Department of Dramatic Media

Hybrid Theory

The great designer Robert Edmund Jones once said, “The business of workers in the theatre is, as I see it, to express a timeless theme by means of the tools of one’s own time.” The department of dramatic media believes that storytelling, as found in the traditional disciplines of theatre or drama, should not be stagnant. It should evolve to incorporate the mediums of the day. Recent developments such as digital video and projection are combining with computer-generated animation, modeling and environments to provide exciting new ways to tell stories in a dramatic way.

What is dramatic media?

A relatively new concept, dramatic media has been defined by the Kennedy Center in its publication The National Standards for Arts Education as a “means of telling stories by way of stage, film, television, radio, or computer discs.”

At TLU, that concept has been adapted to create a unique and dynamic program of instruction and production. Intentionally developed as a hybrid of theatre, film and new media training, the program explores storytelling by way of the stage or screen, through the fusion and study of text, performance, design and technology.