Tufts has a vibrant theater community, with many options and on-ramps for prospective members. They range from department-run to student-led and vary in commitment level. This includes all facets of theater engagement, whether it be acting, directing, tech, costume designing or anything in between. For incoming students, the most important note is just how open and accepting the theater community is. However involved you want to be, in whatever form you would like, you’re welcomed. So, here’s an incomplete list of all the theater opportunities at Tufts. This list will surely miss a few, mostly because the theater opportunities here at Tufts are constantly changing and growing. Still, it’s helpful to have an idea of what the broader theater community looks like. So here it is: a nonexhaustive guide to Tufts theater.
To start, there are the classic department-run shows. These are the closest to “professional” and thus may expect higher commitment levels. The Department of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies at Tufts will generally put on two mainstage shows a year, though it may support other productions on an ad hoc basis. The TDPS department put on two shows this year: “Almanac” (2021) in the fall, a student-written musical based in the past and present history of Black art, and the new-age hit “Spring Awakening” (2006) in the spring. Anyone can take part in these shows, either by auditioning to act or by contacting the production team for more behind-the-scenes roles. The TDPS department is also supporting one student-led production this semester, with four seniors directing and acting in their own production of “Macbeth” (1606) for their capstone. In addition to these shows, there is, of course, a myriad of classes students may take within the department, each having performance and technical opportunities. Overall, the TDPS department provides bountiful theater opportunities that are both professional and accessible.
In terms of student-run theater, the organizations are divided between musicals and dramas. Tufts’ musical theater student organization is called Torn Ticket II and will generally put on three or four shows a year. In the fall, Torn Ticket II produced “Mamma Mia!” (1999), and the spring brings both “Chicago” (1975) and “The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical” (2014) to the stage. These productions are entirely student-run, with the whole production team made up of students. In fact, the shows are proposed and voted on in Torn Ticket II student meetings. This means that if there’s a musical you’ve always wanted to put on, Torn Ticket II might be your chance to do it here. Torn Ticket II also puts on its biannual “Over The Rainbow” cabaret, which is also open to all for submissions. Torn Ticket II allows students to produce and perform in a number of different shows each year, giving them freedom that they may not have had in their high school programs.
For plays, Pen Paint and Pretzels, known as 3Ps, is the student-run drama program. 3Ps puts on traditional shows and original student works every year. In the fall semester, 3Ps put on “Dry Land” (2014) by Ruby Rae Spiegel and “Trainwreck” (2021), written by student Tatyana Emery.The spring brought “The Impromptu at Versailles” (1682) by Molière and “Opus 1” (2022) by student Ryan Pratt. This means that whether you want to act in, direct or even write a play for 3Ps, you can do it. These shows also have many students in technical roles helping behind the scenes, bringing another opportunity for students interested in theater tech.
Finally, there are also two audition-based children’s theater groups on campus. Trunk! puts on shows for schools in the area, performing silly skits and scenes for younger children. The group also occasionally performs shows on campus, still bringing that fun children’s theater air. Local Bard’s Players, which is housed under 3Ps, is the other children’s theater group on campus, specifically adapting Shakespeare’s plays for young school audiences. These productions are often silly and goofy but make Shakespeare’s complex language more digestible for a younger audience. Local Bard’s Players also does occasional on-campus shows and this school year, the group is putting on the parody show “A Very Hamlet Musical.”
Surely this list is missing a couple of shows, as there’s simply too much theater to list. This also ignores the countless a cappella groups, comedy and improv troupes and even a mime performance group. If this list tells you anything, it's that arts and creativity at Tufts is expansive and liberating. You can do whatever you’d like with whatever involvement you want. Theater can be your main thing, or it could be a two-to-three week stint. In sum, if there’s anything Tufts theater has, it’s nearly everything.
