Theatre and Drama Exhibit

Taking Center Stage:
Highlights from the Department of Theatre at SDSU


A poster from the play Orestes, 1970. Photograph. (Department of Theatre Records)

Even in its earliest years as a school for teachers (known then as San Diego Normal School and then San Diego State Teachers' College) San Diego State University offered theatre opportunities. Originally housed in the English department, the program focused on theatre for younger audiences. As the college expanded, productions with more mature themes were included.

Program for the play Therese Raquin, 1971, from the records of the Theatre Department.

A literary and dramatic fraternity, the Skull and Dagger, was founded by students in 1923 and is now one of the university's oldest student organizations. In 1926, Sybil Eliza Jones established a formal drama program and served as its director until 1947. When San Diego State relocated its campus from downtown San Diego to Montezuma Mesa in 1931, the drama program moved to the Speech Arts department and took up residence in the new Little Theatre. The quarters there soon became cramped but it was not until 1968 that another move occurred. That year, the Dramatic Arts Building (now known as Theatre Arts) was completed and opened with a bevy of valuable features, including the Don Powell Theatre, the Experimental Theatre, classrooms, and support facilities. In 1997, the department name officially became the Department of Theatre. The campus productions attract thousands from on and off campus. This display includes a sampling of the photographs, programs, and posters from the Department of Theatre records in the SDSU Archives.