CTSA Academic Departments - Drama

The Drama Department of the Claire Trevor School of the Arts is one of the country’s top ranked academic and professional training programs – one that respects the legacy of the art form while actively advancing its future. Our diverse faculty have earned stellar reputations in academia while also maintaining distinguished careers in all facets of the entertainment industry.

We all share the same goal: preparing students for fruitful careers in theatre, film, television and more by providing them with a wide range of focused academic and creative experiences. In addition to our comprehensive program of acting, directing, design, stage management and theory, we provide hands-on participation in productions throughout a student’s course of study in order to open them up to the widest possible vistas.

Our acting faculty has published more books, and more leading books on acting and acting theory, than the faculty of any drama/theatre department in the world.  We have several graduates acting on Broadway at virtually any given time, including those in the leading roles in Wicked, Hair, and Jersey Boys.  

The Claire Trevor School of the Arts has the only PhD Drama program in the country -- run jointly with UC San Diego -- that ranks in the Top 10 in the U.S.  Our MFA and BFA showcases are packed with first-tier agents, managers, and casting directors, and our students are signed on both coasts.  

We have the only NYC Satellite Program – a four-week intensive residency in Manhattan with instruction by working theatre professionals.  We run a million dollar state-of-the-art sound design studio supported by Meyer Sound Labs.  Our faculty is consistently directing, designing, and stage managing in leading professional theatres and themed entertainment venues around the world.

Drama Department:  drama.arts.uci.edu

(Pictured: Evita, May 27-28, 2016 at the Irvine Barclay Theatre)