About The Department of Drama

The Department of Drama in Syracuse University's College of Visual and Performing Arts (SU:VPA) offers conservatory-style training combined with a level of integration with a professional theatre company that is unparalleled among undergraduate programs. Each season Syracuse Stage and the Department of Drama co-produce a show, and during that process students have the opportunity to work with professional actors, directors and designers, and earn points toward membership in Actors' Equity Association, the union for professional actors and stage managers.

Working: A Musical

Adapted by Nina Faso and Stephen Schwartz
With additional contribution by Gordon Greenberg
Songs by Craig Carnelia, James Taylor, Mary Rodgers, Micki Grant, Stephen Schwartz, Susan Birkenhead, Lin-Manuel Miranda
From the book by Studs Terkel
Directed by Rodney Hudson
Musical Direction by Brian Cimmet
Choreography by Bradley Stone 
Available May 13 - 16, 2021

Based on Studs Terkel's best-selling book of interviews with American workers, Working paints a vivid portrait of the people the world so often takes for granted: the schoolteacher, the phone operator, the food server, the millworker, the mason, and the stay-at-home parent, just to name a few. Nominated for six Tony Awards, Working received a contemporary make-over in 2012 and features new songs by Tony Award-winning Lin-Manuel Miranda, as well as favorites by Stephen Schwartz, Craig Carnelia, and James Taylor. With most professions updated, the show’s power still resides in the core truths that transcend specific occupations; the key is how people's relationships to their work ultimately reveal key aspects of their humanity, regardless of the trappings of the job itself.

This production was created in full compliance with NYS, CDC, and Syracuse University safety protocols. Please note the performers are masked and distanced throughout the show. Thank you for supporting our students and their work in this difficult time.

VIEW THE PROGRAM
 

Bright Half Life

By Tanya Barfield
Directed by Blayze Teicher
Available April 2021

“It’s about being alive and in love,” says playwright Tanya Barfield about her thrilling and time-bending play Bright Half Life. In this engaging production that explores the architecture of bold, enduring love, Vicky and Erica meet, fall in love, marry, have children, and share a life. But is their journey through life and love a free-fall sky dive or a ride on a Ferris wheel. This well-crafted play, like a crystal, reveals the many facets and defining moments of a long term-relationship, sometimes lingering and sometimes smashing them together shattering space and time. Bright Half Life is exhilarating, thoughtful, and truthful theatre, a fast-paced and vibrant love story.  

This production was created in full compliance with NYS, CDC, and Syracuse University safety protocols. Please note the performers are masked and distanced throughout the show. Thank you for supporting our students and their work in this difficult time.

VIEW THE PROGRAM
 

The Matchmaker