In the black college and university, the acceptance of academic theatre
was slow. Most black colleges and universities were not established until the
Civil War, and theatre programs did not appear in these schools until the early
1900s. Howard University, established in 1867, formed the first college
dramatic group on a black campus in 1907, some sixty years after the founding
of the institution. But after World War I theatre groups in African-American
colleges and universities grew rapidly, due in part to a movement known as the
Little Theatre Movement and the interjection of plays on African-American life by
prominent dramatists in the 1920s and 1930s (Wallace, 1954).
From 27 identified theatre programs in historically black universities. two
case studies were conducted to investigate the importance of administrative
support, curricula, student population, retention and production activity as
factors in the survival of those programs. Observation of site artifacts along with
interviews of
faculty, students and administrators were sources for examining the four categories. Secondary sources included histories and various studies
in educational theatre.
At Institution K, an associate member of NAST, faculty and students
viewed the central and departmental administrative support as conscientious
and genuine. It offers the BFA degree in six areas of concentration. With 13
faculty and 188 students, the department offers an eclectic and diverse
production season of plays. On the other hand Institution P will close its
theatre program in the spring of 1997 because of low productivity and high
cost. Faculty and students viewed its central administration as uncaring and
non-supportive. However, the departmental administration although not
governed by a theatre practitioner appeared sympathetic and favorable.
Offering four areas of study, the program has 26 courses in the current
curriculum and one full-time faculty person who also serves as the artistic
director for the program. The program, however produces two major
productions a year. Both institutions have state of the art equipment and
facilities for theatre production. The results of the study seemed to indicate that
of the four areas involved in the study the most critical was administrative
support for theatre programs.
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