When the idea of producing A Midsummer Night's Dream on the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama's main stage was brought up, the discussion began with how well-known the play is ...

Associate Professor of Acting, Tony McKay, directs "He Who Gets Slapped" by Russian revolutionary writer Leonid Andreyev. "He Who Gets Slapped" will play in the Philip Chosky Theater September 30 - October 9. The play focuses on the betrayals and defeats of Paul Beaumont, a radical scientist, who, from years of embarrassment and deceit, becomes a clown whose act consists of him getting slapped every evening by other clowns ...

Matt Gray, Assistant Professor of Acting, directs Shakespeare’s classic Richard III in a production he calls “a heightened modern reflection – not a realistic, historic, or representational reproduction.” Matt explained, “[Head of School] Peter Cooke approached me after the inauguration of Barack Obama and asked if I would be interested in directing a modern version of Richard III.” He continued, “We were interested in exploring transitions of power, pageantry, old political hatreds, and rivalries being re-ignited.” ...

Abigail Rosen Holmes, Carnegie Mellon’s new Associate Professor of Lighting Design, was just listed in the top 50 most powerful people in Entertainment Technology by Live Design Magazine. Abbey was exposed to performing arts at an early age. Her mother was a contemporary dancer and professor of dance. The performances Abbey attended inspired a passion for exploring lighting’s many possibilities...

Casey Roche, a leader in the Production Technology field, and currently affiliated with Fisher Technical Services, Inc., led a weeklong workshop with the School of Drama’s Production Technology Management students in the programming and operation of the Navigator stage automation package, which the School of Drama recently acquired...

Leigh Silverman, the youngest woman to ever direct on Broadway and accomplished alumna of the undergraduate directing program at the School of Drama, recently returned to her alma mater as a guest speaker...

Award-winning playwright Mac Wellman shared his inimitable writing style and wry sense of humor in workshops with Carnegie Mellon’s Dramatic Writing and Dramaturgy students...

Carnegie Mellon faculty members Michael Chemers and Jed Harris have teamed up to present a new adaptation of Nikolai Gogol’s comedy The Inspector General, which runs in the Chosky Theatre February 18-27...

This February, Carnegie Mellon’s New Works Series will launch the premieres of four new plays written by second-year Dramatic Writing M.F.A. playwriting students. Dramatic Writing Option Coordinator Rob Handel enthused, “The New Works Series is central to the experience of the playwrights in the graduate program...

Gary and Robin Ungar, parents of alumnus Jeremy Ungar, have made a generous gift to the School of Drama with their donation of The Criterion Collection, an extensive library of cinematic masterworks, to the directing program. This is the first time that an institution has received the entire Criterion Collection...

“T.V. Project” is a highlight of the Camera Lab class, giving students from a variety of disciplines the opportunity to apply skills within the television medium. Directors, designers, and actors collaborated to produce six teleplays written by graduate dramatic writing students. Shooting took place in the Wells Video Studio over the weekend of October 10...

On October 12, Carnegie Mellon presented a reading of Tectonic Theater Project’s The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later An Epilogue . The documentary piece is an epilogue to the group’s acclaimed play, The Laramie Project. The first Laramie Project examined the reactions of citizens from Laramie, Wyoming following Matthew Shepard’s brutal murder there in 1998...

CMU School of Drama is pleased to announce the launch of a new three-year Master of Fine Arts degree in Costume Production. The graduate program will prepare students for careers as well-informed, inventive costume artisans. Brian Russman, Assistant Professor of Costume Production, states, “There is a strong industry need for artisans...

Kate Valk, a founding member of the experimental theatre ensemble The Wooster Group, shared her innovative perspective with Carnegie Mellon School of Drama students on October 28 and 29...

Quarterlife Cycle is solo performer Amy Claussen’s autobiographical piece about her childhood in Indonesia, growing up as a six-foot-tall, redheaded expatriate. The show examines classism and racism, and it ran at the Theatres at 45 Bleeker Street this August as part of The New York International Fringe Festival. “Quarterlife Cycle has been an extraordinary culminating experience...

