A Welcome from the Chair & Artistic Director

It is with pleasure that I welcome you to the Department of Theatre Arts at Stony Brook University. Located on the beautiful north shore of Long Island, only sixty miles east of New York City, and with additional campuses in Southampton and in Manhattan, we offer unparalleled opportunities in theatre education. Our students have access to some of the best museums, cultural events and theatre in the country, from Broadway to the avant-garde, and can take advantage of professional internships with major companies. On our main campus, we have the Staller Center for the Arts, a state-of-the-art performing arts facility that presents professional theatre, dance and music groups and produces the acclaimed annual Stony Brook Film Festival.

In our training, we foster academic and artistic excellence through interdisciplinary courses, exciting production opportunities and workshops, such as the Southampton Playwriting Conference taught by renowned theatre artists including Alan Alda, Emily Mann, Christopher Durang, Sheldon Harnick, Jules Feiffer and Marsha Norman, to name a few. With a respect for past traditions and a commitment to innovative work, we present a wide range of dramatic literature on our department stages including some of the newest voices in the American theatre. Through our nationally recognized graduate program in Dramaturgy, we sponsor the annual John Gassner New Play Competition, which solicits new plays from around the country and presents readings and panel discussions in Manhattan.

We are fortunate as a state school within the SUNY system to offer diverse programming, an exceptional faculty and numerous opportunities -- not to mention an affordable tuition. During this difficult economic time, we are dedicated to keeping arts training alive by providing our audience with meaningful live theatre experiences and our students with a first rate education in one of the most vital art forms in our culture.

Once again, welcome to Theatre Arts.

Nick Mangano
Chair & Artistic Director