Some of you may already know that the theatre program is undergoing the re-accreditation process through the National Association of Schools of Theatre. We are the only university in the state of Kansas with accreditation in theatre and we have been for decades. Every 10 years we are evaluated by a visiting team from NAST. This week, April 30-May 3, we are hosting these visitors. We are asking for your participation in the process by attending a meeting and being aware when they observe your classes.
Wednesday, May 1
2:20-3:00pm NAST visitors meet with undergraduate students, Nichols 127 (right after Shannon’s History class, do NOT skip another class to attend)
4-4:30pm NAST visitors meet with graduate students, Drama Therapy Room- West Stadium
Thursday, May 2
7:30pm THE GOVERNMENT INSPECTOR performance, Chapman Theatre in Nichols Hall PACK THE HOUSE- comps available for all Theatre students
If the process interests you further, here’s a link to a document about the importance of accreditation in the arts:
Visiting Evaluator Bios:
Tom Mardikes, University of Missouri- Kansas City, Professor of Sound Design
Tom Mardikes has worked on over 250 professional productions nationwide as Sound Designer for Kansas City Repertory Theatre, the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, the Dallas Theatre Center, Syracuse Stage, Coconut Grove, the Roundabout, Buffalo Studio Arena, the Alley Theatre, Great Lakes Theatre Festival, Heart of America Shakespeare Festival, Idaho Shakespeare Festival, and Shakespeare Santa Cruz. He has directed several stage productions. Mardikes has been head of graduate sound design training since 1986 and chair of UMKC Theatre since 2001. He has long been active in the United States Institute for Theater Technology, first as a Sound Vice Commissioner for Education and then as Sound Commissioner from 1998-2000.
Paul Steger, Virginia Tech, Professor
Paul Steger is the Director of the School of Performing Arts | Music | Theatre | Cinema at Virginia Tech. Prior to his appointment at Virginia Tech, Steger served as the inaugural Director of the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and taught undergraduate and graduate classes in acting, movement, directing, stage combat and performance development, and served in various administrative capacities in the School of Theatre at Florida State University (Tallahassee, Sarasota, Florida and Panama City, Panama campuses), at the University of Oklahoma’s School of Drama, Webster Conservatory and at North Carolina School of the Arts, to name a few. Professor Steger has appeared across North America, Europe, and Scandinavia as a performer, director, speaker, and consultant, coordinating efforts to create common vocabularies for world stage combat organizations and fight teachers at the international level. He is a member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Screen Actors Guild, and the National Theatre Conference among others. He regularly serves as an external evaluator for NAST and the University Resident Theatre Association (URTA).