Show business involves a lot of “trying,” Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama guest director Daniel Daniel says. “The work always continues in theatre. You’re always attempting to achieve some perfection that you’re trying to arrive at,” Daniel said. His production of the Pulitzer Prize-winning musical, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, runs in the Philip Chosky Theatre November 12-21...

Painter, sculpter, papier-mâché artist, carpenter, shopper – these are just a few of the many hats Jonathan Ward wears as Properties Master of the School of Drama. After graduating from Towson University with a degree in directing, Jonathan applied for an apprenticeship at Steppenwolf Theatre Company. His first choice was the artistic management apprenticeship. “For my second choice, I thought...

Carnegie Mellon’s production of The Grapes of Wrath will be presented in the Philip Chosky Theater October 1-10. School of Drama Acting Option Coordinator and Professor of Acting, Barbara MacKenzie-Wood, directs the sweeping play, which was adapted by Frank Galati from John Steinbeck’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. The story follows the Joad family’s struggles as they journey from the Oklahoma dustbowl to California in search of work...

An impressive group of emerging Carnegie Mellon School of Drama alumni have joined creative forces in The Greenwood Tree a new musical with music and concept by Will Reynolds (’05), being presented as a part of the prestigious New York Music Theatre Festival this September and October...

The Carnegie Mellon School of Drama congratulates Dean Poynor and Marque Franklin-Williams as the winners of the 2009 Sloan Screenwriting Competition. The competition honors screenplays in which science and technology feature prominently within the story...

Rob Handel, the new Option Coordinator of Dramatic Writing, states his mission as, “train[ing] playwrights who are leaders in theatre. Theatre needs more leaders.” Handel has already proven that playwrights can flourish in leadership roles...

This year's Carnegie Mellon Drama Pre-College Program is one of the largest ever with almost 150 students enrolled. "It speaks to the strength and reputation of our Drama Pre-College Program, that despite the hard economic times, we have incredibly talented high school students from all of over the country, continuing to enroll in our program," says Drama Pre-College Co-Director, Maria Stoy....

Renowned School of Drama alumni, such as actors Patrick Wilson, Dagmara Dominczyk, Billy Porter, Tamara Tunie, and School of Music alum, Manu Narayan all visited the School of Drama in April as part of an all day event which included workshops and discussions with students. Acclaimed writer, director, producer, and School of Drama alum, Dan Green, (ER, West Wing) was also in attendance, along with Mike Reiss, a founding writer of the Simpsons...

Since the launch of the internet, the way that consumers receive media has completely changed. What does it take to create for the age we live in now?...

Who do the stars turn to when they want to shine their brightest? The answer is expert Lighting Designer Abigail Rosen Holmes. Holmes, an internationally known lighting artist, joins the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama faculty this fall as Associate Professor of Lighting Design. ...

Nine School of Drama Alumni have been nominated for their performances or productions by the 75th Annual Drama League Awards. The Drama League Awards are the oldest theatrical honors in America and are chosen by thousands of Drama League members nationwide who attend Broadway and Off-Broadway productions. Winners will be announced May 15. ...

The legendary theatre director and producer Gordon Davidson was on campus this month visiting students and sharing his vision of the American theatre. Davidson was the Founding Artistic Director of the Center Theatre Group in Los Angeles for 38 seasons, guiding over 300 productions to the stage...

The WQED Television Project was an incredible success again this year. The theme for this year’s project was “last chance.” Graduate dramatic writing students each wrote ten minute long teleplays inspired by this theme, and the given location of a diner....

The Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama presents “A Bite of Brecht” Festival, a celebration of influential 20th century director, playwright and dramaturg Bertolt Brecht, April 16-25. The festival will include a reading a staged reading of “Brecht on Broadway,” by Holger Teschke former dramaturg of the Berliner Ensemble, along with audience talkbacks, a VIP roundtable discussion, student installations and the cornerstone performance of “Tough Nut Cabaret,” featuring highlights from Brecht’s repertoire.

Milan Stitt, the Raymond W. Smith Professor of Dramatic Writing and head of the Dramatic Writing Program at Carnegie Mellon’s School of Drama, died today, March 12, of liver cancer. He was 68. ...

