The University has signed a five-year partnership agreement with Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, Conn.
Under the agreement, students will mount three to four productions per year at Long Wharf, using the theater's shops for technical production of the plays.
"We are excited about the opportunities that this new partnership will provide our students and the delighted to be working with such a highly regarded New Haven institution as Long Wharf Theatre," said Kathleen McCourt, senior vice president for academic and student affairs.
"Long Wharf Theatre has a long tradition as an incubator of talent, and we look forward to working with Quinnipiac's theater department in training the next generation of theater professionals," said Joan Channick, Long Wharf Theatre's managing director. "Having these students in our midst will add a wonderful new dimension to the life of this theater."
"The opportunity to work with Long Wharf Theatre, and to bring our work to the community of New Haven, will help us to serve and broaden our mission, as well as offering our students the benefit of working within a professional theater context," said Crystal Brian, chair of the visual and performing arts department in the College of Liberal Arts. "We are delighted at this new partnership with an institution as renowned as Long Wharf Theatre."
The goal of the University's newly minted theater major is to immerse students in all aspects of the art - from acting and directing to lighting and stage design. Theater for Community productions seek to create a forum for discussion that promotes awareness and change. The guiding conviction is that theater can be a tool to foster student engagement with the local, national and global community.
"Theater for Community is committed to creating original and adapted scripts that focus on the process of building community," Brian said. "Our productions strive to bring people of diverse backgrounds and perspectives together in order to explore our common humanity."
Long Wharf production staff will lend their expertise to theater students by supervising technical production for internships and classes. Students will have the opportunity to earn credits while working side-by-side with Long Wharf professionals in all aspects of the theater business - technical, administrative, artistic and educational.
Long Wharf Theatre will also advise the University on the creation of artist-in-residence programs, special lecture series, master classes and workshops, creating diverse opportunities for students to learning from theater professionals at the highest rank of the industry.
The first production staged under the agreement was Euripides' "Medea," an ancient Greek tragedy of jealousy and revenge, starring Mary Vreeland. The play, which ran from Feb. 27 to March 2 on the main stage at Long Wharf Theatre, was directed by theater professor Kelly Morgan. This was the first Theater for Community production to be performed on Long Wharf Theatre's main stage.