Siena’s Creative Arts department has just received state approval for its newest major: theatre.
Effective this fall semester, the College can begin enrolling students to work toward a bachelor of arts in theatre. Three separate tracks will be offered: design and technology, performance, or management.
Denise Massman, M.F.A., professor of creative arts, coordinated the application to the NYS Education Department.
“Students have performed theatre at Siena since the College’s founding,” said Massman. “The theatre experience has grown and evolved over the years, and now the Creative Arts department is proud to introduce a full-fledged major. We look forward to continuing to tell stories with students who love to work on all the various aspects of live theatre in all its diverse forms.”
Siena theatre majors will be encouraged to take a multidisciplinary approach to their education by performing, producing and stage managing, and working in the design and/or technical realms such as costume, scenic, lighting, sound and projection.
“The theatre produces work that ranges from the traditional plays in the historic canon, to contemporary performance practices such as devised theatre, and theatre for social justice,” she said.
The College will continue to offer a certificate program in theatre. Both the program and now the major are based on the mission of having “a creative, collaborative community that offers individualized experiences in the theory, craft, and discipline of theatre… the program fosters self-awareness, responsibility and empathy for others through the artistic representation of the human condition within the context of a liberal arts education.”
Students will gain a well-rounded and broad understanding of making theatre at Siena, that will prepare them for further education in theatre and a variety of professions in the entertainment industry, said Massman.
Krysta Dennis, Ph.D., producer of creative arts, is looking forward to expanding the College’s theatrical pedagogy and supporting the important creative and artistic work that students are doing in Foy Hall.
“The performing arts are more important now than ever,” said Dennis. “They remind us of our shared humanity and the gift of being able to come together for a communal artistic experience.”
Sarah Vogt ’25 already plans to declare theatre her new major, in the technology and design track.
“I literally could not describe my excitement when I heard the news,” said Vogt. “I have had many incredible opportunities here at Siena, and most of them have been through the theatre program. Being able to have hands-on opportunities here on campus was amazing.”
Vogt has done sound engineering since high school and said she loved it as soon as she started. She said after attending the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, she knew theatre was the field for her.
“Taking classes for theatre has helped broaden my horizons outside of tech, and I started acting because of it,” she said. “The program really helped me get out of my shell. The professors and students are one of a kind and I am so glad theatre is now a major at Siena.”
Jack Ellis ’24 has been involved with Siena productions since his freshman year.
“Our program offers a lot to any young person in the throes of self-discovery,” he said. “The major ensures we can be supported with the training that theatre needs to be of use to our community.”
He referenced Shakespeare’s Hamlet, who in the play compares the acting experience to holding “the mirror up to nature.”
“We go through our lives holding our phones – our ‘black mirrors’ – up to our nature,” said Ellis. “Theatre offers the training to get back into our bodies and honest living. To that end: our theatre major benefits the College by expanding our space to take on new theatre-makers and people who simply wish to have a bit more connection to one of our oldest storytelling mediums.”
Cameryn Coetzee ’24 has taken several theatre classes and plans to take more this coming year.
“At Siena, there are multiple theatre classes and opportunities that have been well-loved by students and it seems only fitting for there to be a theatre major,” she said. “The current courses offered have already been a great benefit by allowing students to explore their passion and interest in the field. With the new major, students will be better able to study the discipline and hone their craft while also preparing to pursue theatre professionally after graduation."