Each year dancers, choreographers, lighting designers, costume designers and stage managers come together to create Dance Light – the largest inter-disciplinary project within the School of Drama...

When Dr. Alexandar Iliev speaks, his voice is calm and relaxed. But don’t let his disarming lilt fool you, this man has seen the world, and knows more than he lets on. This past month, “Sasha” Iliev spent a week with CMU undergraduate actors and directors working on all aspects of movement, both for theatre and for life. ...

Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Drama presents Terry Johnson’s adaptation of Edward Ravenscroft’s The London Cuckolds Feb. 20-Feb. 28 in the university’s Philip Chosky Theater. Each husband in The London Cuckolds believes he has discovered the most effective method of securing his wife’s fidelity; the first relies on innocence, the second on wit and the third on piety....

Spring may be a long way off in Pittsburgh, but new plays can be seen sprouting up at the School of Drama, even on these cold February weekends. This year, four exciting new works will receive their world premieres. Though the engagements are limited, these shows represent months of creative efforts by MFA playwrights, MFA directors, and undergraduate designers, actors, and production students. ...

“I think the primary goal of theatre school is to open imaginative windows,” said Peter Cooke, the new Head of the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama. I had the chance to speak with Cooke on a recent weekday morning as sunlight streamed through the windows of his new office. Cooke comes to Carnegie Mellon from the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in Sydney, Australia, where he was Deputy Director and Head of Design. ...

Tuesday January 20th, 2009 marked an historic day in the lives of all Americans as the Inauguration of President Obama took place to a record crowd in Washington, D.C. People all across the country took a moment out of their day to participate in an event that generations of Americans will write about and reflect upon for years to come....

During the spring semester of each year, the School of Drama stops classes for one week and opens it's stages to students for their own original work. This ritual known as Playground has become one of the most exciting and entertaining events of the busy calendar year...

Have you ever wondered what it was like to fly? This fall, School of Drama students learned firsthand the amount of work that goes in to that deceptively simple stage direction, “She floats up, off the ground, and out of sight.” ...

Into the Woods, directed by Kent Gash (82), played to sold out audiences on the Drama School’s Chosky Stage from November 14-22nd. Gash is the Associate Artistic Director of The Alliance Theatre at the Woodruff...

This academic year brings a new face to the School of Drama as critically acclaimed director, Marianne Weems, steps into her role as Head Graduate Directing. She comes to Carnegie Mellon University from New York City, where she co-founded The Builders Association and has served as Artistic Director for the company since its inception in 1994. ...

Music Theatre students at Carnegie Mellon University recently had the opportunity to partner with professionals in a workshop production of a brand new musical called Bubble Boy...

Each year the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation grants two screenwriting awards to the CMU Graduate Dramatic Writers for an outstanding screenplay that depicts science and/or scientists in a positive light. The awards are substantial, with first prize at $25,000 and second prize at $10,000. ...

The audition process for entrance to Carnegie Mellon’s professional undergraduate acting program is a long drawn out one . . . for the faculty.   Known as the audition tour around the School of Drama, members of the acting, directing, design, and production technology and management faculty hit the “road” to find fresh talent all over the country.  According to Acting Option Coordinator, Barbara MacKenzie-Wood, “We’re not looking for any particular type; we’re just looking for good talent.”  ...

The Marquis Theatre will be the Broadway home of the feisty office workers who are "just a step on the bossman's ladder" in the Dolly Parton-Patricia Resnick musical comedy 9 to 5, producer Robert Greenblatt announced July 15. As previously announced, 9 to 5: The Musical will star four-time Emmy Award winner and Tony Award nominee Allison Janney as Violet, Stephanie J. Block as Judy, Megan Hilty as Dorelee, and two-time Tony Award nominee Marc Kudisch as Mr. Hart. (Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Parton and Dabney Coleman played the respective roles in the movie.)

