Theatre and Dance Department

In addition to meeting the education needs of theatre and dance majors, our department provides cultural and artistic resources and opportunities to the broader Casper College community and fulfills the role of an intellectual and cultural leader for Central Wyoming.

Casper College is an accredited institutional member of the National Association of Schools of Theatre (NAST) and the National Association of Schools of Dance (NASD).

Degree info

For requirements and more information about these program, view their listings in the academic catalog:

Theatre Performance

• Explore performance through courses in acting, voice, movement, dance, auditioning, and dramatic literature.

Musical Theatre Performance

• Choose a specialized track of intensive study in theatre and music, including courses in voice, acting, music theory, keyboarding, and musical theatre history.

Technical Theatre

• Channel your creative energy into design and construction of scenery, lighting, sound and costuming. Work with state of the art equipment on the main stage and black box theatres.

Dance

• The dance program shall prepare students in dance or related fields by means of intensive two year training in dance performance, technique, history, and choreography. The program shall also promote continual study in dance, community outreach, critical thinking, and creativity, thus encouraging life-long learning.

Performance Opportunities

We also offer practical opportunities, the most important component in theatre and dance development. While at Casper College you will have many opportunities to be involved both on stage and back stage in plays, musicals, and dance concerts. Production opportunities serve as an extension of all classes as students develop acting skills, polish dance abilities, and construct and run all of the technical elements in each production. As a student, you will find that there is no better way to understand the classroom work than to apply it to real production situations.

For information on upcoming performances, visit our Casper College Arts website at https://caspercollegearts.cc

Facilities

The Department of Theatre and Dance is centered in the Gertrude Krampert Theatre Complex, a modern, well-equipped facility that was built in 1985 and was expanded in 2003. There are four spaces for students to learn their craft:

• The McMurry Main Stage: a thrust stage, surrounded by an audience of 400, all within 30 feet of the stage, which makes it one of the most “actor-friendly” stages you’ll ever experience.
• The Black Box: an experimental theatre providing a second theatre performance space for smaller productions of many types, from the avant-garde to classics, with a greater range of plays, performance events and subject matter than is possible on the McMurry stage as part of the main season.
• The Scifers Dance Performance Space: for dance productions prepared by the dance classes and the Flight Dance Company. The dance performance space is also a fully equipped studio space and is supported with a second studio space. Both studios have state-of-the-art dance floors.
• The Ken Ury Little Theatre: for student scenes and productions. This is a 50-seat space for a variety of types of small productions.

These spaces are equipped with the latest in technical equipment, with ETC computerized lighting control boards, intelligent light instrument, and digital sound. Costume students work in the renovated and expanded costume shop, constructing costumes from the body out. The focus of all these performance spaces is providing student opportunities.

Faculty

Larry Burger
Sound Design & Audio Engineer Educator

Joel Shura
Acting Program Director
Acting Faculty

Chontelle Gray, Ph.D.
Technical Theatre Program Coordinator
Theatre Instructor of Scenic Lighting/Design

Amy Fitzsimmons
Instructor of Dance/Choreography

Jodi Youmans-Jones
Dance Program Coordinator
Dance Program Choreographer
NASD Coordinator

Staff

Erin Brown
Performing Arts Specialist

Richard Sterling Merrill
Technical Director