2008 Woodie Awards
The evolution of Theater & Dance
Catherine Klene
Issue date: 10/12/07 Section: 50th Anniversary Special Edition
When Don Browning attended acting class in SIUE's Communications Building in 1970 and 1971, he did not realize how the skills he learned as a theater and dance major would affect his career as a contractor.
"I never realized how much of that I learned from them," Browning said. "They gave me a sense of poise, a way to organize my thoughts a way to present myself in public."
Now a retired contractor and former newspaper reporter in Sandwich, Ill., Browning said the theater program gave him the skills to become an effective communicator and conquer any fear he may have had regarding public speaking. There was no time to be timid, he recalled.
"You either had to get over it or get out," Browning said.
Browning was just one of many students to take classes in the Department of Theater and Dance over the past 40 years.
In 1966, the theater department staged "Bell, Book and Candle" in the building many students today know as Katherine Dunham Hall. Then, it was simply the Communications Building, originally meant for only mass communications students.
"(Dunham Hall Theater) was never really intended for theater," Sweezey said.
The theater as seen today was not meant for theatrical productions, but a television studio.
Sweezey said a theater and concert hall was supposed to be constructed next to the Communications Building in 1974, but this did not happen because of state funding cuts.
Instead, the Departments of Theater and Dance, Speech, Mass Communications and Music all shared the Communications Building. All but the Department of Speech Communications continue to do so today.
Over the years, the Theater and Dance Department's numbers have grown, both in terms of students and faculty, and the program was recently accredited. When the theater building was not constructed, upgrades such as electric winch systems were added to the theater, and classrooms were also added to make more space. A new wing was added for the music department as well.
"I never realized how much of that I learned from them," Browning said. "They gave me a sense of poise, a way to organize my thoughts a way to present myself in public."
Now a retired contractor and former newspaper reporter in Sandwich, Ill., Browning said the theater program gave him the skills to become an effective communicator and conquer any fear he may have had regarding public speaking. There was no time to be timid, he recalled.
"You either had to get over it or get out," Browning said.
Browning was just one of many students to take classes in the Department of Theater and Dance over the past 40 years.
In 1966, the theater department staged "Bell, Book and Candle" in the building many students today know as Katherine Dunham Hall. Then, it was simply the Communications Building, originally meant for only mass communications students.
"(Dunham Hall Theater) was never really intended for theater," Sweezey said.
The theater as seen today was not meant for theatrical productions, but a television studio.
Sweezey said a theater and concert hall was supposed to be constructed next to the Communications Building in 1974, but this did not happen because of state funding cuts.
Instead, the Departments of Theater and Dance, Speech, Mass Communications and Music all shared the Communications Building. All but the Department of Speech Communications continue to do so today.
Over the years, the Theater and Dance Department's numbers have grown, both in terms of students and faculty, and the program was recently accredited. When the theater building was not constructed, upgrades such as electric winch systems were added to the theater, and classrooms were also added to make more space. A new wing was added for the music department as well.
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