Where do theory and practice intersect?
Everywhere.
Where do we put those intersections on display? In our productions. University Theater produces over thirty shows a year, ranging from staged readings to full mainstage productions, reaching over ten thousand patrons a year.
Where do we put those intersections on display? In our productions. University Theater produces over thirty shows a year, ranging from staged-readings to full mainstage productions, reaching over ten thousand patrons a year. As one of the oldest student-run theaters in the country, TAPS/UT provides students with the unique experience of having artistic control over every aspect of their work. We believe the best way to find your voice is to try it out. To this end, productions are designed, written, and directed by students. UT produces a wide variety of plays, from student-written performance art to canonical texts to contemporary classics. Productions represent an opportunity for students to try out ideas from classes, collaborate with other artists, and contribute to the cultural life of the University. If you come to see a show at TAPS/UT, you may see an original performance piece comparing the autobiographies of two young women. You may see a revisionist production of The Misanthrope, complete with glam-rock hairstyles. You may see a student’s choreography respond to the work of. But whatever you see, we invite you to join us in asking critical questions about performance and the potential of theater.
The Presidential Fellows in the Arts Series
The Presidential Fellows in the Arts Program is a series that seeks to showcase the vibrant traffic between artistic theory and practice that takes place at The University of Chicago and to foster the vitality of the arts on its Hyde Park campus. The series brings to the University a varied roster of distinguished artists from all arts disciplines for short residencies. These include a public presentation as well as a more intimate educational program for University students and faculty. Each residency is organized and presented in collaboration with University of Chicago departments, centers and arts organizations. Theater and Performance Studies has held a pivotal role in the curatorial role in the process. Past artists have included: Anne Deavere Smith, Neil Gaiman, James Schamus and Ang Lee, John Zorn, Bill T. Jones, Atom Egoyan, Anne Bogart, and Uri Caine.
View conversations from past Fellows: http://arts.uchicago.edu/performing_arts.shtml
Think It, Design It, Build It
With three performance spaces, including a completely transformable black box theater, students have opportunities to experiment with design in a myriad of ways. TAPS/UT has a professionally sized and equipped shop, which includes separate spaces for painting, building costumes, metal work, and carpentry. Under the guidance of three professional designers and technicians, students design and build sets, costumes, lights, and sound for all productions at University Theater. UT has a professionally sized and equipped shop, which includes separate spaces for painting, building costumes, metal work, and carpentry. Working on over thirty productions a year, student designers have the chance to practice their craft and challenge their visions in a variety of contexts, from studio to mainstage productions, from indoors to outdoors. Our design opportunities prepare students to experiment three-dimensionally and secure jobs in professional theater in Chicago years before graduation.
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