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Performing Arts

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The Performing Arts Department houses the Music, New Media Studies and Theatre programs, as well as related minors and courses in film and dance. Performing arts students gain experience in theatrical and musical performances onstage, backstage, front-of-house and as members of the audience. Performances take place regularly in the Fine Arts Instructional Center’s Concert Hall, DelMonte Studio Theater and Proscenium Theater, as well as in other on-campus spaces. Eastern music and theatre students have also toured Connecticut, New York City, Puerto Rico and London.

Co-Chair, Music:
Okon Hwang
FAIC Room 240
(860) 465-5109
Co-Chair, Theatre:
David Pellegrini
FAIC Room 225
(860) 465-5583
Performing Arts Office:
FAIC 244
(860) 465-5325
(860) 465-5764
Students playing instruments in the orchestra
Music Program
Students singing on stage
Theatre Program
Professor helping student on computer
New Media Studies

Programs of Study

  • Housed in the state-of-the-art Fine Arts Instructional Center, Eastern’s Music Program provides theoretical and hands-on opportunities that emphasize the history, theory, performance and criticism of music and musicians from Western and non-Western traditions. Three concentrations—in Performance, Musicology, History, Composition and Criticism and Music Industry and Leadership are available. Students benefit from nine ensembles, personal instruction on a variety of instruments; and facilities that include nine practice rooms for student use, a 400-seat concert hall, a proscenium theater, a studio theater, two performance labs, a piano lab and several graphic design classrooms. A Music minor is also available to non-Music majors.

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  • New Media Studies offers students an innovative program of study that is structured in three tiers. New Media Studies majors in Visual Art will be prepared for careers in such fields as digital motion graphics, game and apps design, social media applications for advertising and marketing, digital projections and special effects for live performance, audio/video production, 2-D and 3-D animation, and as creative mixed-media artists working primarily with digital technologies.

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  • Theatre majors at Eastern examine the history of performance and gain practical experience in production. They work onstage, backstage and front-of-house through classes, independent studies, internships, practica and study tours, and on full-length major productions, one-acts, original plays and staged readings. The Theatre program produces four main stage shows each year, giving students many opportunities to develop skills and talents in all areas of theatre and dance. Concentrations include Acting; Dance and Performance; Directing; and Theatre Technology, Design and Management.

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  • The interdisciplinary minor in Costume and Fashion Design helps students develop skills and abilities in costume and fashion design. Using hands-on and computer-aided design & illustration techniques, students accessories and learn the basics of textile design & production.

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  • The Film Studies minor complements majors in Communication, the Visual and Performing Arts, English, History and Modern Languages. Students are prepared for careers or further study in the areas of film and video techniques, history and criticism.

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