An internationally acclaimed leader and producer of artistic merit. Featuring internationally celebrated faculty engaging the African Diaspora and the World.
The University continues to closely monitor the spread of COVID-19, also known as the coronavirus, as additional cases are confirmed in the United States and other countries. The University continues to formulate and adjust its plans as needed.
Dear Class of 2025:
Welcome and congratulations on your acceptance to the Division of Fine Arts at Howard University! Earning a place in our community of artist-scholars is no small achievement and we are delighted that you have selected Howard to continue your creative and intellectual journey. You now share a history with revered Howardites such as Taraji P. Henson, Richard Smallwood, Toni Morrison, Phylicia Rashad, Debbie Allen, Chadwick Boseman, Anthony Anderson, Kamala Harris, Roberta Flack, Lois Mailou Jones, David Driskell, Nick Cannon and many more.
As an alumna (Dr. Farrington) and a long-time member of the University community (Coordinator Paige-Deneal), we can attest to the fact that your lives will change forever as a result of your decision to make Howard your educational home. Since coming to Howard as a reticent teenager from New York and receiving my BFA, I (Dr. Farrington) have remained in touch with my faculty mentors, whose examples and support have sustained me for a lifetime. The same opportunities await you.
The mission of our Art, Music and Theatre faculty is to prepare you to become multi-talented creators and thinkers with a breadth of knowledge and skills that spans disciplines. Our goal is also to infuse you with a sense of the importance of service—to your communities and beyond. The arts have an innate ability to enhance the human experience, and you, as members of the art community, now share in this power.
Your experience at Howard will be shaped not only by faculty and advisors, but also by you—it will be what you make it; and it will be limited only by the limitations you place on yourselves. Know that we are here to help you in any way that we can, so that your journey is a successful one.
Once again, welcome to Howard!
Sincerely,
Lisa E. Farrington, PhD, MPhil, MA Thelma Paige-Deneal
Associate Dean of Fine Arts Fine Arts Student Affairs Coordinator
Welcome to the Department of Theatre Arts
You have made a life altering choice by majoring in Theatre Arts at Howard University. The Department offers five concentrations: Acting, Musical Theatre, Dance, Arts Administration, and Theatre Technology. The Theatre Arts Department is known for its illustrious alumni, historical relevance, and for providing students the opportunity to engage up and coming and established renowned guest artists. Once involved with our dedicated faculty and modern-day, culturally relevant programming, our success in producing skilled, grounded performers, triple threats, theatre administrators, and technical theatre practitioners will be apparent. With a history of over a century, and distinction as the first HBCU to offer a BFA degree, Howard’s Department of Theatre Arts will continue to lead as an artist incubator and producer of cutting-edge artists who are not afraid to step out of the box. From Phylicia Rashad, Chuck Davis, and Debbie Allen, to Chadwick Boseman, Anthony Anderson, and many others in-between and beyond, Howard’s footprint in the Acting, Dance, and the Musical Theatre world is significant.
With the last academic year being marked by the historical events of the Black Lives Matter Movement, the Covid-19 Pandemic, and all online instruction for a virtually hands-on discipline, students were challenged to rise to the occasion. They had to embrace the understanding that some changes made as a result of these historic events would be with us for years to come – and that some would never leave. However, while navigating the Theatre Arts program students quickly came to the realization that these realities were nonfactors with regard to their growth and ultimate achievement of excellence.
Although a light is at the end of the tunnel, Covid, racial, gender, and many other inequities, and injustices are still a reality. For academic year 2021-2022, you will be challenged to rise; to reimagine and rebuild what has long been neglected due to the social and political climate you find yourself in in this country; to push yourself until the inner excellence that we know you possess can no longer be contained within; and to rival the sun – an achievable feat because you have decided to join a list of luminaries by choosing Howard University’s Department of Theatre Arts.
Your journey starts now.
Ofosuwa M. Abiola, PhD
Interim Chair, Department of Theatre Arts
CLICK HERE TO WATCH!
View presentations by: Olivia Dorsey, Deimoni Brewington & Kayla Warren
View presentations by: Sophia Early and Janelle Odom
View presentations by: Imani Branch and Kaisheem Fowler-Bryant
View presentations by: Shannon Palmer, Nia-Aiyana Meeks & Laurynn Giles
Programming for each date can be viewed below:
A DISCUSSION ABOUT STAGE MANAGEMENT
IN PROFESSIONAL THEATRE, INCLUDING REGIONAL,
OFFBROADWAY, BROADWAY, AND
TOURING PRODUCTIONS!
View the Recording Here!
Young Playwrights’ Theater (YPT) Presents
Silence is Violence: The Future of the Field
A Devised Virtual Performance Directed by YPT Artistic Director Farah Lawal Harris
In Residency at Howard University’s Department of Theatre Arts
VIEW THE EPISODES BELOW:
Silence is Violence: The Future of the Field - Episode 1: We Meet Again
Silence is Violence: The Future of the Field - Episode 2: We’re All Screaming!
Silence is Violence: The Future of the Field - Episode 3: We, the Vanguard
Young Playwrights’ Theater (YPT)
For the latest about the 2020 Helen Hayes Awards and more visit here!
Your support now is critical to keeping the Department of Theatre Arts in the top tier of colleges and universities offering Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees - your gift represents the Department of Theatre Arts' future.
Learn more about the concentrations we offer within the Department of Theatre Arts.
https://theatrearts.howard.edu/concentrationsLulu Vere Childers Hall (Fine Arts)
Department of Theatre Arts
2455 Sixth Street N.W., Suite 1044
Washington, D.C. 20059
202-806-7050 T
202-806-9193 F
Janet Johnson, Administrative Aid
Email: jljohnson@howard.edu
