Department of Theatre & Dance

From directing, choreographing, acting and dancing to designing and technical work, theatre and dance are highly collaborative art forms at SUNY Potsdam.

Students and professionals engage in creative problem solving requiring the setting and meeting of long-term goals and the analysis and understanding movement and dramatic literature.

Faculty and students work closely in support of our active production program which includes productions that are directed and choreographed by students, faculty members, and guest artists. These include ten-minute and one-act play festivals, faculty dance concerts, full-length plays and student choreographers' concerts.

*Accreditation: The SUNY Potsdam Department of Theatre and Dance is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Theatre for the B.A. in Theatre, B.A. in Theatre Education and the B.A. in Arts Management https://nast.arts-accredit.org/

Rafael Villa '19

Rafael Villa '19 is a pioneer in several new academic programs on campus. He will be the first student to graduate from SUNY Potsdam’s new arts management program this spring and he is also the first "auto-admit" student to be accepted into the M.S. in Management program—a new master’s program that offers auto admission to Potsdam undergraduate students with a GPA of 3.0 or higher.

Emma Simon '12

Emma Simon ’12 recently returned to campus as an actor in the Pendragon Theatre’s touring production of “Pride & Prejudice.” She didn’t stop there, staying on for several more days to lead a clowning techniques workshop and speak to students about her work as an actor in New York City.

Passionate Faculty

Cynthia DuFault’s true love is dance. She has taught dance all over the country and in Mexico and has been trained in everything from modern dance to ballet, building her life around the pedagogy of dance and bringing extensive knowledge to her students since joining the College two years ago.

Morgan Ose '19

Morgan Ose '19, who is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in dance with a minor in pre-creative arts therapy at SUNY Potsdam, spent the Fall semester of her junior year studying abroad in Dublin, where she landed an internship at CoisCéim Dance Theatre—one of the top modern dance companies in Ireland.

James W. Dornemann ’99

James W. Dornemann ’99 thinks of himself as a problem solver at heart. As a light board operator for film and television, he is constantly tinkering and must keep up with the latest in technology to make sure that directors can get the shot they are looking for.

Fatima Simmons '16

Since graduating from SUNY Potsdam two years ago, Fatima Simmons'16 has quickly transitioned into a leadership role as a dance instructor in New York City as well as a dancer for “Pretty BIG Movement” —a plus size dance company founded by Akira Armstrong in 2008.