Theatre
The Hollins theatre department is a creative community, and we embrace this identity in the classroom, the rehearsal hall, the scene shop, and on stage. We engage in the development of theatre artists, thinkers, and leaders looking to change the future of American theatre. Hollins theatre students actively help to shape departmental vision, policies, and programming, and are encouraged to create student-generated work that expresses their personal creative vision.
Tracks
Major
Theatre major students at Hollins take part in every aspect of theatre production. This includes acting, musical theatre, design, directing, stage management, and technical production. The theatre major has a flexible structure allowing students to focus in one of three areas: acting/directing, design/technology, playwriting/history/dramaturgy or any combination of these three. It’s also designed to make it easy to double major.
Minor
The minor is compatible with many other majors. These include business, communication studies, dance, English, film, history, and philosophy.
Facilities
Our charming 550-seat proscenium theatre is remarkably intimate with an automated rigging system and industry-standard light and audio equipment.
We also have a 99-seat black box theatre that serves as an acting studio and workshop space, as well as fully-functioning scenery and costume shops.
What You'll Learn
Lighting the Way
Elliot Peterson (she/they) graduated from Hollins in 2016. After a summer spent at Heritage Theatre Festival, two lighting apprenticeships (one at Orlando Shakespeare Theater in Florida, and another at Olney Theatre Center in Maryland), Elliot began freelancing as an over-hire electrician for theatres such as Signature Theatre and Arena Stage. They were the master electrician for the pre-Broadway run of the Tony-award winning musical A Strange Loop, and is now working full time as the lighting supervisor at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in Washington, D.C.
Theatre for Social Change
Tatiana Durant is a non-binary, queer theatre artist and activist. Since graduating from Hollins, they have been working with the St. Louis Black Repertory Company as a first year technical theatre and teaching fellow. The Black Rep is dedicated to providing a platform for creative expressions from the African American perspective that heightens the social and cultural understanding of audiences. Tatiana teaches theatre to local youth in addition to serving as stage manager and assistant stage manager for the Black Rep, including their recent production of Lynn Nottage’s Sweat.
