Mission Statement

The Department of Theatre Arts and Dance is committed to fostering an environment where students can develop their own creative expression through coursework, production opportunities, and outreach experiences. The Department is dedicated to our diverse, unique, and complex community and to cultivating the individual artist in society as a cultural citizen.                    

The faculty and staff of the department of Theatre Arts and Dance are outstanding educators who combine their dedication as teachers with their lives as artists, scholars, and theatre professionals in the vibrant cultural life of Los Angeles. Students find an interdisciplinary environment that supports student-faculty interaction and collaboration, one that fosters partnerships with the venues and organizations that make L.A. a world capital of arts, entertainment and research.

The combination of theatre with dance offers exciting opportunities in either discipline, and in the interplay between these arts.

In dance, the Department has traditionally focused on contemporary dance, including modern and jazz dance, with a wide range of classical dance, dance history and theory providing essential foundations for performing and understanding dance in a liberal arts context. A new program modification is in the works that will create new concentrations in commercial and digital dance and will incorporate more tap and hip-hop which have become popular with our students.

Dance and theatre performances off campus complement the campus events that showcase student performers, often in partnership with professional directors/choreographers. Technological innovations on campus have contributed to performances incorporating virtual reality into the artistic mix. Tours to local schools, universities around the state, and various Los Angeles venues provide students the chance to reach new and diverse audiences.

Theatre students participate in the American College Theatre Festival. The College supports student travel and participation in conferences and workshops that supplement the courses and productions on campus and in venues around Los Angeles.

The curriculum includes preparation in all aspects of theatre, from technical areas to creation and performance, while insuring a firm understanding of the social, historical and theoretical contexts essential to a well-grounded liberal arts education. Interdisciplinary collaborations have strengthened our program by familiarizing students with other performance disciplines, from film and TV to opera and performance art. Students have benefited from connections to educational theatre companies, in such areas as health education and community based programming. Internships, and service-learning are essential components of the program, and the entertainment industry has established an initiative to recruit Cal State L.A. students for many extraordinary opportunities.

Current Season

The John Lion New Plays Festival 2008
What A Wonderful World by Obed Silva, Ten Minutes by Benjamin Caron, Underground by Concetta Verna, Seventeen by Francisco Garcia
4 New plays by CSULA student playwrights.  Directed by Los Angeles-based Guest Artists Laurie Woolery, Jon Kellam, Bill DeLuca and Festival Director José Cruz González.
State Playhouse
Call the Cal State L.A. Box Office at (323) 343-4118 for more information.
Thursday, May 1, 2008 – Saturday, May 10, 2008 at 8:00PM with matinees on Saturdays at 3pm (no evening performance on May 10)

The Projekt (working title Missed Call)
Professors Tanya Kane-Parry, Jon Beaupre and Sarah Graef collaborate with students from TAD, TV/FILM and MUSIC to create a new piece for presentations in schools in the surrounding community.
CSULA Performances – venue TBD
Call the Cal State L.A. Box Office at (323) 343-4118 for more information.
Spring Qtr Week 8, Dates / times TBD

Spring New Works Dance Concert     
Directed by Professor Linda Kostalik, featuring performances of pieces choreographed by CSULA students.
State Playhouse
Call the Cal State L.A. Box Office at (323) 343-4118 for more information.
Thursday, May 22, 2008 – Saturday, May 24, 2008 at 8PM, matinee Saturday at 3:00PM

For more details on the performances, concerts and exhibits, refer to the 2007-2008 season brochure.

For a complete list of events please visit the CSULA calander page.

Depending on the venue, tickets are available through the Cal State L.A. box office at (323) 343-4118 or the Luckman Complex box office at (323) 343-6600.

Special Events

Theatrical Adaptation of "Bless Me, Ultima"Adapted and directed by Professor Theresa Larkin with Alejandra Flores playing the role of Ultima. (Part of The Big Read outreach program with the L.A. County Public Library to coordinate community-wide reading celebrations centered on Rudolfo Anaya’s classic novel, "Bless Me, Ultima.")

Music Hall
Call the Cal State L.A. Box Office at (323) 343-4118 for more information.
Thursday, April 10, 2008 7:00PM It was a popular and well-attended event!

What's New

Exciting New Graduate Program Fall 2008:

We are extremely proud to announce our NEW Joint Master of Fine Arts graduate degree in Television, Film and Theatre!!!