Founded in 1937 by theatre's luminary Dr. Monroe Lippman, the theatre program at Tulane University today remains seriously dedicated to the art of live dramatic theatre. Through decades, the program has graduated many students of the art and mounted hundreds of memorable productions around the campus. Sparking national attention, its creative endeavors have included the publication, through 1967, of the respected and acclaimed Tulane Drama Review.

Today the program is housed on the Newcomb campus in a facility completed in 1996 through a generous donation by Mrs. W. Kent McWilliams. Since 1984, imaginative productions have been staged in the Albert J. Lupin Memorial Experimental Theater proving the creative skill of a strong design faculty. Tulane students have been frequent winners in the regional design competition of the American College Theatre Festival. Its 1990 production of Craig Lucas's Reckless received Honorable Mention as one of the best collegiate theatre productions in the country.

The acting faculty represent professionals with a wide range of experience including specialization's in musical composition, musical theater, film and other media performance, dialects, acting Shakespeare, and clowning and improvisation. Their stage credits include acting or directing in such venues as Theater X in Milwaukee, Yale Repertory Theatre, The Oregon Shakespeare, The Utah Shakespeare Festival, The Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, and the Portland Stage Company. Some film and television credits include Tightrope, Storyville, The Big Easy, Orleans, and A Gathering of Men.

Joined by the Newcomb Dance faculty in 1989, Tulane's acting program has been further enhanced with professional stage choreography by the dance faculty who also teach special offerings in movement for actors. Our Theatre Lab provides students with the beginnings of on-camera training and intense vocal study. Recent guest artists who have appeared on campus to speak with majors include Brian Batt, Theatre 122's Jane Comfort and Company, Blythe Danner, Bruce Paltrow, and Anne Bogart.

A faculty with Broadway, Off-Broadway, Regional Theatre, film and television experience provides the enthusiastic student multiple opportunities to learn. Challenging undergraduate programs within a liberal arts environment offer students involvement in and appreciation of the performing arts at a high level of excellence. Those students interested in pursuing professional careers in Acting, Directing, Design, Technical Theatre, History, Theory and Criticism can also find good preparation for the specialized training of graduate schools.

Explore the Theatre Program:
Academic Programs in Theatre
Production
After Tulane
Theatre Courses