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| Howard University Department of Theatre Arts and Dance | |
|---|---|
| Name | Howard University Department of Theatre Arts and Dance |
| Established | 1947 |
| Type | Public research university department |
| City | Washington, D.C. |
| Country | United States |
| Parent | Howard University |
Howard University Department of Theatre Arts and Dance
The Howard University Department of Theatre Arts and Dance is a collegiate department within Howard University offering undergraduate and graduate training in performance, production, choreography, and theatre scholarship. The department combines practical conservatory-style training with interdisciplinary connections to programs and institutions such as the National Endowment for the Arts, Kennedy Center, Smithsonian Institution, Lincoln Center, and regional theatres including Arena Stage. It has produced a lineage of artists connected to movements around the Harlem Renaissance, Black Arts Movement, and contemporary American theatre.
The department traces formalized training to mid-20th century expansions at Howard University influenced by figures from the Harlem Renaissance, faculty exchanges with the Rivoli Theater era and collaborations with companies like American Negro Theater and the Negro Ensemble Company. During the 1960s and 1970s the department engaged with leaders connected to the Black Arts Movement, collaborating with practitioners associated with Amiri Baraka, Gwendolyn Brooks, and institutions such as The Public Theater and New Federal Theatre. Over subsequent decades, curricular revisions reflected trends from Shakespeare Theatre Company conservatories, contemporary choreography from residencies tied to Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and pedagogical frameworks related to Juilliard School models and Yale School of Drama-adjacent scholarship.
Programs include Bachelor of Fine Arts, Master of Fine Arts, and certificate pathways modeled on conservatory and research frameworks similar to those at Tisch School of the Arts, Boston Conservatory, and Brown University/Trinity Repertory Company partnerships. Coursework spans acting techniques derived from traditions connected to Stella Adler, Lee Strasberg, and Augusto Boal; directing seminars reflecting methodologies from Peter Brook and Jerzy Grotowski; design and technical theatre traced to approaches taught at Carnegie Mellon School of Drama; and dance curricula informed by lineages from Martha Graham, Katherine Dunham, and Merce Cunningham. The program maintains practica in playwriting, dramaturgy, stage management, production design, and dance composition, preparing students for professional avenues represented by SAG-AFTRA, Actors' Equity Association, and contemporary producing models like Off-Broadway companies.
Faculty encompass scholars, artists, choreographers, and designers with ties to institutions and practitioners such as August Wilson, Zora Neale Hurston, Lorraine Hansberry, Ntozake Shange, Phyllis Hyman, Spike Lee, and scholars publishing in journals associated with Modern Drama and TDR: The Drama Review. Administrative leadership has engaged with national grantmakers like the Ford Foundation and advisory networks linked to the American Theatre Wing and Association for Theatre in Higher Education. Visiting artists and guest lecturers have included directors, composers, and choreographers with histories at Broadway, Off-Broadway, Lincoln Center Theater, and the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival.
Performance and rehearsal facilities include proscenium and black box theatres, dance studios with sprung floors, makeup and costume shops, scene shops equipped with welding and carpentry tools, and design labs aligned with technology used in The Public Theater and Shubert Organization venues. The department’s performance calendar has used on-campus spaces as well as off-campus collaborations at locations such as the Kennedy Center, Arena Stage, and community venues in Anacostia and Adams Morgan. Technical production training references tools and standards common to Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers and connects to archival holdings like those in the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.
Student life features organizations and ensembles modeled on conservatory troupes and university repertory companies, producing seasons that include classical repertoire from William Shakespeare and Henrik Ibsen, contemporary plays by August Wilson, Lynn Nottage, and Suzan-Lori Parks, and dance works inspired by choreographers such as Alvin Ailey and Katherine Dunham. Students participate in festivals comparable to the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival, touring programs reminiscent of National Black Touring Circuit, and community outreach mirroring projects by Dance Theatre of Harlem and Black Theatre Network initiatives.
Graduates and faculty have gone on to professional prominence with credits in Tony Awards, Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Academy Awards, Emmy Awards, Grammy Awards, and leadership at institutions like New York City Center, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, and National Endowment for the Arts. Alumni and faculty include artists, directors, and choreographers whose careers intersect with figures such as Denzel Washington, Phylicia Rashad, Chadwick Boseman, Toni Morrison, Samuel L. Jackson, Leslie Uggams, Debbie Allen, Amiri Baraka, Ernestine Jackson, Rosetta LeNoire, McKinley Freeman, Hilda S. M. Ray, and contributors to companies like Philadelphia Dance Company and Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet.
The department maintains partnerships with cultural institutions and community organizations including the Kennedy Center, Smithsonian Institution, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, National Endowment for the Arts, D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities, and local schools in Washington, D.C.. Programs emphasize outreach similar to initiatives by Dance/USA and collaborative residencies with ensembles tied to Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, National Black Theatre Festival, and regional repertory theatres to expand access to performance education and public scholarship.
Category:Howard University Category:Theatre companies in Washington, D.C.