BA Colloquium in Theatre and Dance

The BA program in Theatre and Dance lacks adequate faculty mentorship and an identity as a program. A recent poll of BA students in Theatre and Dance on strengths and weaknesses of the program revealed that many BA students see themselves as “second-class citizens” in a department that offers three highly structured and mentored BFA programs in dance, teacher certification, and acting. For instance, on one of the surveys, a student expressed the need for “more opportunities to meet/make connections with graduate students, professors that normally only do BFA acting work.” This feeling is reinforced by the fact that the department distributes more financial and faculty resources to the BFA and MFA programs. Due to this, BA students communicate that they do not feel prepared for the profession as actors, theatre artists, and designers. There is currently no class that serves the second year BA students as a cohort. This makes it very difficult to build from the curriculum of the first year and increases the likelihood that students will leave the department during the second year. While no formal study has been done of attrition rates, the chair has regularly expressed frustration at the anonymity of the BA students and the fact that they disappear from the program.  To address these needs, I will create a weekly colloquium for 2ndyear undergraduate BA majors that focus on developing five trajectories; community building, career development, craft workshops, civic engagement, and faculty engagement.