, Hillary booked the national tour of the musical CATS playing the role of Rumpleteazer. Upon graduation, she toured the U.S. and Canada, ultimately ending with the show’s final tour in its 30th anniversary. Most recently, Hillary was seen spreading Christmas cheer throughout the U.S., performing in her second national tour with ELF the Musical!
“There’s always something to work on, and thanks to some of the new technology and the opportunities for design we have, creative possibilities are ENDLESS.” -Wylder Cooper, (’17)
Department of Performing Arts 221 Brooks Center for the Performing Arts Box 340525 Clemson, SC 29634-0525
Visit Us: www.clemson.edu/PerfArts
Devario Simmons (’13) Devario is completing his MFA in costume design at Virginia Commonwealth University, where he is the university’s costume shop manager. Devario was the costume designer for Man of La Mancha at Theatre VCU and served as assistant to Toni-Leslie James for A Brownsville Song at the Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, CT.