The Department of Theater, Film and Television has officially split into two departments: the Department of Cinematic Arts and the Department of Theater Arts.
According to Dr. Thomas Parham, chair of Cinematic Arts, the decision on the split happened before Thanksgiving 2013. Students will see the change in the fall 2014 handbook as it will become official next school year.
“In the fall, there will be no ‘TFT’ course designation. They will either be CINE or THTR, ‘CINE’ short for ‘cinema’ and ‘THTR’ short for ‘theater,'” Parham said. “For classes like senior seminar or performance and production, they will be often cross-listed, but ‘TFT’ will not be anywhere in the fall 2014 catalog.”
TFT launched in 2005 as a new department at APU. Prior to that, both theater and cinematic arts classes were offered through the Department of Communication Studies.
Senior film majors Zack Evans, Kaleb Tuttle, and Zach Cieszynshi. Courtesy: Brian Hartley
Dr. Rachel Tracie, theater arts chair, said the split is primarily due to rapid growth in both departments. According to Parham, the two departments combined currently host approximately 280 students.
Parham believes the Bachelor of Fine Arts programs served as primary causes for the student growth, crediting Dr. Michael Smith, cinema professor, and professor of acting Jill Lincoln as major advocates in establishing the BFA opportunities.
“It was kind of the ‘Field of Dreams’; if you build it, they will come,” Parham said. “I would say those two programs [cinematic arts and acting for stage and screen] are largely responsible for growth within the two departments.”
TFT introduced a Cinematic Arts BFA in 2010, an Acting for the Stage and Screen BFA in 2011 and a Screenwriting BFA in 2013.
APU Theater alumni Scott Arnold, junior theater major Claire Shuttler and senior theater major Scott Kuiper in “Merrily We Roll Along.” Courtesy: Theater Department Photo Archives
Dr. Gary Jim Daichendt, associate dean of the College of Music and the Arts, said the student growth has encouraged stronger, yet separate, identities.
According to Parham and Tracie, no major logistical changes are anticipated. The departments already use different facilities, such as the Edit Lab
for cinema students and the Mainstage and Blackbox for theater students.
Both chairs do anticipate, however, a direct impact on the students.
“Hopefully, one of the big things will be more directed support for our students,” Tracie said.
The split signifies an opportunity for each department to create separate mission statements according to artistic discipline. According to Tracie, theater faculty members will have a specific day planned to collaborate on their department’s shared vision.
Both fields of discipline, Parham noted, are changing and growing. The departmental separation within APU, therefore, is mirroring this development in the industry.
“There’s something about the importance of names…The Department of Theater, Film, and Television had such a great life and I think that
collaboration was really necessary for us to get to the point where we
can split with confidence and claim Cinematic Arts and Theater Arts as
their own departments.”
Students will still have the opportunity to major in one of the new departments and minor in the other.
Both Parham and Daichendt emphasized APU’s proximity to Los Angeles, which provides students with a unique accessibility to industry professionals.
“I am very excited and hopeful to see what changes are going to occur within the theater due to our shift in department,” sophomore theater arts major Michaela Summers said. “Now could not be a more exciting time to be a part of the theater.”
Both departments will remain under the new College of Music and
the Arts, which was established in fall 2013.
“It’s cool having all the artistic disciplines together,” Parham enthused. “Our media are different, but our creative processes are very similar. Whether your canvas is literally a piece of canvas for painting or a musical staff for composing or the stage for theater or a soundstage for cinema and television, what we do as artists has a lot of similarity.”
Daichendt believes the new college has opened up opportunities to collaborate with and learn from each artistic discipline.
“It’s exciting because it’s about growth,” Daichendt said, “making sure that we are recognized as a leader in the arts here in Los Angeles and in the Christian community. Not having dedicated departments looks as though we are not taking it seriously because they are robust disciplines, each in their own right, and it’s important that APU honors that.”