From writer’s pitches to the final taping sessions, Carnegie Mellon University’s spring TV Project is an “actual, living, professional experience,” notes Shirley Saldamarco, who originally spearheaded the collaboration with Pittsburgh Public television station WQED in 1990.  While the TV Project, originally implemented in the late 1980s by Cletus Anderson, was started to allow writers, directors, actors, and designers to experience a simulated television shoot, it has become more of the real thing since its connection with WQED. 

In its fifth year, Playground:  A Festival of Independent Student Work presented forty-three performances on the Carnegie Mellon University campus April 3-5, 2008.  “Far up on the list of special and significant experiences each year,” School of Drama Head Elizabeth Bradley called Playground an incubator for theatre students at Carnegie Mellon.  She remarked, “During the saturation of the next two and a half days, I come to feel I know you [the students] differently.” 

School of Drama Head Elizabeth Bradley remarked on those litmus test moments experienced by every drama student during the course of a challenging and fulfilling school year.  “Each of you took a risk, engaged in something unpredictable . . . showed high-octane bravura through a sense of collective collaboration.”  While only a selection of students received awards, Bradley enthusiastically congratulated all in the School of Drama for “exceeding your grasp” and demonstrating “giftedness extraordinary to see.”

The actors often found themselves competing with outside distractions in performance, which included loud music playing by nearby businesses, loud humming machines, unplanned vehicles passing by, and an extremely loud fountain shooting out water.  Ironically, these distractions could be compared in a way to the ones no doubt experienced by actors performing traveling commedia in the 16th through 18th centuries. 

Two undergrad directing alums, Leigh Silverman and Bob MacGrath, nominated for Drama Desk Awards!

During his recent visit to Carnegie Mellon University Antoni Cimolino, General Director of the Stratford Festival of Canada, encouraged School of Drama directing students to look beneath the surface of their work to the hidden wealth of meaning possible in well-crafted productions. “Entertainment is the status quo,” he admonished. “There has to be something inside the sugar coating.” Finding that something is what has made Cimolino’s professional career so remarkable. 

The Carnegie Mellon School of Drama will be presenting two Commedia works, both opening this week, and both running concurrently.  Servant of Two Masters and Scapin will not only be performed on Carnegie Mellon’s campus--the College of Fine Arts lawn and in the Moorewood Parking Lot to be precise, but also on the road throughout the community.  The two plays will also be coming to Station Square, Hartwood Acres Park, and South Side Works. 

Having Van Dyke at Carnegie Mellon was a treat for both actors and designers.  As Billy Carden of Ensemble Studio Theatre remarked, “Her generous, luminous spirit pretty much infuses everything she does.  She is recognized by many as an important force in African-American theatre today.”

“The freedom of expression in combination with the passion and enthusiasm of the work is pure joy.  I have loved collaborating with Judy for twenty years and now welcome the continuing collaboration with Susan and Tina.  We are the Ladies of the Dance!”

“Ellen Lauren was a breath of fierce air.  Her unwavering discipline, high standards, and compelling confidence reminded us all of how important our work is and that it is truly art.  Not only is what we do worth doing, it is necessary, and takes a tremendous amount of focus, commitment, and passion to do the job right,” remarked Junior Shelby Lewis.  “I recall her saying, ‘We must do only the best work for our audience.  They need us to.  They don’t know how sick they are.’”

LD: How do you all approach your designs if projection is slated to be a heavy component?

NS: I want to talk to the director about what the bigger idea is: How can we actually harness this so that it becomes another character in the production, and it doesn't become a backdrop situation?

Carnegie Mellon’s School of Drama has an exciting and varied season lined up for 2008-2009!

The goal is to make students practiced and professional, training them in an environment as rigourous and challenging as summer stock or Broadway theatres.

Carnegie Mellon School of Drama Alum, Amy Kaissar, returned to campus recently to hold a workshop for the directors on starting their own theatre company.  Kaiser graduated from the BFA directing program in 1999, and within half a year, she and fellow alum Rachel Tillman Smith had succeeded in getting the first show of their new theater company on its feet.  That theatre company is the Epiphany Theater Company, and over the last decade Epiphany has been a home for new work in New York City.  After graduating, the two spent time informally planning, as well as defining a vision for the company.  Kaissar recalls, “The idea really was to do one show and see how it went, and then off of that show, we continued from there.” 

