Support Play

Performance, Play & Design

We are a new department, born of Theater Arts and Art and Design, Games & Playable Media, whose work has been grounded in social justice and environmental awareness from the beginning. Together the faculty, staff and students reflect the future of California, inventing new areas of research and artistic inquiry in the productive zone that performance encompasses. An unusually interdisciplinary and collaborative faculty brings a wealth of worldwide experience and contacts. Staff are highly trained professionals with years of experience in and out of academic settings. Students specialize in diverse disciplines and represent the cultural abundance of UC Santa Cruz.


The only department in the world to break the traditional silos of theater, dance, and games. Fostering innovative perspectives and stories, we focus on dramatic world-building in virtual, augmented, and real-life stages.


How you can support Performance, Play & Design at UCSC

Build New Things. A maker lab will augment our current scene and costume shops, providing resources for students to create their own installations and other aspects of production.

Push Experimental Theater Further. An XR motion capture and projection system will take our already cutting edge work and continue to push boundaries and create new disciplines and ways of thinking.

Improve Accessibility. Production sponsorships, scholarships, fellowships, and internships empower students from underrepresented and under-resourced communities to explore and create new work.

Hear New Voices. Our artist-in-residence program brings in visiting artists, particularly those whose work foregrounds equity, diversity, and inclusion to engage and inspire our students.

Learn more: 
Arts Development
artsdev@ucsc.edu

Last modified: Sep 16, 2024