R: The theater program is a nice, little, successful program.

P: Do they have a drama department?

R: Yes, we do, a music department, a drama department, and, of course, a dance
 department. You remember that Dance Alive actually was our dance company for
 a few years. From them we hired a couple of very fine dance instructors, and that
 was, again, just beginning to come into fruition when I left. And we built an addition
 to our theater, improved it, and added on some lovely classrooms for dance and
 music.

P: What about the theater itself? Has that changed at all? Is it the same original
 theater?

R: Except for some improvements to the stage. You remember, we gave up our chance
 for our own small theater to put that money into the big theater.

P: Part of the Performing Arts Center is Santa Fe money.

R: That is right. We were in the budget for $4,500,000 and we sacrificed that towards
 the big buildings, the beautiful new performing arts center.

P: I have been in your auditorium, but it has been years since I have been there, for
 a couple of performances, and I remember it was a relatively small auditorium.

R: Yes. It seated 300, and the stage was very small. We did get enough money to take
 the stage out and redo it, dressing rooms and all that, and then to add onto it all
 these teaching facilities for music and dance. We do have now a very nice teaching
 facility.

P: So in addition to the Hippodrome [State Theatre] and Acrosstown [Repertory]
 Theatre there and the old little theater, whatever they call that now, you also have
 the facilities at Santa Fe.

R: Yes.

P: Is the theater and that department a strong department at Santa Fe?

R: Yes it is. We do not actually have one person who is in charge of drama, but we
 have three or four faculty members in the area of humanities, theater, speech, that
 sort of thing, all of whom are very much interested in productions. During the year
 we do a number of things. Each time it may be a different member of the faculty
 who takes responsibility for it.

P: It is all pretty much student-run in terms of the students taking the parts.



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