Roberta Valderrama, Carnegie Mellon School of Drama alum, began her second season on TBS’s popular late-night comedy series 10 Items or Less.  The show’s formula is part sitcom, part improv.  “All of the dialogue is improvised,” says John Lehr, lead actor and co-creator.  It combines improvisation with a loose script as it delves into the offbeat lives of grocery story employees.

“Can it hold the audience’s attention?” was of chief concern to National Playwriting Program adjudicator Eric Prince when The Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF) Region II convened on the Carnegie Mellon University campus from January 2 – 6, 2008.  The goal of the event was to celebrate creative achievements of college and university theaters in Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania with workshops, productions, and competitions in acting, directing, design, and playwriting....

The Graduate playwrights and screenwriters were in for a treat when writer, Jeffrey Stepakoff, spent a weekend with them at the end of October.  Stepakoff, a Carnegie Mellon School of Drama graduate, has worked in television for the last twenty years, and his book, Billion-Dollar Kiss: The Kiss That Saved Dawson’s Creek and Other Adventures in TV Writing was published this past summer.  Stepakoff who has worked on such shows as The Wonder Years, Sisters, and Dawson’s Creek, shared a wealth of information both technical and personal with students about his years in the business. 

New York Times theatre critic Ben Brantley has referred to the set designs of Narelle Sissons as “eye popping” and “pitch perfect.”  Narelle Sissons is also the new scenography professor at Carnegie Mellon School of Drama.  She grew up all over England as well as Sydney, Australia.  Sissons received her Bachelor’s degree at Central St. Martin’s in London, and her Master’s at the Royal College of Art where she studied production design and did both sets and costumes there.  Sissons notes that scenography “includes sets and costume design.”...

Will Pomerantz (Grad) opens his show "The Blue Flower" A DADA inspired musical at West End Theatre yester (2/4)

Leigh Silverman (Undergrad) opened "Hunting and Gathering" at Primary Stages on (2/3)

Daniella Topol (Undergrad) is in previews for "Sand" at the Women's Project (2/4)

Thesis plays are an integral part of the curriculum for Dramatic Writing students at Carnegie Mellon University.  To help in the process the School of Drama traditionally brings in outside dramaturgical support from theatre professionals.  This year Andrea J. Dymond, Resident Director and former Literary Manager at The Victory Gardens Theater in Chicago, is fulfilling that role by meeting with playwrights, attending readings of the thesis plays, and serving as consultant during the writing process...

"This theater event of the year was staged with breathtaking brio, moving from primal ritual through elegant meditation to ironic debunking. Some of it went clunk, but never for long. A large creative staff worked wonders."

* article featured in the Jan-Feb 2008 issue of The Dramatist magazine.

“The thing about new musicals in development, like Alive at Ten, is that they are constantly evolving and are influenced by whoever is working on the material at the time.  The Carnegie Mellon students were very generous with their talent and these roles will be forever changed because of what they brought to the table.”

Unrequited love, bad boys, mysterious illness, and computer genius visited the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama on October 5-7. All are reoccurring motifs in the work of playwright and soap opera writer Mary Sue Price. At the invitation of Dramatic Writing Head Milan Stitt, Price came to share the secrets of writing for General Hospital with first- and second-year playwrights and screenwriters. “Carnegie Mellon students are always bright, motivated, and fun to teach,” Price shared. “They keep me at the top of my game, as a teacher.”

A bit of the Australian theatre scene came to the Carnegie Mellon University campus on November 9, 2007 in the form of “junkyard theatre” artists The Suitcase Royale.  Originally the brainchild of three theatre-minded Australian bandmates/ college students, The Suitcase Royale was born in August of 2004 with Felix Listens to the World, a tragic comic examination of love featuring one human protagonist, a Russian doll, a teacup voyage, and a shipwreck on a deserted isle. 

