Academic Department

Performing and Media Arts

The Department of Performing and Media Arts follows a liberal arts program that emphasizes creative thought, intellectual growth, and performance skills. The faculty and staff are accomplished professionals who embrace a philosophy of training and mentoring within the context of a liberal arts education. Faculty teach courses and train students across the following areas: theatre, performance studies, acting and directing, design (lighting, sound, scene, costume), stagecraft, cinema and media studies, film and media production (analog and digital), dance, spoken word, voice and movement, and other areas in performing and media arts.

The department is housed in Cornell’s elegant Schwartz Center, which boasts three theatre performance spaces, a dance theatre and studios, film editing and production suites, film forum, classrooms, and scenery and costume shops. Opportunities abound for students to present their work through the department’s Student Laboratory Theatre Company, Dance Program and student film screenings, as well as via numerous student organizations on campus. Students can also take advantage of Cornell Cinema, which has been cited as one of the best campus film exhibition programs in the country. Cornell Cinema includes a media study library with extensive reference materials, publications, a film collection, and frequent workshops and presentations by guest artists and critics.