Norfolk State University, the historically Black educational institution in Virginia, recently was recognized as having the best fine arts program at the 2017 HBCU Awards in Washington, D.C. The university’s theater programs have been honored at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival and the National Black Theatre Festival.
Now the university has announced that beginning this coming fall, Norfolk State will offer a new bachelor’s degree program in theatre and drama. Up to now, the university has offered a bachelor’s degree in English with concentrations in theatre performance and theatre technology.
Anthony Stockard, associate professor of drama and the artistic director of the Norfolk State University Theatre Company, said that “with the implementation of this new degree, we are poised to expand our cultural offerings, partnerships and intensify the training of our forthcoming drama majors. Our new state-of-the-art building and this new program make Norfolk State University primed to be one of America’s best programs for training in performance and design and technology.”
Stockard is a native of Toledo, Ohio. He received a bachelor’s degree in theatre arts from Alabama State University and a master of fine arts degree in theatre from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts.
