A New Chapter for CMU Drama
By Shannon Musgrave
August 18, 2022
The School of Drama at Carnegie Mellon University embarks on a brand new chapter underneath the management of Robert Ramirez, who started his tenure as head of faculty on August 1. As the start of a brand new faculty yr approaches, Ramirez has his sights set on attending to know the scholars, school, and workers, and dealing collectively to advance the college’s mission of wonderful coaching whereas additionally making a extra equitable and sustainable studying atmosphere.
Ramirez joins CMU from the Department of Theatre and Dance on the University of Texas at Austin (UT), the place he served as professor and chair. During his tenure as chair, Ramirez prioritized pupil expertise and studying outcomes, in addition to the development of college and workers profiles within the College of Fine Arts and the skilled realm. As a trainer and administrator, he set new requirements for recruitment of various pupil, school and workers populations, in addition to the event of equitable and inclusive casting and manufacturing processes and curriculum reform on the undergraduate and graduate ranges.
Ramirez has lengthy been part of the skilled theater {industry}. He has labored as an actor, director, voice artist and voice and speech coach at theaters throughout the nation together with the Guthrie Theater, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Cleveland Playhouse, Hartford Stage, the Alley Theater and American Players Theatre, in addition to quite a few Shakespeare festivals in each area. He has been a member of the Recorded Books repertory firm in New York City for over 20 years and is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association. Robert served a number of years as a board member and vice chairman of the United Resident Theatre Association and is a member of the National Theatre Conference. He accomplished his undergraduate research on the Los Angeles Theatre Academy at Los Angeles City College and earned his MFA on the University of Delaware’s Professional Theatre Training Program.
Over the previous two years, within the wake of the pandemic and an industry-wide reckoning round racial inequities within the American theater, the School of Drama has labored to look at and reimagine how academic theater can and may contribute to a extra equitable and sustainable discipline. Given his observe document for changemaking at UT, and his wealthy expertise as an artist and educator, Ramirez proved the correct match to steer the School of Drama into this new future.
“I’ve admired Robert’s leadership for years and could not be more delighted that he will be joining us at CMU. I’m absolutely convinced that he is the right person to take the School of Drama forward, in community and in this exact moment,” mentioned Mary Ellen Poole, dean of the College of Fine Arts.
“I am, indeed, honored to join the School of Drama at Carnegie Mellon,” Ramirez mentioned. “This is an opportunity to build upon the solid reputation and foundation that exist here among every discipline that contributes to the theater-making process and performance industry.”