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Catholic University’s renowned performing arts programs

Christine Stoddard | Catholic Herald

Drama students at Catholic University in Washington perform “King Oedipus Zeus to Deus,” a reinterpretation of Sophocles’ “Oedipus Rex” translated by W.B. Yeats, in October 2014.

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“Our program produces theater artists, not just actors,” said
Tori Boutin, a senior drama student at Catholic University in
Washington.

The lithe, bespectacled Floridian was one among a crowd of
drama students – aspiring actors, directors, playwrights,
designers, stage managers, dramaturgs and teachers –
chattering in the upper lobby of Hartke Hall for an informal
reception before rehearsals. Hartke’s main stage has
witnessed the talents of Helen Hayes, Grace Kelly, Sidney
Poiter and other stars. Professor Patrick Tuite, chairman of
the drama department joked that the evening’s buzz was not
only about the free food, but for two upcoming shows, both
written by candidates for master’s degrees.

Catholic U.’s master’s playwriting program is the only one on
the East Coast that offers a full fellowship to its students,
plus a professional production of students’ plays before they
graduate. The plays are directed and designed by
professionals and performed by students. This year, the
students presented “Conversations I’ve Never Had” by Kathleen
Burke and “The Mage Knights of Eternal Light” by Amanda
Zeitler.

Zeitler, who earned her bachelor’s from Loyola Marymount
University in Los Angeles in 2011, said that “sometimes
theatre folk get a bad rap for being antireligious” but she
feels that her Catholic identity is respected in her program,
even among her many non-Catholic peers.

“People (regardless of faith) come here because it’s a great
program,” she said.

Playwriting students participate in a writing workshop every
semester, while also taking courses in theory, dramaturgy,
screenwriting, adaptation and dramatic structures. Many
students also choose to intern at one of Washington’s many
producing and educational theaters, from Arena Stage to
Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company.

At the undergraduate level, drama students pursue a broader
focus. Tuitt says that the undergraduate program couples some
of the rigor of conservatory training with a liberal arts
curriculum.

“(In this program), an actor knows how to pick up a hammer
and build a flat,” said Lewis Folden, a professional designer
and Catholic U. guest artist. Folden, who earned a master’s
from the Yale School of Drama in New Haven, Conn., is a Helen
Hayes award-winner with credits in off-Broadway and regional
theater productions, as well as ballets, operas and
television shows.

More musically inclined theater-lovers should turn to
Catholic U.’s Benjamin T. Rome School of Music, which
celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. According to
school dean and professor, Grayson Wagstaff, the bachelor of
music in musical theater is the school’s most popular
undergraduate concentration.

“(The school) is a preeminent center for music research
… and the only comprehensive music program in Catholic
education that includes everything from performance training
to a PhD in musicology,” said Wagstaff, whose musicology
research explores early Catholic worship music in the Mexican
and Spanish traditions.

Bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral programs are available in
music education, composition, orchestral performance and more
– a variety that Wagstaff described as “exceptional” and
“unique.” The Institute of Sacred Music and the Latin
American Center for Graduate Studies in Music permit more
specialized study for students with liturgical, theological
and Spanish-language interests.

At the undergraduate level, students who prefer a liberal
arts curriculum may major in music with no particular
emphasis. This is the track recommended for students wishing
to double-major or minor in another field for what Wagstaff
called a “blended career.”

Wagstaff said the school not only holds high expectations for
its students as students but “as people.”

“We want our students to have an intense (musical
experience), but we also want them to have a sense of
decency,” said Wagstaff. “That comes from our Catholic
tradition. If someone falls, we want our students to help
that person. We ask them, what can you do to make the whole
production better?”

As burgeoning playwright Zeitler said: “Don’t expect (the
performing arts) to be easy … but don’t work with
people who aren’t nice.” The environment at Catholic U. is
“nurturing” and “welcoming,” presenting her with
“opportunities I never would’ve had anywhere else.”

Find out more

To learn more about CUA’s Department of Drama, go to drama.cua.edu. To learn more about
CUA’s School of Music, go to music.cua.edu.

Stoddard can be reached at [email protected].

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