Cornell's newly named Department of Performing and Media Arts (formerly Theatre, Film and Dance) has announced its lineup for next year and two new faculty members.

The department name - approved by the Office of the Provost June 4 and effective July 1 - reflects a new model for the department and the new performing and media arts major, which challenges students to broaden their experiences in the disciplines and benefit from the synergies between the study and practice of dance and movement, live theater and media arts.

All of the department's activities build on a commitment to diversity and collaboration across all areas of the department, as well as across Cornell and the broader community, said Amy Villarejo, department chair and film professor.

Plans for next year include:

• students engaging with visiting professional artists in short visits and year-long residencies;
• faculty continuing to participate in leading-edge initiatives ranging from theater and media production and design to the study of cinema/media and theater/performance;
• students creating work - in partnership with faculty mentors - in classrooms, including plays, dance performances and films; and
• distinguished alumni returning as playwrights, visiting lecturers and speakers.

"Our student actors, choreographers, writers, designers and directors will bridge the worlds of live and mediated performance once they leave Cornell," Villarejo said. "We want them to understand something of their distinct histories and traditions, as well as something of their synergies and dynamism while they are here."

Two new faculty members will join the department this summer. Austin Bunn, a scholar working in the areas of creative writing, dramatic writing and fiction, will be an assistant professor in dramatic writing and screenwriting. His screenplay, "Kill Your Darlings," is currently in production, co-written and directed by John Krokidas, with Daniel Radcliffe playing the title role of Allen Ginsberg. Bunn received the Iowa Arts Fellowship to the Iowa Writers' Workshop at the University of Iowa and earned M.F.A.s in playwriting and in fiction at the University of Iowa.

Jeffery Palmer, a scholar working in the areas of anthropology, film and media and Native American studies, will join Cornell as a visiting lecturer in media and film production. Palmer was honored with a 2012 Native Lab Fellowship from the Sundance Institute to pursue his film project "Honor Beats: Singers of the Four Directions." He was also named a 2012 Flaherty Seminar fellow. He will receive his M.F.A. in film, video and media production this year from the University of Iowa. He also holds an M.A. in native American studies from the University of Oklahoma and a B.A. in cultural anthropology from the University of Oklahoma.

Highlights of the 2012-13 calendar

"Emergence," Sept. 20-22. A play conceived and written in collaboration with faculty and students. Main character Amanda runs her own physics lab and is planning her wedding. But when her agoraphobia threatens to derail all she has worked for, where can she find a safe haven?

• "Adding Machine (the musical)," Nov. 16-17; Nov. 30-Dec. 1. The story involves a man who is suddenly fired from his job and decides to seek revenge on his employer.
• "A People," Feb. 15-16, 22-23. This new play by Lauren Feldman '01 is a lyrical journey into heritage, tradition, religion, Jewish culture and humanity, reminding us that we're all descendants from somewhere and can choose to embrace, deny or wrestle with our lineage.
• "Crazy Blood," April 5-6, 12-13. A young teacher struggles to teach English literature to an unruly group of high school students. When a gun falls from someone's backpack, she grabs it and takes control.
• "Locally Grown Dance Festival/Risks in the Arts," May 1, 2 and 4. The performances explore risk in how we make and view work.

Special discount flex passes and single tickets will go on sale July 1 at http://www.schwartztickets.com or at 254-ARTS.