Drama

Randolph-Macon offers a major in Drama and a major in Arts Management with a Drama Emphasis, as well as a minor in theatre. Many students elect to intern with a professional regional theatre through the department's internship program. For instance, students have worked at TheatreIV and with the Barksdale Theatre in Richmond in a variety of capacities from scene shop to stage management to development; academic credit is available. The majoring student receives a distributed, well-rounded basic education in drama. Courses in acting, directing, design, theatre history, and dramatic literature are required, as well as elective courses in music and art. A central part of the degree requirements is participation in productions.

Overall, students emerge with a good basic grounding in theatre, and are reasonably prepared for graduate work in the field. More importantly, students can continue to develop their theatrical talents in a positive environment.

There are many opportunities for every student, every interest. However, you do not need to be a major, nor do you need to take theatre courses to participate in theatre at Randolph-Macon. Auditions and crews are open to all students regardless of major or year.

We do numerous productions for a college of our size, usually five a year: typically we open the fall with a smaller show on Parents' Weekend, then do a major production in November, followed by "A Christmas Carol" in December; typically during the January Term, a student directed play is in rehearsal for presentation in February, followed up by another major production in April. Recent productions have ranged from contemporary tragedy (A View from the Bridge) to classic farce ("The Doctor in Spite of Himself"), from musicals (Cabaret and City of Angels) to Shakespeare (A Midsummer Night's Dream), from regional premieres (La Nona) to recent titles from London and Broadway (The Cripple of Inishmaan and Picasso at the Lapin Agile).

There is also a social/service organization for students interested in theatre: membership in Drama Guild is awarded for 40 or more hours of participation in any on-stage or off-stage capacity within a semester. Members are expected to help with current productions. There are work-parties, strike nights, and picnics. For each semester of such participation, students may receive one hour of graded credit; such participation is required of majors and minors in theatre.