Mark Bell is a clown.  He does not wear humongous pants or have a big red nose.  Bell, an instructor from LAMDA in London has brought his inner clown to the School of Drama, and in class, he works to help the senior actors find their inner clowns.  Bell describes the process as “finding your own idiot . . . or how to be an idiot . . . Comedy comes from your failure, so a clown is someone who fails, someone who gets it wrong.  It’s Buster Keaton; it’s Laurel and Hardy.”

The key to the success of the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama Costume Shop, of course, is fine organization.  This professional yet focused air has much to do with the structure behind the multitude of tasks completed on a daily basis, and no small credit for that goes to new Costume Shop Manager Kenneth Chu.

As a self-described festival director, subversive artist, artistic director, and public advocate for the arts, Robyn Archer remarks, “I have absolutely no qualifications for anything I do.”  Her understatement is surprising given the many pies her fingers have plumbed in the Australian theater scene and beyond.  Whether playing Billie Holiday in A Star is Torn or serving as International Artistic Advisor for Luminato, Toronto’s new celebration of arts and culture, Archer’s expertise and enthusiasm shine. 

Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Drama presents the iconic, beloved musical, “Guys and Dolls,” Nov. 29–Dec. 8 at its Philip Chosky Theater.

The musical will be guest directed by Steve Cosson, founding artistic director of The Civilians, a New York-based theater company specializing in documentary cabaret.

Talkin' Broadway: Another Day on Willow Street by Frank Anthony Polito as presented in the New York International Fringe Festival Awarded by Matthew Murray

Leigh Silverman, who helmed Lisa Kron's Well at the Public and on Broadway, will direct the Public Theater premiere of David Henry Hwang's latest work, Yellow Face

The declaration “I’m an optimist,” coming from Byron Easley is clearly indicative of his philosophy of life.  He’s not easy to miss as he steps through the halls of The Purnell Center, smiling and enjoying the serendipity that landed him on his feet here at Carnegie Mellon. 

Vladimir Mirodan, Director of The Drama Centre in London, has been spending a lot of time in the Chosky Theater in the past month, as he put the final touches on a vibrant production of Anton Chekhov’s Three Sisters starring Carnegie Mellon BFA Acting students. 

“Lighting affects completely the way in which we see the world,” says Limauro, “the quality of it, the color of it, the intensity. It changes everything.”

Pittsburgh CLO and Carnegie Mellon School of Drama are proud to announce a new partnership with The ASCAP Foundation and composer/lyricist and Carnegie Mellon alumnus Stephen Schwartz to develop new musicals as part of the Pittsburgh CLO/Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama New Works Program. The ASCAP Foundation and Mr. Schwartz will select musicals for this initiative from participants in the prestigious ASCAP Foundation/Disney Musical Theatre Workshop. The first musical selected for further development through the partnership will be Alive at Ten by Ryan Scott Oliver and Kirsten A. Guenther.

Professor Wendy Arons is a new faculty member in the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama.  This year, she will be teaching Theatre History and Dramaturgy to undergraduate and graduate students with her first semester focusing exclusively on Ancient Greece and Antiquity.  Arons brings practical experience in the theatre combined with extensive scholarship.  She has collaborated with Tony Kushner on The Good Person of Szechuan as a dramaturg, including translating the German to English for the translation.  She has also worked with Robert Falls on The Misanthrope, and collaborated with Ann Bogart on Strindberg Sonata at the San Diego Repertory Theatre. 

A billboard-size Vargas pinup. Lipstick-red stage. The aesthetic is drop-dead sexy in the early scenes of the Shakespeare Theatre Company's "The Taming of the Shrew," with an accent on conspicuous consumption.

As set designer Narelle Sissons decides where to place three rolling glass display cases, each as big and swanky as a window at Tiffany's, she says: "It's very exciting. Like having lots of toys to play with."

“Musical Theatre tends to be about plucky people defying the odds.  It’s just the nature of the thing,” said three time Grammy, and three time Academy Award winner, composer and lyricist, Stephen Schwartz during his brief visit to campus on August 31, 2007.  As a 1968 graduate of Carnegie Tech, Schwartz has proved his own plucky determination time and again with numerous successes on Broadway, including Godspell, Pippin, and Wicked.