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History of the Department
Visit 7520.umn.edu for our new retrospective of the Rarig Center years, (1973-present).
Timeline of our history
* Theatrical entertainment made its debut at the University of Minnesota in 1881! The freshmen class presented a play entitled The Last Loaf.
* Eleven years later, the sorority Kappa Kappa Gamma presented A Box of Monkeys in the chapel of the "Old Main." At the end of the first act, the chapel burned to the ground as a result of some leaky gas lights on the stage.
* In 1921 a drama club was formed with an official faculty member designated as dramatics director.
* In 1931 the theatre department was established.
* In 1958 the University of Minnesota Centennial Showboat presented its first production, Under the Gaslight, beginning a summer tradition that continues on Harriet Island today.
* In 1963 the Guthrie Theater and the theatre department established an internship program for outstanding theatre department graduate students through the McKnight Foundation.
* In 1972 the theatre department moved from the East Bank Campus (Scott Hall) to the West Bank Campus. The resplendent Rarig Center theatre complex features production shops, a dance studio, classroom spaces, as well as 4 different stages: Proscenium, Thrust, Arena, and Xperimental (Black Box).
* During the 1970s the theatre department began its vigorous participation in the American College Theatre Festival--orchestrated by the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.--and in the United States Institute for Theatre Technology. In addition to its active participation, the department hosted regional festivals and conferences for both organizations.
* In 2000, the original Minnesota Centennial Showboat caught fire and was destroyed while being restored.
* The new Minnesota Centennial Showboat opens on Harriet Island in Saint Paul with Jeckyl and Hyde.
* In 2005-06, the Department of Theatre Arts and Dance celebrates the 75th anniversary of University Theatre and 20th anniversary of University Dance Theatre.