A faculty and guest artists with extensive academic and professional experience teach a wide-ranging curriculum, providing the student with a rich variety of perspectives from which to learn. Theatre is a vital part of the liberal arts experience at the University through the public performances of four plays and a dance concert per year, as well as student-created projects and the wide array of classes available to majors and non-majors alike.

It is the department?s intent to train Theatre majors in all aspects of the discipline during their four years at Willamette, thereby creating a well-rounded theatre artist. Just as the liberal arts environment provides the student with insight into and an understanding of a variety of subjects, the Theatre Department strives to create an environment conducive to the individual growth of the student within the context of the most collaborative and versatile of the arts disciplines.

Guest Artist Program

Providing students the opportunity to learn from and work closely with theatre artists currently working in the profession. Two or three guest artists each year, in the capacity of actors, directors, designers or choreographers, are invited to take up residency for the duration of a production. During that residency, the guest artists are also involved in the teaching of classes and workshops. Members of the Theatre faculty approach their work with a high level of professionalism and the expectation that the type of student Willamette University attracts will embrace the demanding yet rewarding opportunities that lie ahead, and rise to meet and learn from those myriad challenges.

The Willamette Playhouse

Just finished a 5+million dollar renovation and is the home of Willamette Theatre classes, workshops and productions. The building includes a dance studio, acting studio, costume shop, prop storage, makeup room, scene shop, light and sound production facilities, dressing rooms, classrooms, and faculty offices. The Putnam is a new intimate studio space designated as a lighting design lab, a directing lab and theatre studio for student work. The New Theatre is a brand new, industry standard, black box space that accommodates up to 200 seats.