The Daily Mining Gazette - Published: Monday, December 17, 2007 Print Article | Close Window New MTU theater degree on the horizon By DAN SCHNEIDER, DMG Writer HOUGHTON — While most of the study in the theater field at Michigan Technological University currently focuses on backstage work like set and lighting design, a new degree program will put more students onstage. And behind a microphone. And on camera. Tech’s board of control gave preliminary approval to a new Bachelor of Arts degree, “Theater and Electronic Media Performance,” at its meeting Friday. The program will add to degrees the university offers through its Visual and Performing Arts in fields such as Theater and Entertainment Technology, Sound Design and Audio Production and Technology. “It’s connected to what we are doing technologically, but it’s complementary,” Tech Provost Leslie Lovett-Doust said. The program will focus on skills related to video documentary production, radio commercials, animation voicework, audiobook projects and industrial narration, among others, in addition to stage performance. Visual and Performing Arts Chair Dr. Roger Held said theater performers often make only half of their income from stage performance and make the other half from the pursuits the new degree will cover. “Traditional theater programs don’t formally or informally teach how to make a living in that other 50 percent of the marketplace,” Held said. “Our aim here is to give students an opportunity to do those things as part of a performance program so when they leave, they have a portfolio of ‘I have done this and I know how to do this’ and that gives them a leg up in the world of making a living.” The program starts with “the fundamental skills in terms of performance,” Held said. “And we emphasize voice more so than most programs do.” He said voice skills are of particular importance in the field of electronic media production. Held said 20 to 30 is the target student population for the course. When the technical theater degree programs reach their target of 80 students, Tech will achieve an approximate inversion of most universities’ ratio of technical to performance students. “We’re looking to ... have about 80 percent of our students be designers and technicians and have about 20 percent be performers,” Held said. “There will be enough opportunities for the actors and at the same time we won’t be burning out the technicians who are busy creating more and more productions to service the actors.” The proposed degree program will undergo scrutiny by a council of presidents from other universities then come back to the Tech Board of Control for final approval, probably in February. “We’re expecting to have the first students in fall of 2008,” Held said. Dan Schneider can be reached at dschneider@mininggazette.com