Asian Theatre Program

Like Nowhere Else

Widely recognized as the finest university-based Asian theatre training and performance program in the world, our international reputation regularly attracts students from Europe, Asia, the Pacific region, and North America. A major center of Asian theatre study, research, and performance, the program features both formal classes and workshops in Asian theatre genres, as well as regular artist-in-residency programs providing intensive training and rehearsals. Students have the unique and exciting opportunity to train in traditional Asian theatre forms with world renowned master artists of Chinese, Japanese, and Southeast Asian and Indian theatre. The master artists residency training programs essentially bring the "field" to the university, enabling the Asian Theatre Program to maintain a multifaceted and integrative course of study that is truly unique. The faculty is widely honored and recognized around the world for their scholar ship, creative work, and production design and direction, while the department offers more Asian Theatre courses and integrates more Asian Theatre coursework than any other program in the US.

Production Highlights

Since 1923, the Asian Theatre Program has produced numerous world-premiers of English-language productions of Chinese, Japanese, Indonesian, Malaysian, Korean, Indian and Thai theatre, in addition to original works based on or influenced by research and training in specific genres of Asian theatre. The intensive training programs have resulted in some of the most outstanding Asian theatre productions to be seen outside of their respective countries of origin, with many productions garnering honors and awards. Five productions have received invitations to attend the regional and national competitions of the American College Theatre Festival (four Kabuki and one Jingju). Several productions have toured the neighbor islands and the U.S. mainland, and three Englishlanguage Jingju productions have toured China at Chinese invitation. The Randai production program, the only such program outside of Indonesia, has been invited to tour Sumatra.

What's after Graduation?

To date the program has produced over ninety masters and doctoral graduates in Asian theatre, who are working professionally in Asia, North and South America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Africa teaching, directing and acting in Asian theatre related productions and projects.

Overview of Courses

Undergraduate curriculum in Asian Theatre including 4 World Theatre courses (12 credits) required of all Theatre majors.

Comprehensive upper-division undergraduate and graduate-level Asian Theatre curriculum which includes 22 courses (66 credits) in Asian Theatre and 7 additional individual-study options.

Rigorous Asian performance training classes for graduate and undergraduate performers, designers, and musicians that are taught by renowned Asian artists and teachers from one of three cultural areas in alternating years —China, Japan, and Southeast Asia.

Specialized Asian Theatre graduate degree programs at the MA, MFA, and PhD levels.

Regularly-Featured Forms

JINGJU

KABUKI

KYOGEN

NOH

RANDAI

INDONESIAN WAYANG KULIT

Click here to see photos from past Asian Theatre productions.