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Click here to see 2007-2008 Theatre Major Studies Student Headshots!

The Plano East Theatre Department is a vibrant, active and committed program. One of our greatest strengths is exposing students to dramatic literature, not only in class study but in production as well.  In recent years Plano East students have performed works by Ibsen, Brecht, Anouilh and Shakespeare.

Another strength is our guest artist program.  We are able to bring in professional artists to work with our students including workshops in Kabuki, Laban, Sanskrit, Chinese Opera, stage combat, theatre dance, acting for the camera and auditioning techniques.  We are very fortunate to have access to theatre professionals from SMU, UT Dallas and Collin County Community College as well as former students who love to come “home” and share their experiences.

One of our main missions is to instill a love for theatre and to create not only the artists of tomorrow but also the audiences of tomorrow.  We require our students to attend outside plays including professional plays and to write reviews of their experiences.  Hopefully this habit of attending shows will follow them throughout their lives.  Being in the Dallas area, our students get the chance to see work at The Dallas Theater Center, Kitchen Dog Theatre, The Undermain, Theatre Three and many others. We are also members of the Dallas Chapter of CAPPIES.  This national program allows students to be trained as theatre critics and then attend fellow high school members’ productions.  They write and submit reviews that are then selected for publication in The Dallas Morning News. 

Plano East performs in a wide variety of venues.  From stages to cafeterias, ballrooms to gyms we can create theatre anywhere.  But our greatest gift is our ability to touch the lives of students, to open their eyes to the power of theatre as a vehicle for discovering  themselves and the world around them.  Years after they have graduated, students come back just to say thank you and let us know how much theatre helped them, enlightened them and opened doors for them.  We are tremendously honored to work with the great students in PISD!

The Plano East Theatre Department offers a variety of exciting and challenging courses, ranging from introductory acting and stagecraft, to advanced theatre production and IB Theatre. Students are given the opportunity to work with professionals and guest artists in areas such as dance, stage combat and film. We also offer a full season of plays starting in September with the Theatre Major Studies Show, followed in October or November with the fall department production. In the spring semester, we produce the IB One Acts in February, the UIL competition play in March, and the Major Studies One Acts in April. We wrap it all up in May with Showcase, an evening of solo performances.

If you have any questions about Theatre courses at Plano East call Lisa Hale @ 469-752-9247 or lhale@pisd.edu.