Theatre

Middlebury Theatre aspires to be a hothouse of intellectual creativity where traditional distinctions are reimagined, challenging students to become innovators and collaborators capable of shaping our culture.

We believe in the Artist-Scholar, whose aesthetic is forged by the interplay between making theatre and the rigorous examination of its history, theory and literature.

Opportunities for creative work abound, from introductory courses in acting, directing, playwriting and design, to working side by side with seasoned professionals at PTP/NYC, the College's Off-Broadway theatre company. Each year we produce a wide variety of student and faculty directed work, starting with the annual First Year Show. Through a combination of core and advanced elective courses, theatre majors prepare for their independent senior project: in this self-designed, capstone experience, students grapple with the complex aesthetic, social and personal decisions that go into any sustained act of creation.

Beyond the campus, Middlebury has a distinguished record of achievement, both regionally and nationally, at the Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival. PTP/NYC introduces students into an extensive alumni network, and for many graduates has served as a springboard into theatre and related industries.

29 seasons with PTP/NYC!

Since 1987, Middlebury College has supported a professional theatre company that presents a two-month summer season in New York City featuring Middlebury College students working side by side with professional actors.

This video celebrates the company from summer 2015.

Recent critical response to our work:

“A blaze of fireworks.”
     -BEN BRANTLEY, New York Times

“PTP/NYC's summer season, with its dedication to weighty, language-centered work, can be a welcome change from our customary downtown fare—it’s like biting into thick steak after months of meticulously prepared sorbet.”
     -HELEN SHAW, Time Out New York

“PTP/NYC absolutely lives up to its reputation for providing exciting and provocative theater.”
     -HOWARD MILLER, Talkin’ Broadway

“Truly satisfying. The passions that surge in the plays are captivating.”
     -MARK BLANKENSHIP, Variety

“PTP/NYC’s outstanding production is everything theater should be: engaged, troubling, passionate, intellectual, and dedicated to the heat of the moment.”
     -DAN CALLAHAN, Brooklyn Magazine