New Department of Drama and Speech To Increase Staff
This article describes the growth of the Drama and Speech Department. This and other articles may be found in the University Archives.
Citation for this article is: "New Department of Drama and Speech To Increase Staff," The Daily Reflector, June 26, 1963.
East Carolina College's new Department of Drama and Speech will begin the fall quarter of 1963-1964 with a faculty of seven members, two of whom will be additions to the staff; a curriculum of approximately 25 courses; and aprogram of theatrical and musical productions for the school year.
After a sweeping reorganization of departments of instruction authorized last May by the college Board of Trustees, various courses previously taught in the Department of English were designated as a curriculum for majors in the new Department of Drama and Speech. Additions to these course offerings are now being planned.
Edgar W. Loessin, for the past year a faculty member of the Department of English and Director of the East Carolina Playhouse, heads the Department of Drama and Speech. He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and holds the master of fine arts degree from Yale University.
Associated with him as faculty members are the following former members of the Department of English: John Sneden, Technical Director of the Playhouse; Rosalind Roulston, Director of Radio and TV; Dr. Lucile H. Charles; and Mrs. Lena B. Reynolds.
Two new members will join the faculty of the new department at the beginning of the 1963 fall quarter September 9. The are Helen Vane Steer, B.A., M.A., and candidate for the Ph.D., Louisiana State University; and G. Douglas Ray of Milford, Conn., B.A., University of Kentucky, who is scheduled to receive the M.F.A. at Yale this month.
Both have had experience as teachers and as directors of plays; and have acted in productions of summer theaters, stock companies, and college and university drama groups. Miss Steer is also a violinist, and Ray is a singer, and both have participated in musical productions.
Miss Steer and Ray will work with Loessin adn Sneden in the East Carolina Playhouse, college drama organization. A schedule of productions for the 1963-1964, now being planned, will include full-length dramas, workshop plays, and the annual musical production sponsored by the Student Government Association. Already announced for the 1963-1964 is presentation of the popular "West Side Story" as the musical production for the school year.
The curriculum of the Drama and Speech Department includes courses required of students majoring in the department and in various other fields, such as Voice and Diction, Public Speaking, and Oral Argumentation, and specialized courses planned for majors in the new department, such as Play Production, Acting, Directing, Stage Lighting, and Playwriting.
