Theatre

A unique, hands-on theatre experience where students learn by doing.

At SUNY Oswego Theatre, we place our students at the center of the creative experience. With an active student body, a first-rate group of faculty and professional staff, and a world-class technology range, SUNY Oswego offers opportunities to contribute throughout your degree program. Our dedicated core and elective curriculum allow students of theatre to focus on their specific area of interest, with the opportunity to branch out and gain valuable experience across a range of theatrical areas.

Students have the opportunity to perform in one of our many on-campus locations, which includes black box studio spaces and the recently renovated Waterman Theatre, a 426-seat proscenium stage. Programming includes the classical canon, modern works, musical theatre, devised works, student directed & designed productions, and site-specific theatre.

Auditions are not required. At SUNY Oswego, we accept students of all skill and interest levels. All students involved with our productions may expect hands-on opportunities right away in the department's three to four productions each academic year.

Performers in spotlights — The Wedding Singer, 2022

Staged Reading — I F*%kin' Hate Shakespeare (Stage Reading), 2022

image of the cast of Grease acting on stage — Grease, 2011

Two people having a conversation — The Shape of Things, 2018

Two actors kneeled before an actress lying on the ground on stage. Another actor behind the woman holding her head gently — Much Ado About Nothing, 2012

Two people sitting on a mattress on the floor — Screaming, Humming 2023

People in cemetery — Annual Cemetery Show in Oswego Town

News

Hundreds of high school students take in a performance in Waterman Theatre during Dramafest

Theatre Department's Dramafest puts area high school students in limelight

Tati Copp, left, as Winnie Foster, and Ethan Soda as Jesse Tuck, ponder immortality in SUNY Oswego's production of "Tuck Everlasting"

'Tuck Everlasting' explores question: 'Who wants to live forever?'

Performers in circus attire pose in a production image for Tuck Everlasting

Musical theatre production ‘Tuck Everlasting’ ponders immortality

Featured Alumni

Kamal Harris '22

Also known as KtheVocalist, graduated in May 2022 with a BA in Theatre and a minor in Communication & Social Interaction. Since graduation, he has been taking NYC by storm. He is currently performing in the heart of New York City, as well as creating and recording his own original music.

Kamal's Linktree

Male presenting person with golden statuette

Greg Salmon '06

Greg Salmon graduated from SUNY Oswego in 2006 with a double major in Theatre and Broadcasting Communications. He is currently the Associate Casting Director for CBS Daytime's The Young & The Restless. In 2022, he was part of the team to win an Emmy in the Craft Awards for Best Casting in Daytime Television.

Eric C. Webb '03

Eric is a NYC based writer and dramaturg whose plays and musicals have been produced in NYC and Tokyo. As a dramaturg, Eric has worked with The TheaterMakers Studio and Ken Davenport since 2013 as Director of Creative Development, aiding hundreds of writers and composers in achieving their goals of moving from the page to the stage. He also serves as Communication Manager for Random Farms Kids' Theater, a Westchester, NY-based company dedicated to enriching the lives of children through theatrical education and production. Writing projects in development include Rise (with composer Scott Wilkinson), Breakup - The Musical (with composer Stephanie Bianchi), and Thompson/Gifford.

Eric's website

To reconnect with the department or the college:

Theatre Department Alumni & Development

Statement of Diversity, Access, Equity, and Inclusion

We, the faculty, staff, students and alumni of the Theatre Department at SUNY Oswego in accordance with the College of Communication, Media, and the Arts, believe that diversity is not merely the celebration of difference, but the active pursuit of equity, inclusion and respect through our disciplines. As practitioners in the fields of communication, media and the arts, we believe in critically examining our differences and similarities as part of the learning process, and in creating an academic environment that reflects a rich and diverse community to which we belong, not a uniform whole to which we assimilate.

While our definition of diversity is open and broad, we believe in being specific about the ways in which different kinds of diversity matter differently, including through the intersections of cultural, religious, racial, ethnic, gender, sexual identity, physical and intellectual ability, income-level, and other kinds of diversity. Across our creative and scholarly fields, we are actively engaged in the study and production of forms of representation that engage with these differences.

As part of this process, we do not shy away from recognizing that our country's history includes devastating chapters encompassing the genocide of indigenous communities, the enslavement of black people, and other forms of oppression against people of color. Thus, we are committed to prioritizing racial and ethnic diversity, equity and inclusion as ways of addressing our heritage of systemic racism.

To accomplish all of the above, we are committed to continuously examining how our curriculum, policies, hiring practices, and community relations prepare us to be responsible and engaged supporters of diversity, access, equity and inclusion. We believe that our creative production, exhibition, performance, and scholarship can and must create a more inclusive world grounded in dignity and justice.

Contact

Krystal Kennel, Theatre Department Chair

125D Tyler Hall
315.312.3181
[email protected]