This may be of interest to Canadian Theatre/ Drama Departments

[Kathleen Irwin]

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This may be of interest to Canadian Theatre/ Drama Departments 

On September 26 2012, the University of Regina posted an update
regarding the university-wide Academic Program Review (APR) on their
public website. The information in the announcement regarded major
changes to the delivery of programs within the Theatre Department. It
was erroneous and, as many of you across Canada have asked about it,  I
want to correct the misinformation and provide a context for the
statement. What was posted was news that the Theatre Department had
retired its BFA in the Performance and Design / Stage Management streams
effective January 1, 2013 * after 42 years. While this was true in part,
it was only partial. The official statement from the Theatre Department
on what really happened follows here.   

The Theatre Department at the University of Regina is focusing
attention on the delivery of the core degree, the BA in Theatre and
Performance (with optional concentrations in acting or design/stage
management). We see this as a way of consolidating our course offerings
into a flexible degree that optimizes our skills and resources and
enables students to choose widely from a menu of courses that reaches
across the Fine Arts disciplines or to pursue further training in
theatre, a professional career or higher education.    

We believe that this will educate students to be broad thinking and
resourceful in their approach to creativity while they are here at the
university and when they graduate into the world beyond whether they
chose to pursue further training in theatre, a professional career or
higher education.  
   
In reality, nothing changes in the delivery of our program other than
the name change. In doing this we feel we are reflecting a current shift
across North America in the delivery of performance-based undergraduate
training by allowing our student more control over their course of
study. We are excited to offer a more progressive degree * A BA in
Theatre and Performance that will highlight traditional training in
addition to innovative courses in creative technologies and
community-oriented practice.   
The BFA programs are suspending admissions as of January 1. Current
students have 6 years to complete.   

While the official Theatre Department statement points to exciting new
directions in course delivery (digital media, community*oriented
practice, links with indigenous communities, ACTRA mentorships,
international exchange), it also puts a slightly optimistic spin on a
slow decline that masks a self-fulfilling prophecy (the annual
department budget is now $40,000 less than it was 16 years ago). Cuts
and changes are almost always read in a negative way. What is
self-fulfilling is that the withdrawal of funding and the loss of 2 key
faculty positions in the studies area (due to cuts and attrition) and
the elimination of many sessional positions in a department already
stressed by tight overall budgets and static numbers is demoralizing and
it immediately impacts registration. When current and potential students
sense weakness, they look elsewhere for education and training. This is
not only true at the U of R. Anecdotal information indicates that many
smaller departments across the country are suffering as administrations
slowly withdraw support in those areas following fiscal strategies that
prioritize student numbers and research dollars over less directly
quantifiable measures of success that the arts amply produce * strong
and transferable skills training, vibrant community building activity,
creative problem solving, enhanced tourist activity, and so forth.
Students will take note and Theatre Departments will continue to
crumble.  

In our case, following APR directives to modernize old courses, the
Theatre Department was aggressive and proactive in cleaning up programs
thereby making them more focused, accessible, flexible and aligned with
current interdisciplinary pedagogy. However the overall net gain is
negative as the perception that we are now closed for business, fed by
the University*s fatal error in reporting changes to our program,
persists despite retractions, rebuttals and statements that stress
otherwise. This is, in fact, why I am so emphatically making two points
simultaneously: 1. The Theatre Department at the University of Regina is
open for business; 2. The University is slowly pulling the rug out. The
third point is: if it is happening here, it will happen elsewhere.  
  
This is all happening within a wider provincial context. Over the past
6 months, the film business in Saskatchewan has received a deathblow
through changes to the Saskatchewan Film Employment Tax Credit. This has
affected the entire creative industry and it is estimated that
approximately 600 arts professionals are leaving the province for
greener pastures. As head of the Theatre Department at the University of
Regina, I am, in part, responsible for the training of our undergraduate
students to prepare them for a future in the Theatre, Television and
Film industry in Saskatchewan. Every year we graduate young people who
are trained in acting, technical direction, costume, set, props,
lighting and sound design.  These are the troops on the ground who help
make the industry vibrant and successful. Without jobs to go to, our
graduates will join the flood of young people leaving the province and
they will take our training / their education with them.   

These two events are, of course linked in important and obvious ways.
The arts feed into a complex ecosystem * when one part is jeopardized,
the rest of the organism begins to fail as well. Is this important? You
tell me. 

Kathleen Irwin, Head 
Theatre Department, University of Regina 
Kathleen.Irwin at uregina.ca 
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