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 CLAIRE TREVOR SCHOOL OF THE ARTS
 Create. Explore. Innovate. These three words sum up the Claire Trevor School of the Arts – a leader in training aspiring artists, supporting arts research, cultivating new technologies in the arts and promoting the arts in the community at large. One of the founding schools at UC Irvine, CTSA has a total enrollment of 1,100 undergraduate majors, 130 graduate students and 500 digital arts minors.

The school offers premier academic and professional programs in the departments of Dance, Drama, Music and Studio Art at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. In state-of-the-art facilities, creative activity is enhanced through collaboration among departments. The interdisciplinary digital arts minor attracts students from throughout the university who are studying the latest in digital technology, and the Arts/Humanities major provides students with an opportunity to investigate the connection between practice and analysis in the arts. The award-winning ArtsBridge program, which enhances the arts curriculum in K-12 education, serves as a model program for the UC system and the nation.

CTSA is at the forefront of developments in the burgeoning field of the arts and technology. The Donald R. and Joan F. Beall Center for Art and Technology serves as an exhibition showplace and promotes new forms of creation and expression using the latest digital technologies. The Arts Computation Engineering (ACE) graduate program – in collaboration with The Henry Samueli School of Engineering and the Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences offers broad-based training at the intersection of digital technology, cultural and artistic practices.

The school’s exhibition and performance facilities include the Claire Trevor Theatre, Winifred Smith Hall, the Beall Center and the University Art Gallery. State-of-the-art research facilities include the Visual Resources Collection, Gassmann Electronic Music Studio, Motion Capture Studio, Arts Media Center, the Digital Arts Teaching and Research Laboratory, video studios and computer labs for specialized creative work. The most recent additions to the arts campus, opened in 2003, are the drama and dance performance studios and the Arts, Culture and Technology Building.

Distinctions
  • The undergraduate dance program is ranked 9th and the graduate program 7th nationally by Dance Teacher Now magazine. 

  • The graduate program in drama is ranked 12th nationally by U.S. News & World Report. 

  • The studio arts graduate program ranked 34th in U.S. News & World Report’s annual list of the top 50 graduate schools.

  • Award-winning faculty include Robert Cohen, Claire Trevor Professor of Drama (UCI Medal, Career Achievement Award in Academic Theater, Association for Theatre in Higher Education); Distinguished Professor of Studio Art Yvonne Rainer (noted filmmaker, author and pioneer of postmodern dance, and member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences); Donald McKayle, Claire Trevor Professor of Dance (Tony Award nomination, UCI Medal, Samuel H. Scripps Award for lifetime achievement in modern dance); and Chancellor’s Professor of Music Kei Akagi (nine-CD solo artist and accompanist on more than 30 CDs, including Miles Davis’ last recordings).

  • Distinguished alumni include Chris Burden, the internationally recognized conceptual artist and sculptor, who was a member of UCI’s first master of fine arts graduating class in 1971. Studio Art alumnus Michael Ramirez won a Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning. Drama alumni include Bob Gunton, Broadway and film actor; Jon Lovitz and Kelly Perine, feature film and television actors; Ted Kryczko, Disney Records Vice President; Kitty Felde, former host of National Public Radio’s “Talk of the City”; Jenn Collela, who starred in Urban Cowboy on Broadway; and Maria Hall-Brown, host and producer for KOCE public television. Dance alumni include Derek Agnoletti and Adam Young, members of the Joffrey Ballet and the Nashville Ballet, respectively. Outstanding recent graduates are Ben Johns, a triple major in music, dance and chemistry who joined the renowned male vocal ensemble Chanticleer; and Jason Spelling, who performed the roles of Juliet and Benvolio in a much-heralded Romeo and Juliet on London’s West End.

The Claire Trevor Legacy
In November 2000, the School of the Arts was renamed the Claire Trevor School of the Arts in honor of the late award-winning actor. Trevor (1910-2000), considered one of America’s most distinguished performers, was best known at UCI as a passionate advocate for the arts and arts education. Cherished by students and respected by her peers, she was committed to actively mentoring young artists across all disciplines. The Village Theatre was rechristened the Claire Trevor Theatre in acknowledgment of her generous support.
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Contact

E. Lesly Martin
949-824-2189
elmartin@uci.edu
Related Links

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