Global Campus and UA Theatre to Host Open House, Tours and Demos April 26

Russell Cothren

Global Campus

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The University of Arkansas Global Campus and Department of Theatre will offer free tours, demonstrations and micro-performances at an open house from 3 to 5 p.m. Thursday, April 26, on the downtown Fayetteville square. The public is invited.

The Global Campus staff returned to the downtown building in March, following renovations to provide better facilities for online course production. The renovations also allowed for creation of the UA Black Box Theater.

The open house event offers business neighbors, academic colleagues and the public an opportunity to explore workspaces and online learning technology usually open only to faculty, staff and students. Visitors also can tour the new UA Black Box Theater, which is the most digitally advanced black box theater in the state with cutting-edge features such as an 18-foot lighting grid.

Visitors will learn how the two University of Arkansas units transform lives through theatrical education and online course development.

Tours and demonstrations begin at 3 p.m. at the Global Campus Building at 2 E. Center St., followed by a ribbon-cutting ceremony and remarks at 4 p.m. Admission is free, and RSVPs to onlinevp@uark.edu are appreciated.

“We are excited to give the public an opportunity to get to know the resources behind the powerful learning environments made possible by the latest learning technologies and teaching strategies,” Donald Judges, vice provost for distance education. “We welcome the opportunity to not only tell you but show you what we do.”

Michael Riha, chair of the Department of Theatre, agreed with Judges and added, “We can’t wait to share this beautiful new space with the community. The new theater will be the most state-of-the-art, digitally advanced black box theater in the state and allow us to even further connect to the city and our ever-growing performing and visual arts community.”

Riha said an average of four shows a year will be produced at the UA Black Box Theater. The University Theater in the Fine Arts Center on the main campus will continue to produce several shows each year, too.

Global Campus

The Global Campus is a support unit for U of A academic colleges on campus that offer online courses and degree programs, as well as professional development education. About 10 percent of the U of A’s student population studies exclusively online, and about 40 percent take at least one online course.

During the open house the public can look, for the first time, behind the curtain to see how innovative content and online learning technology are used to deliver education in powerful, meaningful ways.

Open house visitors can experience hands-on, goggles-on interactive online learning and meet with instructional designers and experts in video, animation and learning technology. Guests can experience virtual reality technology set up by the Tesseract Center for Immersive Environments and Game Design.

Visitors can also explore studios, audio-recording rooms, and collaboration spaces, while watching demonstrations of how these tools are used to create innovative, engaging educational content.

UA Black box Theater

The Department of Theatre in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences at the U of A now has the cutting-edge UA Black Box Theater to offer performances on the street-level floor of the Global Campus Building on the downtown square.

The renovated space includes a flexible seating plan of up to 170 seats that can be customized for each production. The space provides a digitally equipped theater with an 18-foot lighting grid, a sprung floor, two dressing rooms, a production booth, and an upstairs balcony for orchestras or actor entrances.

This unique theater will help the department meet accreditation requirements and provide much-needed additional performance space.

Open house visitors can explore the new theater space, learn what makes a black box theater special, and enjoy a sample of “Theatre for One,” which offers micro-plays designed for one-on-one exchanges in public places.

About the Global Campus: The Global Campus supports U of A colleges and schools in the development and delivery of online programs and courses. It provides instructional design services, technology services and assistance with marketing, recruiting and strategic academic development.

About the Department of Theatre: The University of Arkansas Department of Theatre in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences has been providing exciting and affordable live theatre for more than 60 years. The department combines a first-rate theatrical education full of hands-on experience with a wide selection of titles to challenge students and delight the community. The department offers the Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre, a broad spectrum program in the context of a liberal arts education, and the Master of Fine Arts degree in six concentrations: Acting, Directing, Playwriting, Costume Design, Scene Design and Lighting Design. Classes at both undergraduate and graduate levels are focused on providing a strong, professional orientation to theatre performance and technology in conjunction with appropriate research-based coursework to address the required foundations in theatre history, dramatic literature and dramatic criticism.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.