Courses & Requirements

Mission Statement:

The theatre department provides all interested students the opportunity to pursue their goals in the theatre. The curriculum and production program furnishes a strong undergraduate background in practical experience in the theatre and in the study of dramatic literature and history. 

Course Guide: Theatre

Benstead Theatre Shines

Benstead Theatre is located in the Rodman Center for the Arts which is home to music, fine arts and theatre. The theatre is an innovative flexible-space “black-box” which includes a proscenium opening, stage deck and a fly gallery allowing plays to be staged in arena, thrust, environmental or proscenium depending upon the director and designers’ creative vision. The facility is dedicated to the theatre department so rehearsals and construction occur right in the space. First-year students who have experienced only proscenium staging in high school find Benstead Theatre a new and exciting place to perform and work.

The theatre is supported by lighting and sound control boards that are replaced with the latest equipment on a regular rotation; fully equipped scene and costume shops; a design studio; an acting studio; and, a make-up room large enough to double as a rehearsal space.

Off-campus study

The theatre department encourages students to expand their world-view through off-campus study. The programs most useful to theatre majors are the Associated Colleges of the Midwest’s Chicago Program: Arts Focus and the London-Florence Program. In Chicago, students study urban culture, work as interns in a city theatre and develop an independent study project in theatre; on the L-F program, students receive an immersion experience with coursework in art/architecture, drama, literature and history that is supplemented by excursions to museums, galleries and theatres in England and Italy.

To learn more about Off-Campus study opportunities through Ripon College, click HERE.

On-Campus Experience

All majors and most production minors publicly stage a short one act play as their capstone experience, bringing together their knowledge and experience into a realized production. Design and technical students can work closely with a play’s director while serving as costume, lighting, scenery or properties designer or assistant designer. Our acting students have opportunities only dreamed of at larger institutions where graduate students obtain the largest roles. At Ripon, an accomplished student will have the opportunity to play several leads in a wide variety of acting styles by graduation.

Faculty Profiles

Schedule

Old Plays in New Ways

The Rover
By Aphra Behn
English Restoration Comedy’s wit, intrigue and seduction situated in the “gone-wild” exotic atmosphere of modern day Brazilian Carnival.
October 31 – November 3, 2012

A Doll’s House
By Henrik Ibsen
Ibsen meets Mad Men. The drama that began modern theatre set in the world of power and influence of America in the early 1960s.
February 27 – March 2, 2013

Student Directed One-Act Play Festival
The annual showcase of new directing and acting talent.
April 11 – 13, 2013

Tickets are free – reservations recommended – call 748-8791

Past Productions

The Ripon College Theatre Department features collaboration. High quality theatre demands close collaboration, and in the Ripon Theatre Department collaboration is a way of life. Students who are part of the production team as stage managers, assistant directors and designers are full members of the creative team at weekly production meetings, contributing to the discussion the director and the designers have in working out the details, designs and staging. Many of our Certificates of Merit from the Kennedy Center American College Theatre festival are related to the strength of the production ensemble and production unity.

Selected Titles from the Theatre Department’s Production History

Musicals

Cabaret
Wonderful Town
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

Shakespeare

The Tempest
Much Ado About Nothing
Midsummer Night’s Dream
As You Like It
Twelfth Night

17th & 18th Century

The Rover
Fuente Ovejuna
The Imaginary Invalid
The School for Scandal

Modern and Contemporary

A Doll House
Eurydice
Nickel and Dimed
Top Girls
Dancing at Lughnasa
The Ash Girl
Picasso at the Lapin Agile
The Importance of Being Earnest
Story Theatre

Tragedies

All My Sons
Blood Wedding
The Crucible
The Bakkhai
The Visit

Alumni Profiles

Lindsey Hoel-Neds, Class of 2003

Major:English
Minor:Theatre, Education
Graduate Degree:Master’s of Arts in Theatre for Youth, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis. (in process)

Employment: English Teacher and Drama Director, Waukesha, Wis., South High School and Cambridge, Wis., High Schools (through spring 2010)

“When I tell other theatre educators about my experiences at Ripon, they are amazed that I was able to work on every show and do everything from acting to directing to props to costumes. No one leaves Ripon without truly understanding that everyone in the theatre is valuable.”

Adam Krueger, Class of 2007

Majors:Theatre, Business Administration
Graduate Degree:Master’s Degree in Advertising, Boston University, Boston, Mass. (in process)
Post Graduate Theatre Experience:Associate Production Manager (12-Show season) and later Subscriptions Coordinator (14,000 annual subscribers), Huntington Theatre Company, Boston, Mass.

Employment: Senior Accounts Analyst, Boston University

“My training at Ripon allowed me to jump in [to my first job at the Huntington] without hesitation, impress my peers and make strong connections to professionals in the industry.”

Joe Lullo, Class of 2004
Major:Theatre
Minor:English
Graduate Degree:Master’s of Fine Arts in Acting, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis. (in process)

Post Graduate Theatre Experience:

• Apprentice company 2010, American Players Theatre, Spring Green, Wis.
• St. Croix Valley Summer Theatre, River Falls, Wis.
• St. Croix Off-Broadway Dinner Theatre, Hudson, Wis.
• CLIMB Theatre, Minneapolis, Minn.
• Missoula Children’s Theatre, Missoula, Mont.
• Teatro Del Pueblo, Minneapolis, Minn.

Employment: Teaching Assistant, Acting; University of Wisconsin Theatre Department, Madison, Wis.

“I have talked to many people in the professional theatre community who know of Ripon and regard it as a top-notch undergraduate theatre program. I am so fortunate to have been a part of such a dedicated and inspiring program.”

Anne Negri, Class of 2003

Major:Theatre
Minors:French, K-12 Teaching Certification in Theatre & French
Graduate Degree:Master’s of Fine Arts in Theatre for Youth, Arizona State University, Tempe, Ariz. (in process)

Post Graduate Theatre Experience:

• St. Croix Summer Theatre, River Falls, Wis.
• First Stage Children’s Theatre, Milwaukee, Wis.
• Children’s Theatre Company of Minneapolis, Minn.
• Original children’s plays: The Dancing Dog & Fly/Lyf (KCACTF Theatre for Young Audiences Award)

Employment: Freelance teaching artist, playwright, dramaturg, actress and puppeteer

“My professors [at Ripon] were concerned with mentoring the whole artist;  [in educating] someone who knows something about every aspect of the theatre. My theatre education was personal and meaningful, and the impact of those four years has deeply affected my life as a theatre artist.”

Joe Truesdale, Class of 2007

Majors:Self-Designed Mass Media Management
Post Graduate Theatre Experience:

• Radio on-air personality
• High school forensics coach

Employment: Radio Air Talent for Mountain Dog Media: News-Talk 1450 KFIZ and K107.1 WFON, Fond du Lac, Wis.

“The small class sizes and individualized education really helped launch me into the career I possess today.”