Drama, Theatre and Performance Studies

Faculty List

Director
K. Gallagher, ARCT, MEd, PhD, FRSC

Associate Director (Graduate)
J. Carter, MA, PhD

Associate Director (Undergraduate)
B. Rubess, MFA, PhD

Professors
S. Bay-Cheng, PhD
K. Gallagher, ARCT, MEd, PhD, FRSC

Associate Professors, Tenure Stream
S. Boye, MA, PhD
A. Budde, MA, PhD
J. Carter, MA, PhD
T. N. Cesare Schotzko, MA, M Mus, PhD
X. Fan, MA, PhD
B. Freeman, MA, PhD (University of Toronto Scarborough)
J. Gallagher-Ross, MFA, DFA (University of Toronto Mississauga)
E. Leffler, MA, PhD (University of Toronto Scarborough)

Assistant Professors, Tenure Stream
E. Leffler, MA, PhD (University of Toronto Scarborough)
S. Lynch, MA, PhD (University of Toronto Mississauga)
I. Nwankwo, MA, PhD
L. Ridley, MA, PhD (University of Toronto Mississauga)

Assistant Professors, Teaching Stream (Continuing Appointment, Part-time)
F. Gagliardi, B.Phil, MFA, PhD
K. Gass, BA
S. Pesic, MFA
B. Rubess, MFA, PhD
D. Sears, MFA

Sessional Lecturer II – Long-term
G. Verdecchia, MA

Introduction

The undergraduate program at the Centre for Drama, Theatre & Performance Studies (CDTPS) offers a unique combination of rich and rigorous scholarship with high standards of practical training. The program provides students with an integrated set of critical and artistic skills through which to engage with broader intellectual, social, and political issues in the Humanities and beyond. Along with courses in theatre and performance theory and history, dramatic literature, dramaturgy, technology, and practice-based lab courses, the Centre offers introductory and advanced studio courses in acting, production, design, directing, and playwriting. The BMO Lab in Creative Research in the Arts, Performance, Emerging Technologies and AI, with their international scope and interdisciplinary approach, present the students with a unique opportunity to develop projects exploring the use of new technologies in the context of the performing arts.

The Centre’s undergraduate program has access to two theatres (the Helen Gardiner Phelan Playhouse and Luella Massey Studio Theatre) and a number of performance and rehearsal spaces available to CDTPS students and faculty. In June 2026, we are moving into a newly renovated state-of-the-art facility in University College’s north wing with a contemporary rehearsal studio, reconfigurable black box theatre, comfortable student lounge areas, ultramodern seminar rooms and hoteling workspaces, and a highly sophisticated studio space for our BMO Lab for Creative Research in the Arts, Performance, Emerging Technologies and AI.

Students graduating from our program have combined majors in the Humanities, Social Sciences, and Sciences, including English, Women and Gender Studies, Cinema Studies, Sexual Diversity Studies, Art History, Classics, Religion, Anthropology, Canadian Studies, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology, Human Biology, Computer Science, and Cognitive Science, and more.

Please note: While some of our courses are open to all students of the University, others are restricted to students in a Drama Specialist, Major, or Minor program. Some studio courses (Group B) require an audition, interview, or the submission of a portfolio. While entry into and progress through most of these studio courses require certain prerequisites, the Centre can grant exceptions on a case-by-case basis.

See guidelines and deadlines for more details.

Contact Information

Website: www.cdtps.utoronto.ca/

Undergraduate Office

Email: undergrad.cdtps@utoronto.ca
Phone: 416-978-8099

Note About Program Completion

Students can complete only one program type – Specialist, Major, or Minor – in an individual area referenced with the same four-digit program code.

The Drama, Theatre, and Performance Studies programs impacted by the policy: ASSPE2148, ASMAJ2148, and ASMIN2148