Students have a rousing good time in the 1998 UM production of Anything Goes.

Casual yet energized, the scene outside the University of Miami’s Ring Theater in Coral Gables was typical for “Summer Shorts,” one of the more recognized cultural events in the area. Some patrons pointed to colorful glossies of favorite actors by the house entrance, while others compared their preferences in the first half of a festival of one-act plays. In any part of the country, this animated group of people could easily be mistaken for the trendy club-hoppers that patronize the glamorous South Beach party scene. But here in the heart of Miami-Dade, they are magnetically drawn to something else—good theater.

For the past five years, an organization named City Theatre has rented the campus’ facilities in order to present two programs of new works selected from over 500 entries during the months of June and July. “At the Ring, everything’s a perfect fit for what we do,” says Stephanie Norman, who with Susan Westfall co-produces the distinctive series under Marjorie O’Neill-Butler’s artistic direction. “To carry out the logistics of rehearsing and mounting an entire festival would be next to impossible at any other local venue. Here within a short distance, we’re able to have several rehearsal halls and other conveniences you get with a theater arts department. The seating on risers allows us to configure the space any way we want and surprise our audience.”

Norman showers praise on UM’s 64-year-old, professionally-geared theater program. It gets support from a sound shop with such goodies as a 20-channel Ramsa mixer with 8-band matrix, a 16-channel Yamaha ProMix 01 with full automation and memory capability and two Panasonic DATs with QuickStart memory read ahead. A lighting shop boasts over 120 instruments and a design studio with an up-to-the-moment CAD system. Plus, the program’s scenic and prop warehouses stand out among the best-stocked in the area.

Throughout the academic calendar, this trove is put to good use by candidates in the division of design and production in studio classes that develop conceptualization, visual presentation and construction skills.

One singular sensation! A scene from the 1999 University of Miami Department of Theatre Arts/Ring Theatre production of A Chorus Line

Those who specialize in theater management study graphics for promotional media in addition to theirclasses in business law, public speaking and accounting. Every semester these students, along with performance and stage management majors, are expected to contribute to productions that keep the lights on at the Ring for over 70 days a year.

Other academic facilities may snooze through the hot weather, but the Ring—a circular structure built in 1951, now the centerpiece of the department—keeps humming along, boasting arena, thrust and proscenium possibilities, not to mention seating for up to 460 people. It’s important that “Summer Shorts,” besides packing this house, also involves faculty and students at UM.

“We’re in here the day after the kids graduate,” explains Norman. “They audition for parts and a number get to work as interns. Rather than do summer stock up the seaboard, they can stay in their own backyard and come in contact with a variety of strong directors and playwrights.”

Kent Lantaff, who manages the Ring and currently chairs the theater department, underscores the commitment his private university makes beyond the standard curriculum. “We do as much as we can to get involved not only with the larger community but with other university departments as well,” he says. “That’s one thing that makes our program very exciting.”

For example, in the recent past, an engaging production of Tina Howe’s Museum inspired the visual arts department to mount an exhibition. The faculty from religious studies has also gotten into the act by conducting post-performance discussions during the run of Holy Ghosts, which featured Appalachian snake-handlers. And speaking of the larger community, this November 10-18, the department will be presenting Jean Anouilh’s Antigone in a cooperative venture with the Consulate General of France, which will also sponsor French college students to fly to Miami during the run to interact with their UM counterparts.

“And in the spring,” Lantaff proudly announces, “we’re performing Much Ado About Nothing in conjunction with the International Shakespeare Association convention here in Miami.”

Musicals have traditionally been prominent on the UM stage, and this year is no exception, with Stephen Sondheim’s Company due in February. A plus for the theater department has been its association with UM’s highly rated School of Music. Appropriately, the name of the main campus facility has been lengthened to the Jerry Herman Ring Theatre, after the 1953 UM alumnus who gained fame in the American musical theater as a composer and lyricist (Mame, La Cage Aux Folles and Hello, Dolly!).

“Most of our majors are actors and most of our actors are musical theater majors,” Lantaff says of the program’s approximately 150 students, who are almost evenly divided between BA and BFA programs. These exclusively undergraduate tracks ensure candidates “against having to compete with grad students for roles or production assignments,” stresses the chairperson.

Still, most freshmen enter with a great deal of market savvy, ready to channel their talents. “A lot of that,” Lantaff observes, “is a direct result of an increase in magnet arts programs on the secondary and even on the middle school level. We’re seeing students having three, four, even more years of specialized training, prepared to excel in a professional program.” In fact, questions about the school’s New York showcase are among the most often asked by incoming students.

Exterior of University of Miami/Jerry Herman Ring Theatre

To meet the current $899 per credit tuition cost of a typical 15- aato 18-credit semester, qualified students are encouraged to apply early for financial aid. Opportunities include work study (with positions available at the Ring box office in costuming, scenic construction, set painting, lighting and properties) and scholarships through sources such as the Theatre Arts League.

While providing a very active environment, with an average of 10 students to each professor, the UM programs aim “to have an individualized, caring approach...but also to duplicate the challenges students are going to face in the world so that they’ll be able to compete successfully,” says Lantaff.

Sure, the department can single out former students who’ve made it big—Sylvester Stallone and Ray Liotta are prime examples—but alumni follow-ups draw up a much longer list of working actors, company managers, and designers around the country. Says Lantaff, “Many of our grads are making a living in the theater, and that is success by any measure.”

For further information on the University of Miami’s theater department, call them at 305-284-4474 or visit their website at www.miami.edu/tha.