DramaTech Theatre is

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

's student-run theater. They are also home to Let's Try This! (the campus improv troupe).

History

Early history

Georgia Tech first had a dramatic organization as early as 1913, when a student troupe later known as the Marionettes formed. This group disbanded during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

and in February 1947, a group of drama enthusiasts on campus met with Glenn James and formed the Georgia Tech Dramatic Club. Their first production, ''The Drunkard'', directed by Jack Pompan, IM '48, was so successful that the English department accredited the fledgling organization enabling it to obtain financial aid from the university system. Members received academic credit from the English department for their involvement. With this impetus, Zenas Sears, a local Atlanta radio personality, became the first professional director of DramaTech and presented a series of one-act plays in the Tech YMCA auditorium in the spring of 1947. For the next several years, DramaTech was a vagabond organization, presenting its plays in a variety of venues, including the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams (philanthropist), Georg ...

and the Fowler Street School Auditorium. In 1952, with the assistance of architecture classes, DramaTech moved into a new home in the Crenshaw Field House, where it adopted a unique

theatre in the round A theatre in the round, arena theatre or central staging is a space for theatre in which the audience surrounds the stage. Theatre-in-the-round was common in ancient theatre, particularly that of Greece and Rome, but was not widely explored aga ...

. Unfortunately, this home was impermanent, and DramaTech was forced to move several times in the ensuing years. It occupied temporary stages in the Community Playhouse, an old church at Hemphill and Ferst, and later adjoined to the Robert Ferst Center for the Arts thanks to the work of Dean of Students Emeritus James Dull.

Recent history

In the years before Georgia Tech became coeducational in 1952 and continuing until 1987, Agnes Scott College students and members of the community played women's roles and other roles that

students could not convincingly portray. Just as the Marionettes had in previous years, DramaTech produced critically acclaimed plays that were popular with the community, particularly during the long leadership of Atlanta actress Mary Nell Ivey Santacroce. Santacroce (1918-1999) directed nearly all of DramaTech's productions from 1949 until 1966. Other directors have included Sylvia Zsuffa (1947-1948), Zenas Sears (1948-1949), Gerard Appy (1952-1953), Charles J. Pecor (1967-1971), Dr. Fergus G. "Tad" Currie (1971-1973), Dana Ivey (1974-1977), Becky Dettra (1977-1980), David Califf (1980-1983), Scott Rousseau (1983-1984), and Greg Abbott (1984-2006). In the early 90s, DramaTech created its own improv troupe, Let's Try This!, which is now 25 years old. The improv troupe began with the help of Robert Lowe and has continued to grow as a troupe, performing multiple times a semester and getting out into the Atlanta area. In 1992, DramaTech finally acquired a permanent home with the dedication of the Dean James Dull Theatre at the back of the Robert Ferst Center for the Arts. Dean Emeritus Dull and his wife Gay, long-time supporters of DramaTech, established the Gay K. Dull Scholarship awarded to seniors who have been involved with the organization. Dean Dull died on March 22, 2009. Greg Abbott, long-time artistic director of DramaTech died in December, 2006. Friends of DramaTech (FODT), the DramaTech alumni organization, offers the Gregory B. Abbott DramaTech Scholarship in his honor to current DramaTech students. DramaTech Alumnus Tony Vila created a database with the list of all past shows, the cast and crew list, and other people who contributed to the shows. Melissa Foulger is the current artistic director, having joined DramaTech in fall 2008.

References

External links

DramaTech's websiteDramaTech Theater Cast and Crew Database
{{Georgia Tech Navbox Georgia Tech Theatre in the United States