Theatre Arts Minor

The Parkside Theatre Arts Department is a small and special, award-winning program. Recognized by the Wisconsin Board of Regents in 2009 with the Award for Teaching Excellence, we continue to accrue accolades and honors, season after season.

Our high-quality productions rival those of professional theatres. In 2012 we expanded our production labs and added a beautiful new, state-of-the-art “black box” theatre. From classical to contemporary musicals, comedies and dramas, our audiences and students are treated to a rich range of experiences.

The basic objective of the theatre arts minor is to provide a foundation for further study, vocational or avocational, for all interested students. Students get a taste of theatre appreciation by immersing themselves in fundamental courses while gaining a broad knowledge of the art of theatre.

Learn more about the Theatre Arts Department at Parkside.

Program Entry Auditions/Portfolio Reviews

A University of Wisconsin Parkside Signature Program

Learning in Action

Drama Club
Drama Club promotes the importance of theatre arts within our surrounding communities. Learn more about Student Organizations.

Mentor Program
We partner successful returning theatre company members with new theatre majors, both traditional freshmen and transfer students, in order to help them have a smooth transition into Parkside, the Theatre Arts Department, and the many academic, artistic, and company expectations of the university and the professional theatre training company.

Professional Theatre Internships
Many of our students intern, apprentice, or are employed in the professional theatre prior to graduation. We have established invaluable professional theatre partnerships with the Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Milwaukee Chamber Theater, American Players Theatre, the Fireside Theatre, and many other theatres across the nation. Each year professional companies come to Parkside to hold auditions and interviews because of our reputation.

Professional Theatre Exposure
Each semester we take all of our students to see professional theatre productions in Milwaukee or Chicago and integrate those productions into our courses.

Professional Experience While at Parkside
Students at Parkside are given a direct connection to employment at the Fireside Dinner Theatre in Fort Atkinson, WI.

Professional Talent Reviews
Once a year, Parkside theatre students go through a process called talent reviews. Professional actors, directors, designers, stage managers, and casting directors come to Parkside to conduct a mock interview and give feedback to each student.

Awards and Associations

Regents' Award
Parkside's Theatre Arts Department was awarded the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents' "Teaching Excellence Award for Outstanding Academic Program." We are the only fine arts department in the state to ever win this award.

Regional Awards of Merit
In the area of artistic quality, our theatrical productions have received over 100 "Regional Awards of Merit" from the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival.

Associations
We are active members of the United Stated Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT) and the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF). Our faculty serve as regional and national board members, respondents, and presenters.

Learn more about the awards garnered by our program.

See what our students have to say.

PROGRAM CONTACT INFO

Rachael Swartz | swartzr@uwp.edu

Misti Bradford, MFA

Professor and Chair

Misti is thrilled to be a part of the UW-Parkside Theatre Arts Company as a professional artist/educator. Misti is a member of the United Scenic Artist, Local 829 and has extensive professional design and academic theatre experience, and has recently taught courses in costume design and construction, make up and wig/hair design, theatre crafts and properties, and portfolio and career development. Her professional design credits include, (Regional - Midwest) Childeren's Theatre of Madison, Milwaukee Rep Theatre, First Stage Children's Theatre, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, Rennaissance Theatre Works, Illinois Shakespeare Festival, American Players Theatre (Cosutme Crafts), (West Coast) -The Pacific Repertory Opera, Utah Festival Opera, Summer Repretory Theatre, (East Coast) Merrimack Theatre Company (Boston). Misti has also been a costume crafts artisan for regional theaters such as American Players Theatre, PCPA Theatrefest, and Summer Rep Theatre (Santa Rosa, CA) She has also received a number of national and regional design awards from the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival and has also been nominated for the Stella Gray Teaching award twice, here at the University of Wisconsin Parkside.

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Brian Gill, MFA

Associate Professor of Performance and Head of Acting

Brian J. Gill is a member of the Theatre Arts Faculty serving as an Associate Professor of Performance. A professional stage actor for 30 years, Professor Gill has performed with Next Act Theatre, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, Milwaukee Shakespeare, Renaissance Theaterworks, First Stage Children’s Theatre, goats & monkeys (co-founder and company member) and Milwaukee Repertory Theatre.

Chicago credits: Goodman Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Victory Gardens, Shakespeare Project of Chicago, Drury Lane Oakbrook, Remy Bumppo Theatre Company, and Provision Theater.

Regional credits: Southwest Shakespeare Compay (AZ), Theatre at the Center (IN), the Illinois and Texas Shakespeare Festivals, Allenberry Playhouse (PA), and the historic Ford’s Theatre in Washington DC.

Internationally, Professor Gill has performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre where he trained as a member of the first international artistic fellowship. He holds numerous weapon certifications with Dueling Arts International, Stage Combat Deutschland and the Society of American Fight Directors, where he holds the rank of advanced actor-combatant with the Society of American Fight Directors, and is a proud member of Actor’s Equity Association. Parkside Theatre directing credits include Book of Days, Hedda Gabler, A Streetcar Named Desire, Don Juan, Midnight and Moll Flanders, Love's Labour's Lost, Romeo and Juliet, and the Thanksgiving Play. Professor Gill has also directed Crimes of the Heart, The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales, A Midsummer Night's Dream, She Kills Monsters, and The Importance of Being Earnest for the College of Lake County.

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Jody Sekas, MFA

Associate Professor - Theater Arts

Jody Sekas is the Associate Professor of Scenic/Lighting Design & Technology at UW-Parkside. He came to Parkside from Humboldt State University, CA where he taught courses in scenic design, scene painting, technical production, properties design, theatre history, and CAD and computer rendering. Prior to Humboldt, Sekas was Assistant Professor and Scenic & Lighting Designer for the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and for four seasons was the resident scenic and lighting designer for the Sioux Falls Community Playhouse in South Dakota.

In addition to his resident design and collegial experience, Sekas has worked as a freelance designer and technician for such venues like the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, First Stage Children's Theatre, North Coast Repertory Theatre, Dell’Arte International, Omaha Theatre Company for Young People, Chippewa Valley Theatre Guild, Eau Claire Children's Theatre, Ferndale Repertory Theatre, The Western Stage, Utah Shakespeare Festival, and on several independent films.

Sekas received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Technical Theatre from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and a Master of Fine Arts degree in Scenic Design and Technical Direction from Humboldt State University.

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