Stanford University Department of Theater and Performance Studies

The integration of the practical knowledge of theater-making with the humanistic knowledge of the history and theory of performance is central to our department’s vision. At TAPS, theory and practice are inextricably linked and mutually reinforcing. We prepare our students to become scholar-artists fluent in both of these languages.

If the idea of the scholar-artist is at the core of our department’s vision, then teaching is at the center of our mission.  We teach our graduate and undergraduate students in academic classes and seminars, in acting and dance studios, and by mentoring them in their creative work and scholarly research. No other activity can surpass or replace having students enrolled in our classes and studios and majors and minors pursuing their degrees in our department. Creating the context for probing dialogues and participatory experiences in our classes is essential to guiding students into discoveries of how the performing arts can be utilized as a fresh platform for illuminating pressing social issues and paths of change.