About the Department

An Important Note from the PAD Faculty

We, the full-time faculty of the Performing Arts Department, state our support for and solidarity with students and colleagues who stand to be affected by recent state and federal measures to restrict reproductive and transgender healthcare. We will strive to accommodate those affected by these proposed and enacted policies such that they may be able to continue their studies and work here at Washington University in St. Louis.

 

About the Department

In the Performing Arts Department, rigorous instruction in theater, dance, and performance enriches our students creatively and intellectually. We showcase the artistic and scholarly achievement of our faculty and students, and give students the opportunities for personal growth that only a performing arts education can provide.

Our dance and drama events put students center stage, enhancing the cultural life of the Washington University community with vibrant productions and scholarly events that reach thousands of audience members each year.
 

Our Community

Our faculty are award-winning artists, scholars, and educators widely recognized for excellence in their fields. We offer rigorous instruction in modern and classical traditions of dance, and in every major discipline of theatrical art. With our accomplished faculty, students can take multiple levels of classes in acting, directing, playwriting, scenic design, costume design, and theatrical lighting. Our scholars bring expertise in the literature, history, and theory of performance from Antiquity to the twenty-first century.  Across all these diverse specialties, we are unified by a commitment to fostering independent creative thought, and to equipping students with what they need to thrive artistically and intellectually after graduation.

COVID-19 Policy

Health and Safety Policies

  • Wearing a face mask is optional but strongly encouraged at Edison Theatre and the A. E. Hotchner Studio Theatre. If you arrive to the venue and decide you would like a face mask, the staff will be happy to provide one.
  • While we encourage patrons to be fully vaccinated, proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test will not be required for attending events.
  • We are seating up to 100% capacity for events in Edison Theatre and the A. E. Hotchner Studio Theatre. Depending on total attendance, some general admission events may allow for socially distanced seating.
  • If you are experiencing cold or flu symptoms and you have tickets to an event, please let us know prior to the performance. We will gladly exchange or refund your ticket.

2022 - 2023
Production Season

Fear and Anger. Two emotions that take center stage in the Performing Arts Department’s 2022–2023 season. In selecting these plays, we seek to better understand these emotions, the circumstances that engender them, the reactions they elicit, and the very human consequences of the events they set in motion.

View or download our 2022-2023 Season Brochure
Season Brochure Cover Image by Lance Thurman Photography
background image of featured news

The Performing Arts Department introduces

The Virtual Platform

A virtual venue for dance, drama and vocal video productions, as well as radio plays.   

visit our virtual platform
Alum Mona Jahani (LA '20) Receives 2023 Varg-Sullivan Endowed Graduate Award from Michigan State University

Alum Mona Jahani (LA '20) Receives 2023 Varg-Sullivan Endowed Graduate Award from Michigan State University

"Looking at the Creative Process Through the Lens of Scenic Design"

"Looking at the Creative Process Through the Lens of Scenic Design"