This paper discusses aspects of faculty, administration, departmental structure, curriculum, and production operations of community college theatre departments in general and of Illinois Central College in particular. It contends that the common and revered tenet of community college institutional philosophy is "community service." The importance…

The theatre curriculum at Montgomery College in Rockville, Maryland teaches acting techniques used in film and television in order to take students into the world of performance via the media they appreciate first. While a large number of students do not attend the theatre and have learned little about the cultural heritage of the theatre in their…

Forty-two community colleges and one four-year college responded to a survey requesting information about theatre programs. The colleges ranged in size from a low of 395 students to a high of 30,000. The results of the survey indicated that theatre courses were required of communication majors at only one college, and were electives at the…

The administration at Normandale Community College in Bloomington, Minnesota, has had tremendous influence on the college's forensics program. The first positive administrative decision made was to involve every full-time person hired in speech and theatre in the activity part of the program. Another positive aspect of the administration is its…

A Coordinator of Performing Arts at Western Piedmont Community College in North Carolina describes the challenges and rewards posed by an open-door educational philosophy in which community service is as important as artistic excellence. The college's mission is to serve the special needs of the community, which primarily consists of state…

An introductory theatre course at Prince George's Community College (Maryland), taught by a team of three instructors, makes use of contract grading to permit students to become actively involved in theatre on several levels of interest. This paper describes the course and provides a course syllabus, list of contract options for the course, and a…

This paper encourages teachers to consider teaching as a performing art. By using the theater as a metaphor for effective, innovative instructional methods, the author parallels various aspects of performing arts with various aspects of teaching. The "stage" represents the classroom and "sets" the teaching environment; the "set" characterizes the…