BWW Student Center's School in the Spotlight: A Look Back!

Happy Thanksgiving Weekend, everyone! If you're a follower of BWW's College Center's School in the Spotlight series, you'll know that every Friday, we shine a spotlight on a school's performing arts program. With today being the day after Thanksgiving, to keep that celebratory feeling going, we bring you a special look back at the schools that have been featured in the past few weeks.

So join BWW as we look back and say yet another Bravo! to the schools below. And tune back in next Friday to see which school will be featured next!

And remember, if you're a student, faculty, alumni or a fan of a particular school's theatre/music/dance program, you can contribute to the chances of your school being featured in an upcoming BWW Spotlight by submitting content to their production listings. Each week, BWW combs through all submissions and selects a school to feature on our main Broadway page and the corresponding regional page.

Coastal Carolina University Conway, South Carolina

Coastal Carolina University's Department of Theatre offers a BA in Dramatic Arts as well as a BFA degree with options in Acting, Musical Theatre, Physical Theatre, and Design & Technology. The school's notable alumni include Adam Roberts (Spider-Man on Broadway), Caroline Cuseo (National Tour of Legally Blonde: The Musical), Michael Kelly (Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior, The Adjustment Bureau) and Bailey Hank (Elle Woods in Broadway's Legally Blonde: The Musical). CCU's busy performance season began with 'Iphigenia and Other Daughers' and upcoming shows will include 'Anything Goes, 'Lost in Yonkers', 'The Laramie Project', and many more. Read the full Spotlight and check out production photos here! 

Ball State University Muncie, Indiana

Ball State University offers Bachelor's degrees in Theatre and Dance, with options in acting, musical theatre, design and technology, production, theatrical studies, and theatre education as well as a design and technology minor. Notable alumni of the school include Eric Emery, Bill Murphy, Scott Halberstadt and Ryan Woodle. The production season this year offers a wide including, 'Evil Dead: The Musical', 'Six Characters in Search of an Author', 'Lend Me a Tenor', 'Reasons to be Pretty', and 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'. Read the full Spotlight and check out production photos here! 

Sonoma State University Ronhert Park, California.

The School of Performing Arts at Sonoma State offers a range of degree options for students interested in Dance, Theatre and Music. Students can work toward a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Arts with concentrations in Acting, Dance, Technical Theatre, or General Theatre, as well as participate in an Opera and Music Theatre Program available to Theatre and Music majors. The production season consists of the recent production of Paula Vogel's 'How I Learned to Drive' starring Tim Kniffin and Hana Castia, and continues with 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', 'The 3rd Annual Super Mega Molten Hot Lava New Play Festival', 'Oklahoma!', and 'Loot' amongs other performance events. Read the full Spotlight and check out production photos here! 

Point Park University Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

The Conservatory is a nationally recognized intense and comprehensive academic program taught by a renowned faculty. CoPA's Theatre program offers students concentrations in acting (including a Master of Fine Arts in Acting), musical theatre, technical theatre and design and stage management. Students entering the Dance program can opt to major in ballet, jazz, modern or dance pedagogy. CoPA boasts an impressive lineup of alumni including Broadway performers Nili Bassman, Melissa Rae Mahon, Pam Bradley, Case Dillard, Shua Potter, Mike Cannon, Lanene Charters, Anthony Hollock, Nadine Isenegger, Marty Lawson, Megan Sikora, Christina Sivrich, as well as a slew of television and film actors. Read the full Spotlight and check out production photos here!

Ithaca College Ithaca, New York

the Department of Theatre Arts is a nationally recognized academic program offering students five degree programs: a BA in Theatre Studies, BFA in Acting, BFA in Musical Theatre, BS in Theatre Arts Management, and a BFA in Theatrical Production Arts, as well as a minors in theatre and dance. Ithaca College's Theatre program provides students the discipline and preparation necessary for a professional career by offering a blend of rigorous academic learning and the opportunity to thrive in the school's production laboratory and on the main stage. Of note is the impressive list of alumni who have gone on to work and star in Broadway shows and regional productions: Ben Fankhauser, Aaron Tveit, Zachary James, Jeremy Jordan, Matt Cavanaugh, Tony Meola, Kerry Butler,Paul Gallo, Greg Mosher, Mark Price and Ben Feldman, to name a few. Read the full Spotlight and check out productin photos here!

Catawba College Salisbury, North Carolina

The mission of Catawba's Theatre program is "to create artists, not just employable theatre practitioners" by instilling on its students a comprehensive academic training, alongside an emphasis on practical and industry knowledge required to enter into a professional career. Catawba College offers a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre and Musical Theatre, as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Education and a Bachelor of Sciences in Theatre Arts Administration. Students enrolled in the program have the option to select a minor in Dance, Musical Theatre, Theatre Arts or Studio Art. The program's alumni who have gone on to star in regional and Broadway productions, include Joey Yow, Sonshine Allen, Anthony Johnson, Jason Duke, Carrie Harris, Jon Jordan, and Paul Saylor. Read the full Spotlight and check out production photos here!

University of California, Irvine

The Drama Department at UC, Irvine, emphasizes an all-inclusive learning experience connecting the study of drama to historical, political and social components, as well as encouraging cross-disciplinary activities with other departments on campus. UC Irvine offers a wide range of undergraduate and graduate programs with majors available in Theatre Arts, Acting, Musical Theater, Design, Directing, Literature, History and Theory, and Stage Management. UC Irvine also has the only PhD drama program in the country offered jointly with its sister campus, the University of California in San Diego. Alumni from UC Irvine Drama have gone on to leading roles in Broadway and regional productions of such shows as 'Wicked', 'Jersey Boys', 'Follies', 'Hairspray', and 'Shrek'. The impresive list of alumni includes Jenifer Foote, Mark Bedard, Jesse Sharp, Perry Young, Quinn VanAntwerp, Alan Mingo, Jr., Andrew Samonsky, Teal Wicks, Jenn Colella, Michael Morgan, Eric Weaver, Ashley Moniz, Annie Nelson and Pippa Winslwo-Rolandelli. Read the full Spotlight and check out production photos here! 

Questions/concerns/suggestions related to BWW's student center can be addressed to studentcenter@broadwayworld.com.

Photo of Sonoma State University's production of 'How I Learned to Drive' courtesy of Linnea Mullins