The City College of New York
Department of Theatre and Speech

Our Mission Statement:

Located in the heart of one of the Country's premiere theatrical destinations, The Department of Theatre and Speech in Harlem's City College of New York embraces the rich culture and artistic excellence enveloping it. With a mission to nurture the natural curiosity and individual artistry students bring with them from their myriad backgrounds, they are then encouraged to learn the fundamentals of theatre by both questioning the norms as well as embracing the traditions that come with this vibrant artform. Students learn critical thinking and how to create theatre through hands-on, rigorous training; thus, preparing them for a career in the theatre arts as leaders, professionals, and paradigm shifters.

About Our Program:

The City College of New York offers a unique and exciting BA Degree in Theatre. Our Department offers a wide perspective in courses, covering Acting, Directing, Playwriting, Theatre Literature, and Tech and Production. Our Department also offers both a minor and a dual-major in Theatre.

We believe in broadening the theatre education experience by encouraging multiple experiences in production work. Through participation both onstage and backstage in our ambitious production season, students are able to test their skills against their highest potential, and then return to class work to further hone them.

Living in New York provides our students with the opportunity to study with our working faculty and invited guest artists, and be exposed to industry professionals which gives our students an edge in building the necessary connections as they go out into the world. For those who opt for a theatre teaching career, we also offer a bridge into the CCNY Masters Program in Educational Theatre. 

OUR PRODUCTION SEASON

Students are invited to audition for our season of productions, directed by faculty members and invited professionals. We do 3-4 faculty productions, and 3-4 student directed productions each year!

DIRECTOR/PLAYWRIGHT CONNECTION

Advanced playwriting students who author full-length works are invited to submit their plays for consideration for production. Selected plays can be chosen for student directed projects, or staged readings. The Elyse L. Nass Endowed Scholarship is offered each year to an emerging student playwright.
 
THE ANNUAL ONE-ACT PLAY FESTIVAL

The capstone to our Directing 2 Class, students stage and present a One Act Play Festival in our studio theatres each year. It's one of the most exciting events in the Department.

ADVANCED DIRECTING PROJECTS

Highly motivated students who have completed Directing 1 and Directing 2 and a track record of success are able to apply to student direct a production for the following year. Each year, 2-3 student directed projects are produced in either the studio theatre, or in the CCNY Center for the Arts, Theatre B stage.

ACTING ON FILM

Our Department offers an Acting for the Camera class, taught by film actor, Ally Sheedy, which is offered each semester. We also have a collaborative relationship with the prestigious undergraduate and graduate CCNY MCA Department, and co-list a Performance Practice in Film course where student actors gain experience by participating in student short films. Actors also get clips for their reels and the possibility of having a project shown at short film festivals.

THE CHARLES GATTNIG MEMORIAL THEATRE LIBRARY

We have more than 5,000 volumes of plays, anthologies, volumes of theatre history and criticism, biographies, books on design and more. This collection, one of the best in the city, is composed of books donated by Glenn Young, owner of Applause Theatre Books along with gifts from former faculty and distinguished donors.
 
CITY COLLEGE CENTER FOR THE ARTS

Alongside the Theatre Department’s presentations at Aaron Davis Hall, the not-for-profit organization City College Center for the Arts (www.citycollegecenterforthearts.org) sponsors an extremely exciting season of professional dance, music and performance art events, hosting some of the world’s most exciting performing artists and producing their own professional series. Reduced price tickets are available to CCNY students for many events.

SCHOLARSHIPS AND AWARDS

Our Department offers many scholarship and award opportunities, which are celebrated at the end of each Spring semester at our Annual Awards Ceremony.