Union University will conclude its century-old theatre program through a teach-out process beginning in the 2022 fall semester, as announced to students involved in theatre by university President Samuel W. “Dub” Oliver and Communication Arts Department Chair Ashley Blair on Thursday, Feb. 24.
The university will no longer enroll students into new theatre majors or minors. Current theatre students will be taught out to complete their degrees. The program will not organize any further extracurricular main stage shows put on by the Union Players after the March 10-15 run of “The Count of Monte Cristo,” although class-associated performances may continue throughout the teach-out period.
Over the past 10 years, Union has graduated 23 theatre majors while continuing to provide the program with resources that total more than half of the communication arts department budget. In the same period, other communication arts programs such as digital media communications and film studies have grown significantly.
“We regret every time we have to make a decision to stop doing something,” Oliver said. “We constantly evaluate majors and minors just in terms of the stewardship decision and how many students are pursuing that.”
With the falling enrollment and high budget of theatre, policy discussions between university administration and the communication arts department have been ongoing since June 2021, when the program transitioned to be taught by adjunct faculty.
“Certainly, the decision ultimately rests with the president; however, for years, students have been making decisions with their own choices in terms of majors,” Oliver said. “We offered scholarships for theatre students. We were doing everything we can to attract students.”
“We all walk through and grieve this unexpected, difficult transition together. But we also look toward and build a new future together,” Blair said. “We all will continue to support and advocate for our students as well as current and newly emerging student-led opportunities.”
It is not certain how all of the various organizations and productions previously under the umbrella of the theatre program will be affected by its conclusion. The Union Players—the main extracurricular company—will no longer run productions. Blank Slate Improv recently became a chartered student organization sponsored by the communication arts department and will continue to hold shows independently of the change. Without the faculty advisement required by the office of student life, Second Act Theatre Company will likely disband. For the immediate future, the Beta Mu chapter of Alpha Psi Omega—the national theatre honor society—will continue its operations, but it may face national affiliation difficulties without university-sanctioned shows.
The conclusion of the major and minor programs will not end theatre performances at Union. Previous main stage productions, including November 2021’s “Decision Height” and the upcoming “The Count of Monte Cristo” are extracurricular projects not required for completion of the major. Past shows have relied on paid and volunteer work from non-theatre major students and faculty, who could potentially produce future extracurricular shows.
“I think it’s really hard to think about all those things just not existing anymore,” Julia Matteson, a junior public relations major and theatre minor said. “It’s sad. I don’t paint, I don’t draw. I go on stage and I do my thing—act, sing, whatever, tell a story—the fact that I’m not going to have the opportunity to do that again on Union’s stage is really sad because Union is a place that everyone loves. The students in that room all love Union’s theatre department, so when Union loses the theatre department, it’s hard.”
The communication arts department is working on solutions for future curricular productions during the teach-out period.
“We are reaching out to create partnerships with our local community theatres to ensure students have performance and backstage opportunities as they study. We want to ensure there are no gaps in their resumes,” Blair said.
“I think part of the grieving process is acknowledging the good gift that has been and being grateful for that—being thankful for that,” Oliver said. “Then, sort of the last piece is ‘hey, let’s make sure that the people who are finishing can finish well, can finish strong.’”
Photo by Laila Al-Hagal
