<p>Could anyone please comment on the theater/drama at Whitman? I am interested in what kinds of performance opportunities they have but more importantly i would love to know about the quality of professors, the dedication of the students in the program, and the quality of the acting classes...or anything else that might be helpful regarding this topic. Thanks!</p>
<p>I can't speak to the teachers/coursework, but do know that they do 12 major productions a year (more than most LACs), that there is a very high level of support both from on campus and the local community, and that grads seem to readily go on to jobs they enjoy. Also, non-theater majors are very actively involved, cast, etc, so this makes for a kind of level of diversity and engagement in the program that seems really healthy and creative to me. Productions seem challenging and various and there is an annual one-act play contest (of student written productions), sponsored by a physics prof and going into its 20th year. You can go to the school website and look up the current (and historical) list of productions to get an idea of what they do...</p>
<p>Ditto above, but the number of plays is usually 8 or so. (Big list of seasons here to show the variety: Whitman</a> College -- Harper Joy Theatre -- Season and Ticket Info)</p>
<p>Participating in a play gets you a credit, with a max of 16 over your 4 years.</p>
<p>The courses I've had so far (2 semesters of Play Production) have been very high level, with a good balance of lecturing (~2hrs a week) and hands on labs (~4 hrs).</p>
<p>How are the theater facilities? Can you actually get into the classes? Do the theater students become the crowd you hang out with? Do they do “big” productions?</p>
<p>At parent’s weekend I went to a play with my son, one of his dorm section mates was in it. I was blown away by the professionalism; huge cast, elaborate period costuming, fabulous sets, great actors and a seamless production. </p>
<p>They have construction going on to extend the theater complex, but I’m not sure what exactly they are constructing. The current theater is quite nice and obviously adaptable to many needs.</p>
<p>As far as theater kids hanging with theater kids, I’d say sure that happens, but my son’s dorm mate, the actor, hangs out a lot with all the guys in his dorm section. The freshman dorm connections seems as strong as individual interests in bringing people together.</p>
<p>The theater program is quite amazing for a college of this size and majors seem to do well for themselves professionally. Another fun thing is that because it is not a huge theater department (like say Northwestern), there is room for students who are not majors but love theater to participate as well. The means there is not a group of exclusively “theater people” and “not theater people” but rather a community of folks who do or support theater and it makes for a balanced and interesting theater world. And it seems like everyone goes to productions–including lots of townfolk.</p>