Copyright 2009 by Andrew Gillis/Cascadilla Photography

A scene from last year's production of "Romeo and Juliet," featuring, from left, Ian Harkins, Alejandro Ruiz and Bridget Saracino.

Faced with a mandated budget reduction of at least $1 million, the Department of Theatre, Film and Dance did what it does so well: got creative. The faculty, tasked by the College of Arts and Sciences to envision the department's future, presented several proposals.

The "Performance and Media Model," supported by a majority of the faculty, will guide the reshaping of the department. It builds from faculty commitment to the integration of rigorous academic work with artistic creation and performance, within the context of a liberal arts education. Key elements include student-driven creative works and a blending of previously stand-alone areas of theater, film and dance and their expansion into new areas of performance, digital arts, media studies, body/technology convergences and other emergent rubrics.

According to Sabine Haenni, associate professor of film and American studies, "The model was drafted by a group of us representing theater studies, theater practice, dance and film -- all parts of the department." She hopes the model will give students "a great deal of both focus and flexibility, with core training in performance and media, and the ability to pursue a concentration of their choice."

"One of the consequences of having a model conceived by faculty is that we won't know the exact shape of what will emerge until the faculty has time to fully assess needs and generate creative approaches to the curriculum," said Amy Villarejo, professor and chair of the Department of Theatre, Film and Dance. "This process is a plus for the department because it requires a great deal of consultation with staff, students, alumni and others. The collaborative shaping will take months, but then all of us will own it."

The Foundry Theatre/Jon Wasserman

David Greenspan, shown here in his one-man show in New York City, will perform at the Schwartz Center Sept. 27 as part of the Performance Encounters program.

Peter Lepage, the Harold Tanner Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, noted that the department already is renewing itself with recent faculty appointments and a strong cohort of junior faculty. He applauded the careful approach of the faculty as they develop a "strong new vision" for the department. The resulting curriculum will generate a variety of initiatives and drive decision-making around performances. Villarejo anticipates most aspects of the program will be in place by July 2011. "Students' learning experiences will be at the heart of the changes," she said.

Some proposed directions, central to the model, include:

• Thoroughly rethink the undergraduate majors so the student experience reflects the changing nature of each field and the current practice of combining and integrating multiple arts fields.
• Collaborate to take advantage of such interdisciplinary resources as Cornell's English and other literature departments, music department and Department of History of Art and Visual Studies, the Society for the Humanities, and the College of Architecture, Art and Planning.
• Continue to offer teaching and production mentoring by professionals from outside the university.
• Increase student use of the Schwartz Center as a performance space for developmental and experimental work and as a laboratory for artistically based research.

Beth Milles, associate professor of theater who has directed on Broadway, said, "For students, I think the new model means more participation at diverse levels of performance and increased autonomy and authority in exploring and making artistic work."

An initiative consistent with the new direction is the expansion of Performance Encounters, a program that supports socially engaged artists whose work pushes the boundaries of theatrical forms and traditions. On Sept. 10, a workshop on teaching global cinema for Cornell faculty will feature experts in anthropology, film and cultural studies from New York City and the United Kingdom, who will share ways to go beyond the traditional area studies approach to teaching cinema. Other initiatives will be announced in coming months.

"We're looking not just to stay abreast of trends in our disciplines, but to forge them," said Nick Salvato, assistant professor of theater and graduate faculty member in English. "Cornell students can take pride in being part of a program that is staking out new ground, asking new questions and reframing old questions in new ways."

Susan Robertson is director of communications for the College of Arts and Sciences.