Program Recognition
•Bullet: BA Theatre program emphasizes professional stage acting, hands-on production skills, and versatile storytelling training
•Bullet: Russell Sage is investing in performing arts as part of a broader commitment to the creative workforce
Training
•Bullet: 44-credit curriculum includes foundational and advanced acting, contemporary scene study, stagecraft, theatre history, stage makeup, stage combat, and professional careers seminar
•Bullet: Small classes and a 10:1 student-to-professor ratio support close faculty mentorship
•Bullet: Faculty include theatre professionals, Broadway-connected artists, and arts leaders including Robin Lewis and Todd Dellinger
Performance & Productions
•Bullet: Five to seven shows each year give students frequent stage and backstage experience
•Bullet: Theatre Institute at Russell Sage is a professional company on the Troy campus, giving students experience as performers, technicians, and teaching artists
•Bullet: Playhouse Stage Company partnership includes a shared scene shop steps from campus for set fabrication and technical theatre production
Notable Alumni
•Bullet: Anna Shields — actor, writer, and producer of independent films including The North Witch •Bullet: Danielle Lee Greaves (class of 1988) — original Broadway casts of Hairspray and Show Boat, tours of Parade and The Lion King •Bullet: Lucas Aurelio (class of 2018) — TV credits include Bridgerton and The Witcher Professional Development
•Bullet: Required internship and performance practicums connect classroom work with professional theatre practice
•Bullet: Students build experience in acting, directing, stage management, stagecraft, technical theatre, and arts administration
•Bullet: Connections across New York's Capital Region and western Massachusetts create additional theatre and film opportunities
Facilities
•Bullet: Schacht Fine Arts Center Auditorium offers a 700-seat proscenium stage with rehearsal, classroom, and music practice spaces
•Bullet: James L. Meader Little Theater provides an intimate 130-seat flexible black box setting
•Bullet: Russell Sage is planning multi-million-dollar performing arts space upgrades, including a new dance studio for 2026
Location
•Bullet: Troy offers a historic, arts-forward campus setting in New York's Capital Region
•Bullet: The region supports professional and community theatre groups, filmmakers, and performance venues, with The Gilded Age filming on and around campus
