About the Department of Theater

Our department strives for professional excellence, academic depth and breadth, community involvement and international engagement. Students are challenged to learn and create in a wide variety of classroom and production situations. Opportunities are plentiful on campus, in the community, and in Philadelphia, one of the most vibrant of America's theater centers.

As a theater department in the heart of a culturally rich urban setting, Temple University's Department of Theater is immersed in, and among some, of the most important regional and national theaters in the country. This bountiful artistic environment benefits our undergraduate and graduate students alike. There are many theater professionals on faculty and who serve as guest artists, advisors, mentors and collaborators. Temple graduates are involved in nearly every major theater endeavor in the Philadelphia metropolitan area.

Celebrating over 50 years of spectacular productions, the top-ranked Department of Theater is a proud part of the School of Theater, Film and Media Arts, and the Center for the Performing and Cinematic Arts at Temple. The faculty and staff of the department represent highly trained scholars and professionals with theater credits in Philadelphia, New York City, nationally and internationally.

Through the study and practice of the arts, craft and scholarship of theater, we instill in our students a passion for artistic leadership, creative communication and lifelong learning. We are committed to being a vital cultural force in the diverse community of Temple University, the Philadelphia region and beyond.

Foundation of the Department

The Department of Theater embraces the spirit of creative community both in the classroom and on stage. Students are called to be supportive, contributing members of our department, committed at every level of endeavor to achieving artistic excellence.

Goals & Objectives

To Cultivate the Citizen Artist

The Temple University's Department of Theater instills our students with an ethical aspiration to become true citizen artists; highly trained, creative and deeply informed individuals committed to making a difference in the future of our human community through applied artistry; we work together to develop citizens who support and promote the use of artistic expression as a valued tool for creating and sustaining a culture of enlightened and compassionate citizenship and civility.

To Achieve Professional and Academic Excellence

Our distinguished professional faculty and staff are fully dedicated to combining the highest quality professional training with rigorous scholarship within a broad liberal arts setting. The department production program is the hub of our pedagogy, serving as a creative laboratory for experiential learning. We are committed to the exploration of theatrical storytelling on stage as well as virtually on film, television and digital media, developing a progressive approach to interdisciplinary pedagogy that is responsive to and in align with tomorrow's marketplace.