Theatre Arts

The theatre arts program is designed to develop the talented students to their full potential and encourage professionalism in all levels of theatre work. The curriculum includes theatre performance, with emphasis on acting technique, improvisation, creative playwriting and directing, and technical theatre, with emphasis on scenic and lighting design and staging methodology.

Mission Statement

The Theatre Department provides opportunities for talented students to develop their artistic and academic abilities to the fullest extent, instilling in each student a working knowledge of the theatre arts and a greater appreciation for all the arts.

Departmental Description

The Harrison Arts Center Theatre Department consists of two tracks of study. A student may choose to focus on either performance or technical theater. Courses are offered in acting, design, stagecraft, theatre history, dramatic theory, directing, and playwriting. Emphasis is placed on the development of self-discipline, group participation, research and writing, and time management skills.

  Faculty

Ilene Fins - advanced acting, directing and playwriting instructor. B.A., Clemson University; MFA, University of North Carolina at Greensboro..

William  Kimble - technical theatre and stagecraft instructor. MFA, Technical Design and Production, Florida State University

Performance Opportunities

The Harrison Arts Center Theatre Department offers several performance opportunities. All theatre students are required to audition for the all school musical held in the fall of each year. In the spring semester, the theatre department produces a main stage production of a classical or contemporary piece of theatre. In addition to these main-stage productions, all new students are featured in a new student showcase during the spring semester, and the senior class writes, directs, designs, and produces an evening of one-act plays in May. Students also have the opportunity to present work with public presentations of their scene work from acting class and public readings of scripts written in playwriting class. Further performance opportunities can be gained by joining The International Thespian Society. Thespians allow students the opportunity to showcase their talents at both district and state festivals each year. Students compete in both performance and technical events.

Students on the technical theatre track have numerous opportunities to demonstrate their talents. The technical theatre program provides the backstage support of all events at the Harrison Arts Center. Students receive practical skills in all aspects of technical theatre including costume design, light design, scenic design, sound design, stage management, basic scenery and prop construction, and backstage production support.

Departmental Requirements

Each term all theatre students are required to participate in juries. The purpose of the jury
is to monitor each student’s progress. If a student does not pass his or her jury, he or she will be placed on either artistic warning or artistic probation for the following term. The student will then have until the next jury to make up the deficiency in their progress. Jury scores are calculated on a point basis, with probation and warning determined by a score that is an average of the theatre faculty’s individual scores. Students are also required to log
additional production hours each term outside of the regular school day. Considered part of the jury process, these hours are co-curricular.

Student History

Harrison Theatre Department Alumni have attended many prestigious post secondary schools, such as Carnegie Mellon University, Cincinnati Conservatory, Tisch School of the Arts – NYU, Columbia University, Boston Conservatory, Florida State University, Meadows School of the Arts - SMU, and Ithaca College. Alumni have appeared in numerous stage productions in New York and throughout the United States and Canada, as well as national commercials, television shows, film work, national tours of Ragtime, The Lion King and Rent, and the Broadway production of Rent.