The Knox Department of Theatre excels at working closely with students to create the best that theatre has to offer—observation and analysis of all dimensions of human experience, and public performances that engage audiences on multiple levels.

The study of theatre can help you to understand more fully the basic human qualities and to improve skills of expression, both emotively and intellectually. The department of theatre and dance offers a major that is designed to accommodate a wide variety of interests, as well as minors that allow you to focus on any one of four areas of interest: Dramatic Literature and History, Directing, Performance, and Design and Technology.

A unique opportunity available at Knox is our Repertory Theatre Term, during which students dedicate themselves full-time to the study and production of two major plays. Students take no other courses during "Rep Term"—all of their academic work is done in theatre. Working as a repertory theatre company, students are both actors and technicians. Intensive and rewarding, "Rep Term" is a Knox highlight for many students.

Theatre Program
The department offers courses in the theoretical, literary, and historical concepts of theatre and in practical aspects of theatre production. The major requires introductory courses in drama, theatre, and acting, as well as advanced courses in Shakespeare, 18th and 19th Century European drama and theatre, and modern drama. In addition, the department offers a minor in theatre, open to students from all disciplines. The theatre minor is available in four different areas of concentration, each requiring five credits:

• Dramatic Literature and History, which focuses Shakespearean histories, comedies, tragedies, and romances, as well as women playwrights
• Performance, which blends introductory drama and theatre with courses in acting and directing
• Directing, allowing students to take on a special independent project that might include directing a full-length production
• Design and Technology, which includes courses in theory and practice of stage makeup, scene design, stage lighting and costume design

Productions are selected by the Theatre Department so that, over a four-year period, you have the opportunity to see and be a part of plays drawn from each of the major periods and styles of drama.

Recent Knox College Theatre Productions
Working, a musical written by Studs Terkel, directed by Liz Carlin-Metz.

The Madwoman of Chaillot, written by Jean Giraudoux, directed by Dr. Robert Whitlach.

Our Town, written by Thorton Wilder, directed by Dr. Robert Whitlatch.

Nora, written by Ingmar Bergman, adapted from Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House, directed by Neil Blackadder—featured a more concise script written by the acclaimed film director, staged "in the round" on the stage of Harbach Theatre.

As You Like It, written by William Shakespeare, directed by Liz Carlin-Metz—direction inspired by the "hippie" movement of the 1960s, featuring live music and original compositions of Knox student, Adam Prairie.   

Noises Off!, written by Michael Frayn, directed by Dr. Robert Whitlatch—the famous farse whose set, which included a two-storied house, was built on a rotating platform.

The Skriker, written by Caryl Churchill, directed by Liz Carlin-Metz—a feminist play that featured mythical characters, vibrant costumes, and a set with trap doors and slides leading underneath the stage.

Round Dance, written by Arthur Schnitzler, directed by Neil Blackadder—featured student designed and created period costumes, and translations by the director himself.

Dancing at Lughnasa, written by Brian Friel, directed by Dr. Robert Whitlatch—a play about rural Ireland in the 1930s; half its cast was played by first-year students.  

Rep Term XIII "War and Sex", featured Trojan Women, written by Euripides and Lysistrata, by Aristophanes, directed by Dr. Ivan Davidson and Dr. Robert Whitlatch, founders of Rep Term.

Theatre Resources
Harbach Theatre is a spacious 600-seat main stage (revolving proscenium and thrust), with a computer-controlled lighting system.

Studio Theatre, dedicated to student work, is a flexible, yet fully capable experimental stage. Large, fully equipped costume, scene and make-up shops complete the facilities, which have been rated third among all colleges and universities in Illinois and by far the best among institutions of comparable size. Knox is also home to one of the most extensive and acclaimed Macbeth costumes.