Welcome and thank you for your interest in the School of Theatre and Dance at Kent State University. We hope you find the information provided in this website useful. Contact us directly if we can be of further assistance in answering your questions.

Our School offers the following degrees:  

• BA in Theatre Studies
• BFA degrees in Dance Performance, Dance Education, Design/Technology and Musical Theatre
• MA in Theatre History and Criticism
• MFA degree in Advanced Acting (We also offer a "returning professional" MFA track)
• MFA degree in Design/Technology (concentrations in Costume, Lighting, Scene Design and Theatre Technology)
• We also offer certificate programs in Entertainment Arts and Technologies, including Stage Lighting, Automated Lighting, Stage Scenery, Sound, Stage & Arena Rigging and Event-Based Video Production.

As the Director of the School of Theatre and Dance, I can assure you that Kent is a wonderful university for those interested in the performing arts. A number of individuals with whom you may be familiar are Kent alumni: Arsenio Hall, Michael Keaton, John de Lancie ("Q" of "Star Trek") and Alice Ripley (who recently starred on Broadway in  such productions as Les Miserables, Side Show and  The Rocky Horror Show) to name a few. Additionally, returning professionals such as Ken Howard (star of the Broadway musical, 1776 and TV's "The White Shadow") and Mark La Mura (eleven-year veteran of TV's "All My Children") completed M.F.A. degrees at Kent.

Each year we invite a guest professional director to work with our students.  This is possible through the generosity of the Roe Green Guest Director Series.  Roe Green is a local arts patron and activist. In 2003, the Roe Green Foundation pledged to donate $25,000 a year for five years to the School of Theatre and Dance in order to establish a guest directors series.  We are fortunate to be able to offer this diverse opportunity for our students.

The William H. Zucchero Guest Artist Series offers support for guest designers, choreographers, performers and other artists to work with students in a variety of learning experiences including lectures, performances and public forums.

Our faculty is a diverse group of educators who are professionally active in theatre and dance production and scholarship and genuinely dedicated to the art forms of dance and theatre. Our School also produces Porthouse Theatre each summer on the beautiful grounds of Blossom Music Center. This professional theatre employs both equity actors, non-equity performers and students for a season of theatre classics and major American musicals. Auditions are conducted nationally each year. I urge you to learn more about our program by exploring our web site and by contacting me at cstillin@kent.edu. I would be happy to answer any questions or send you additional information. If you would like to attend one of our productions, please contact our box office at (330) 672-2497 Monday through Friday from noon until 5:00 p.m.

Cordially,

Cynthia R. Stillings
Director, School of Theatre and Dance