Creativity and collaboration are hallmarks of theater at Connecticut College
The College's theater program emphasizes both performance and study of literature and theory. We challenge students to work in all aspects of theater—acting, directing, playwriting, design, technical theater, dramaturgy and dramatic literature—so that they understand and engage in the process of creating theater, from initial creative spark to performance and post-performance evaluation and criticism.
We believe that a broad liberal arts education in theater produces graduates who are adaptable and self-directed. They are strong communicators, resourceful and resilient leaders, and creative and team-oriented collaborators. Theater study and training is ideal preparation for a life as a thinking artist and productive member of society.
You can participate in our main stage productions as well as in independent productions sponsored by the department or by student groups. The College's performing arts series, onStage, brings professional theater companies to campus for performances and workshops.
Other highlights:
- Any student can audition for virtually any theater production. You don't have to be a theater major to audition or take part in a production.
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All students are eligible for up to $3,000 for an internship, so you can take everything you’ve learned and put it to work. You can intern anywhere in the world, or locally through the College's long-standing affiliations with the nearby Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, the Long Wharf Theater in New Haven, and the Labyrinth Theater Company, which holds its annual training and developmental retreat here on campus. In recent years, students have completed summer internships at NYC's Pearl Theatre, the Culture Project, Signature Theatre, and The Public Theater, among others.
- Theater students may choose to polish their skills in conservatory-based study away programs, such as the National Theater Institute at the O'Neill Theater Center. Our students have studied theater in Russia, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom.
Many theater majors intend to make theater their career—as actors, directors, playwrights, stage-managers, technicians, producers or educators. Connecticut College alumni are administrators in New York theaters, stage-managers for professional companies, and actors in regional repertory companies, on television and in film.
Visit the theater department's website for more on the student experience, study away, research and news and events.
Events at a Glance
1984
Tansill Theater, Hillyer Hall
Friday, October 10, 2025, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, October 11, 2025, 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, October 12, 2025, 2:00 p.m.
adapted by Robert Owens, Wilton E. Hall Jr. & William A. Miles Jr.
from the novel by George Orwell
directed by Malik Work ’98
1984 Project is an immersive theatrical exploration of George Orwell’s dystopian classic, a cautionary satire on totalitarianism. Forbidden love is at the center of resistance and revolution against Big Brother’s “doublethink” declarations: War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, & Ignorance is Strength. “The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command."
Tickets: $10; Seniors: $5; Students: $5; FACULTY/STAFF: $5; CC STUDENTS WITH ID: $5 (General Admission)
Antigonick
Tansill Theater, Hillyer Hall
Friday, November 14, 2025, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, November 15, 2025, 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, November 16, 2025, 2:00 p.m.
(Sophokles) translated by Anne Carson
directed by David Jaffe
Anne Carson’s version of Sophokles’ Antigone is uniquely her own. She forefronts the difficulty of translation, the disturbing inevitability of tragedy and flexes the boundaries of textual fidelity in service of generations of poets, writers, artists and humans who have wrangled with the questions of the play, “Who’s law?!” and “What’s the cost of protest?
Tickets: $10; Seniors: $5; Students: $5; FACULTY/STAFF: $5; CC STUDENTS WITH ID: $5 (General Admission)
Promenade
Athey Center, Palmer Auditorium
Friday, February 27, 2026, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, February 8, 2026, 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, March 1, 2026, 2:00 p.m.
an experimental musical comedy
book and lyrics by María Irene Fornés and music by Rev. Al Carmines
directed by Kenny Prestininzi
We’re excited to revive Promenade by Maria Irene Fornés and Al Carmines, a 1960’s vaudeville musical. Two marginalized fugitives, known only as 105 and 106, bop about an absurd capricious world outsmarting a lively cast of characters. Through madcap scenarios and playful songs, Promenade prizes the free spirit over material comforts and explores the ways social expectations imprison or liberate our dreams.
Tickets: $15; Seniors: $10; Students: $5; FACULTY/STAFF: $10; CC STUDENTS WITH ID: $5 (General Admission)
2026 Capstone Theater Festival
Tansill Theater, Hillyer Hall and Loomis Theater, 33 Gallows Lane
April 23 – May 1, 2026; Times TBA
Our annual Theater Capstone Festival is a collective opportunity for seniors to finish their college careers with a major creative project. We invite them to take risks, to deepen their work, and to find their voices as artists and scholars.
Free Admission (General Admission)