I received this email from SMU. If you are interested in learning more, send me an email and I’ll forward you the live links.
Thank you!
Ms. Freeman

Hello, my name is Black Hackler, and I’m the chair of the Theatre Division at SMU Meadows School of the Arts. With the spring semester now underway, I hope you, your colleagues and students are finding success in navigating the many challenges of teaching and making theater in 2022 and beyond.

Last year, the students and faculty at Meadows faced the challenges of the pandemic head on and found new ways of teaching, learning, rehearsing and performing. We embraced both the limitations and the possibilities of the digital form and fostered collaborations with theater makers across the country, including Clark University and Theatre East in New York City. The increased accessibility offered by Zoom allowed us to bring Oscar, Tony and Emmy -winning artists into the classroom for workshops and lectures. Now, with a return to in-person learning and performing, SMU is committed to building on all we learned in the last year as we continue to innovate and grow.

SMU Meadows Division of Theatre provides both conservatory-level theatrical training as well as a rigorous liberal arts education. Located only five miles from downtown Dallas – home of the nation’s largest contiguous arts district in an area with over 20 Fortune 500 companies – SMU Meadows theatre students have abundant performing, teaching, internship and collaboration opportunities in Dallas and in other major U.S. cities including New York and Los Angeles.

We offer two tracks for our B.F.A. in Theatre: Acting Specialization, and Theatre Studies Specialization. In a typical year, we present seven fully produced shows; four are directed by faculty and guest artists, and three are performed in repertory and directed by senior Theatre Studies students. These full productions are supplemented by several smaller workshops and projects that are performed in our Kathy Bates studio. We also produce an annual playwriting festival of work by our senior playwrights.

Our season includes both classical and contemporary works, giving our students ample experience in acting, directing, production, and stage management. Our actors are cast in on-campus shows and also with theatre companies here in Dallas, most notably the Tony-award winning Dallas Theater Center, which has enjoyed a long and fruitful partnership with SMU. Finally, our student-run theater, “SMUST,” presents 12 student-produced productions each year.

SMU Meadows has one of the most highly regarded theatre programs in the country. Alumni go on to careers on stage and screen and in executive arts positions. A few examples of our Theatre alumni include:

Nathan Allen, founder of The House Theater in Chicago;
James Houghton, founder of the Signature Theatre in New York
Amy Acker, FOX Marvel’s The Gifted; CBS’s Person of Interest
Michael Aranov, recent Tony award-winning actor (Best Featured Actor for his role as “Uri Savir” in Oslo on Broadway), also known for his work on The Blacklist, Madam Secretary, The Americans, many more
Kathy Bates, Academy Award, Golden Globe, Prime Time Emmy award-winning actress,
Antoinette Crowe-Legacyknown forGodfather of Harlem,Slave Play, and the upcoming miniseriesLegacybased on the novel by Octavia Butler.
Lauren Graham, Gilmore Girls; Parenthood​​​​​​
Beth Henley, Pulitzer Prize winning playwright, screenwriter, and actress
Jerrika Hinton,Grey’s Anatomy and many more;
Candice Patton“Iris West” on The Flash
​​​​Regina Taylor – Golden Globe-Winner
We have so much here we want you to know about! Take a look at our 3-minute video, “Why I Chose SMU Meadows Theatre.” Meadows offers in-person info sessions and tours on most weekdays that the university is open, as well as a virtual info session and guided tour Thursdays at 4 p.m. Students can also see, any time of the day or night, a recorded info session about Meadows School of the Arts and take a virtual tour of 360-degree views of performing spaces and studios.

SMU is offering to waive the $60 SMU admission application fee for those who apply for the 2022 school year. Find out more about the SMU application fee waiver.

98% of admitted Theatre students receive scholarship and/or financial aid. For example, admitted students entering academic year 2019-20 had an average of $36,000 per year of “free money” that does not have to be paid back. Over 30% of the 2019-20 admitted theatre students received between $50,000 and $72,000 of free money per year.

75% of Meadows students double major. Some recent examples of Theatre double majors include computer science, history, political science, English with creative writing and more. In addition, we offer minors in arts entrepreneurship and in arts management.

We still have several opportunities for students to apply and audition for the upcoming school year. Admission information and updates are posted at smu.edu/theatreadmission. If you have questions about the B.F.A. in Theatre at SMU Meadows School of the Arts, we want to hear from you. Please feel free to email our representatives in our Meadows Admission office, and they can tell you more about audition dates, our special Meadows Spotlight and Mustang Day virtual visits and more.

Sincerely,

Blake Hackler
Associate Professor, Head of Acting, and Chair, Division of Theatre
SMU Meadows School of the Arts
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Theatre Degree Information
Instagram: smu.theatre
Video: Why I Chose SMU Meadows Theatre