Hanover Theatre Department
You learn to see through the eyes of others, to respond, to understand...Your mind becomes versatile – you can adapt. You learn art, history, politics, psychology, music, the sciences, self-discipline, skills, how to speak effectively, to communicate, to feel.
Jenny Thornhill, Class of 2006
Why Study Theatre?
If any of the following is true for you, then the theatre department at Hanover College may be just what you have searched for.
You enjoy:
• Plays, musicals, films
• Performing in front of others
• Creative writing
• Exploring and analyzing great works of theatre
• Discovering new ideas and seeing them through to realization
You want to:
• Create exciting, cutting-edge art
• Build skills as an actor, director, playwright, designer or arts administrator
• Learn to manage time and people effectively
• Learn to solve problems collaboratively
What Hanover Theatre Offers
We stand out among other colleges and universities because we place student writing, directing, stage management, and design at the center of our production seasons. Through active, hands-on experience, you'll learn your most valuable lessons about the theatre and theatre production. With at least four main stage productions a year, multiple student-initiated productions, readings of new student writing, and a student-led improv group, there are countless opportunities for you to write, act, direct, design, and create.
In addition to playwriting, acting, directing, design and technical theatre classes are history and literature courses. Complemented by core curriculum classes, these will provide you with a comprehensive theatre education. Our graduates frequently go on to full-ride scholarships in graduate programs to earn their MFA or Ph.D. degrees. (See list in Placements.)
You can opt to combine your theatre studies with a second major or with one or more minors, allowing you to tailor your education to your own specific needs and goals for the future.
With a small student-faculty ratio, you will receive close, personal attention to help you develop your artistic and analytical abilities. And, as you progress through the program, you will receive the support and guidance you need to make future career decisions based on your interests and skills. By providing you with practical experience and a comprehensive education, the theatre department at Hanover will prepare you for either graduate school or a fulfilling professional career.
Highlights
KCACTF and Student Playwriting
The department has a strong record of highlighting student-written plays as well as acting, design, and stage management projects through the Kennedy Center/American College Theater Festival (KC/ACTF), a national theatre program involving 18,000 college and university students. This program gives students a change to have their work critiqued and for them to receive national recognition for excellence.
Internships
Along with the experience students gain through numerous plays produced each year at Hanover, you will gain hands-on experience through internships and off-campus work. These opportunities give you the chance the apply the skills you have learned in a professional setting. Below is just a small sample of where our students have been placed.
• Warehouse Theatre
• People's Light & Theatre Co.
• New Jersey Shakespeare Festival
• Arden Theatre Company
• Smokey Mountain Shakespeare Festival
• High School Institute at Northwestern
• Actors Theatre of Louisville
Spring Term
During the four weeks of spring term, you'll take only one course, providing an opportunity to study one topic in depth. Our Contemporary Theatre class is often structured as a summer stock experience, fully producing a play a week for each of the four weeks.
On alternate years, you may study Shakespeare while in residence in Stratford, England, for the entire term. Actors, directors and staff from the Royal Shakespeare Theatre visit classes to discuss plays and present workshops. Scholars from the University of Birmingham's Shakespeare Institute and the resident scholars of the Shakespeare Centre conduct other classes. A theatre visit to London is always part of the course, as is a long weekend for individual travel to other areas of interest in England and other parts of Europe.
Variety
One major highlight of the Hanover theatre program is the variety of theatre that you'll be exposed to. Instead of focusing on one specific genre, as a theatre major, you'll study and experiment with a number of forms. This gives you a greater, more complete understanding of the art of the theatre.
Some recent Hanover productions have included: "Royal Hunt of the Sun," "The World is a Comedy," "Secrets Every Smart Traveler Should Know," "Boston Marriage," "The Tempest," "Two Rooms," "Art," "Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris," "The Glass Menagerie," "She Stoops to Conquer," "Gideon," "The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe," "The Government Inspector," and others.
Opportunities for Research
The theatre draws on all other disciplines and theatre artists must be learning new things continually. Wherever your interests may lie, the practice of theatre will draw them closer to you.
Career Opportunities
Studying theatre within the context of a liberal arts education equips you with the knowledge, skills and experiences necessary to continue on to a variety of careers and/or graduate school opportunities.
Some theatres where our graduates have become company members include:
• Writers Theatre in Chicago
• Actors Theatre of Louisville
• Indiana Repertory Theatre
• Mill Mountain Theatre
• Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati
• ArtReach Touring Theatre
• Tennessee Repertory Theatre
• Bridgework Theatre
• Boston Improv
• American Players Theatre
• Atlanta Shakespeare Co.
• South Carolina Repertory Co.
• Cincinnati Shakespeare
• Cincinnati Playhouse
• Celtic Arts Theatre, Los Angeles
Other career opportunities can be found in:
• International business
• Advertising
• Ministry
• Teaching
• Film and TV Production
• Business Management
• Law enforcement/military
Graduate school placements have included:
• Harvard University
• Northwestern University
• Indiana University
• University of Illinois
• Oregon State University
• Arizona State University
• Yale University
• University of Birmingham - Shakespeare Institute
• Florida State University - Asolo Theatre
• Boston University
• American Repertory Theatre
• Moscow Art Theatre School
• Shakespeare Institute, Stratford-upon-Avon
• Purdue University
• University of Virginia
• Northern Illinois University
• University of Nevada - Las Vegas
