Department of Film and Theatre

Office: Hugh Gillis Hall 100

Telephone: 408-924-4530

Email: filmandtheatre@sjsu.edu

Website: www.sjsu.edu/filmandtheatre

Professors
Amy Glazer
Kimb Massey
Alison McKee

Babak Sarrafan
Matthew Spangler, Chair

Scott Sublett

Associate Professors
Andrea Bechert
Sukanya Chakrabarti
Harold Mathias

Assistant Professors
Hojeong Lee
Chafin Seymour
Raha Shojaei

Overview

The Department of Film and Theatre prepares students for successful careers and leadership roles in performance and media. We develop media artists, directors, screenwriters, actors, designers, cinematographers, producers, technicians, educators, and scholars of the highest possible caliber. The entertainment industry is one of the largest contributors to the national economy, and media creators and performers are some of the strongest influencers in our society. To produce and distribute media that influence cultural dialogue requires a rigorous liberal arts education. All aspects of Film and Theatre are under the guidance of award-winning filmmakers and theatre professionals, many of whom work in the industry. As a center for the training of future artists, the Department of Film and Theatre is committed to introducing a diversity of fine arts and cultures to students. The Department provides students with the foundation to enter the entertainment industry, giving them excellent preparation to attend graduate school or enter the profession directly after graduating with their program degree.

Renowned for its rigor and depth, the Dance program offers students an exciting world that is at once physical, artistic, and intellectual, with the intensity of a conservatory and the warmth and care of a large family. At the end of their studies, students are ready for the field as performers, choreographers, teachers, technicians, fitness instructors, and more. Throughout the program, dancers at every level train weekly in a number of different dance genres. This not only enlarges a dancer’s vocabulary but also offers distinct methods of conceiving movement, shaping the body, and communicating through one’s physical instrument. All dancers learn to be choreographers in choreographic workshops, where they are challenged to develop their creative acumen and to begin to experience themselves as unique artists with their own movement signature.

Performance, where technique and creation come together, is the heartbeat of Dance at SJSU in many ways. With a committed faculty of esteemed professional artists active in the field, performance threads itself throughout the curriculum. Whether it is one’s first year or senior year, dancers have the chance to rehearse and showcase their own and others’ work before supportive audiences. For those pursuing a BFA, the University Dance Theater (UDT) is a key component; while BA students are welcome to audition, UDT participation is optional. Renowned guests are a vital part of SJSU’s training, too. Each year, established or up-and-coming artists join the department as artists-in-residence, rubbing shoulders with students, opening eyes to new ways of dancing or thinking of dance, and even including them in staged work. Recent artists include Kyle Abraham, Doug Varone, Camille Brown, Gallim Dance, and Mike Esperanza. Amid such abundance, the curriculum is anchored by courses in history, culture, science, technical training and self-care.

The BA in Radio-Television-Film focuses on the development of creative voice and artistic expression in the context of a rigorous liberal arts education. This comprehensive program emphasizes a hands-on, project-based approach in which students will learn all the aspects of radio, audio, television and film production through the use of our state-of-the-art facilities and best industry practices. Students will receive a solid foundation in the areas of Television/Film Production including sound-for film, Screenwriting, Radio-Television-Film Studies and Radio Production. Our Radio-Television-Film Studies program offers a comprehensive study of media from historical, cultural, and critical perspectives. While earning a BA in Radio-Television-Film, students gain industry experience working with Spartan Studios (our in-house film studio), developing their directing skills for television and film, interning for local film festivals, or working on numerous media projects from the Bay Area to Los Angeles, across the country, and internationally. Students can also gain hands-on experience working with KSJS 90.5-FM, SJSU’s student-run, award-winning radio station that has been on-air, 24/7 365 days a year for over 60 years. Finally, the RTVF program is proud to have an active student networking club, the Film Production Society, where students can develop and produce independent RTVF projects.

The BA in Theatre gives students an opportunity to participate in a strong professional theatre curriculum with high-quality productions that serve as a learning laboratory in which students collaborate with faculty and guest professionals; through studio workshops and advanced productions at San Jose State University’s newly acquired Hammer Theatre. The Theatre Program offers three areas of study with the specific goals of serving each student: acting and directing for film, television and theatre; musical theatre; and design and technology. While earning their BA in theatre, students gain real-world experience from working onstage and backstage with professional organizations such as the California Shakespeare Theatre, Magic Theatre, San Francisco Playhouse, TheatreWorks, and the Berkeley Repertory Theatre.

Programs

Courses

Dance

Radio - Television - Film

Theatre Arts

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