Program Recognition
•Part of UPR Río Piedras's Drama Department, founded in 1941 by Leopoldo (Poldín) Santiago Lavandero — among the oldest university theatre programs in Puerto Rico
•Department awarded the University Resident Theatre Association (URTA) Prize for Excellence in Undergraduate Training (Acting)
Training
•General drama track in the BA, surveying all three department emphases: Acting, Design & Technical Theatre, and History, Literature & Dramatic Theory
•Coursework spans Acting, Voice and Diction, Pantomime, Costume/Scenic/Lighting Design, and Theatre History
•Over the last six years, 30 department students advanced to graduate programs at Yale, The Juilliard School, USC, NYU, and Brown
Performance & Productions
•Student show Cráneo adentro (written/directed by Mauricio Roche Miranda) won four of the department's ten honors at the 2026 Latin Alternative Theater Awards (LATA) in New York, including Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Supporting Actor
Notable Alumni
•Raúl Juliá — BA in Drama, 1964; star of The Addams Family (Gomez), Kiss of the Spider Woman, and four-time Tony nominee •Victoria Espinosa — BA in Drama, 1949; director of 120+ plays, founder of the Puerto Rico Actors' Association, called the "grand dame" of Puerto Rican theatre
•Lucy Boscana — studied music and dramatic arts at UPR; pioneering Puerto Rican stage and television actress
Facilities
•Productions staged at the Teatro Experimental Julia de Burgos and the intimate Teatrito on the Río Piedras campus
Location
•Set in San Juan, the hub of Puerto Rico's professional theatre and television industries
Degree Flexibility
•Surveys acting, design, and dramatic theory before specialization — a flexible path for students weighing performance, production, or graduate study
