Theatre Arts & Performance Studies
Performance and Production Opportunities
Acting@Brown
Acting opportunities within the department's performance season and the many student groups are open to all Brown students. All undergraduates can audition and be cast in our shows - casting is based on the best audition and the result of a director’s or choreographer’s choice. There is no preference granted for affiliation with the Department, such as status as a concentrator. All are welcome.
Concentration
If you are interested in the acting concentration, please consider the Theatre Arts concentration track.
Audition Notices
Audition notices are posted throughout the year in the News section of our website. Also look for audition flyers posted throughout Lyman Hall, specially on the main entrance doors (from Simmons Quad).
Dance@Brown
The Dance Program at Brown was founded by Distinguished Senior Lecturer Emerita Julie Adams Strandberg in 1969, the same year that Brown adopted the Open Curriculum. We offer a variety of performance opportunities and classes in technique, composition, and theory. All Brown students are eligible to participate regardless of their concentration. Our program features a wide range of movement styles in courses such as Introduction to FlexN, Beginning Modern Dance, Contemporary Dance Studio Project, Queer Dance, Advanced Ballet with Repertory, Choreorobotics, Mindfulness and Movement, and more.
Dance courses typically take place in either Ashamu Dance Studio, outfitted with a sprung wooden floor; or the Movement Lab in the Lindemann Performing Arts Center, which has a sprung Marley floor.
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A Glitch in Reality by Jordan Garcia '24, Spring Festival of Dance 2024, Photo by Erin X Smithers
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Polarity Trip by Colin Stillwell, Spring Festival of Dance 2024, Photo by Erin X Smithers
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The Ego Death by Deidra Braz, Spring Festival of Dance 2024, Photo by Erin X Smithers
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RE:group by J Dellevace, Spring Festival of Dance, Photo by Erin X Smithers
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Or So I've Heard by Laila Franklin, Spring Festival of Dance 2024, Photo by Erin X Smithers
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Shorelines by Patricia Seto-Weiss and John Crawford, Spring Festival of Dance 2024, Photo by Erin X Smithers
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Shorelines by Patricia Seto-Weiss and John Crawford, Spring Festival of Dance 2024, Photo by Erin X Smithers
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The DNA Café, Collaborators: Natsu Nakajima, Michelle Bach-Coulibaly, Ellen Santaniello, Dr. Paula Arai and New Works/World Traditions, Spring Festival of Dance 2018, Photo by Erin X Smithers
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Lingering Recollection by Zoe Ubamadu '24, Fall Dance Concert 2023, Photo by Erin X Smithers
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DANZÓN NO. 2 by Patricia Seto-Weiss, Spring Festival of Dance 2022, Photo by Erin X Smithers.
Performance Opportunities
Performance opportunities for dancers are numerous. The department’s performance season always includes at least two dance concerts, which consist of works by students, faculty, and guest artists. Some pieces originate in departmental courses, and others have a separate audition process. Students also have the opportunity to show their own choreography under the guidance of a faculty mentor. TAPS concentrators can apply for the Dance Senior Slot, an opportunity to produce a funded and staffed dance work in their senior year. For a more detailed description of the Dance Senior Slot, consult the Undergraduate Handbook. In addition to departmental offerings, Brown has an abundance of student dance groups that operate independently.
Contact
For more detailed information or with specific questions about the dance curriculum, please email taps@brown.edu
Design/Tech@Brown
You can focus on design, tech, and production academically within any of our three concentration tracks. You can also contact our Production Director with questions about design and production opportunities at Brown.
John Street Studio
The John Street Studio is the focal point for the department's design initiative and provides classrooms, studio space, and support for designers at Brown and beyond. It is a convergence of students and professionals working on departmental productions, as well as artists from other departments and the local community, including RISD/Brown Design for America, Archaeology, the RISD Sculpture department, A Better World by Design and Brown Opera Productions.
Student Employment
The department relies heavily on students for all of its productions, including the mainstage Sock & Buskin Season, dance concerts, and a myriad of special performance events throughout the year. This includes paid positions for undergraduates with our Costume Shop, Production Manager's office, Scene Shop, Design Studio, and Publicity/Box Office/House Management. Please check the student employment website for current openings with our department. Please note that graduate students and non-Brown students are not eligible for employment with the department.
Directing@Brown
You don't have to be a concentrator to direct a show or a piece of live art. The Department of Theatre Arts and Performance Studies not only offers a chance for a TAPS concentrator to direct a mainstage show every year, but we also offer faculty support to all of our students who seek mentorship when directing on any and all of their projects.
Student Performance Groups
Don't forget that there are student directing opportunities all over Brown's campus. Take a look through the list of student performance groups, many of whom offer a myriad of directing opportunities throughout the year.
Senior Slot
A stellar opportunity for TAPS concentrators is directing for the Senior Slot. Every Spring, a junior concentrator is selected to direct a funded and staffed production in their senior year, as part of the Sock & Buskin mainstage season. If you are interested in directing and concentrating, consider the Theatre Arts concentration track. For a more in-depth description of the concentration and the Senior Slot opportunity consult the Undergraduate Handbook.
Playwriting@Brown
As with directing opportunities, you do not have to be a concentrator to be a playwright. Many a student playwright has found a home on campus within the many student groups producing theatre.
If you are interested in writing for performance (including writing for dance), and concentrating in Theatre Arts and Performance Studies you would be a great fit for our Writing for Performance concentration track. The Senior Slot opportunity for concentrators provides an invaluable experience for a student playwright to see their play receive a funded and staffed production on the department mainstage. For a description of this opportunity, and the benefits involved, see the Senior Slot opportunity section in our Undergraduate Handbook.
Speech@Brown
The speech program at Brown, led by Barbara Tannenbaum, is highly regarded by other academic institutions. Students interested in the study of human communication will find several relevant courses in the Department of Theatre Arts and Performance Studies.
Many other departments and programs at Brown share an interest in communication studies. Anthropology, Modern Culture and Media, Linguistics, Philosophy, and English provide a variety of ways to study language, communication theory, message production, and communication analysis.
Barbara Tannenbaum
Barbara Tannenbaum has been invited to deliver guest lectures and communication development in colleges and universities around the country. Beyond academia, the reputation of the speech program at Brown continues to grow. Barbara Tannenbaum is frequently invited to deliver keynote lectures at conferences such as the Chief Judges Conference and the National Association of Women Lawyers General Counsel Institute. She has developed communications training programs for executives at many public and private sector organizations, including the International Monetary Fund and the Museum of Fine Arts Boston. Such work outside the University serves not only to enhance the reputation of the department, but also to bring current trends and practices in communications back into the classroom.