The mission of the Department of Theatre & Dance is to provide opportunities for students to encounter in a meaningful way the three sub-fields of our discipline: text studies (history, theory, criticism, dramaturgy, and dramatic literature), plastic studies (design, technology), and performance studies (acting, directing, playwriting). The proper study of theatre includes study in all three sub-fields, allowing for a degree of concentration in one or more. The true student of theatre must acquire an understanding of each area because of the essentially synthetic nature of the art itself and the highly collaborative means by which it is created. The Theatre Major at Washington College guides students toward an understanding of the synthesis of drama and theatre and toward an understanding of the essential collaboration of the two.