Theater Department

The origin of the the Theater Department at the University of St. Thomas can be traced to the creation of the Lyceum literary club at the St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary in 1885.  The club performed at commencement and other school celebrations using only male performers.  In 1906, the Department of Public Speaking was established and William D. Jamieson was hired as the first instructor of Speech and Drama.  The department's first productions, "The Violin Maker of  Creamena" and "The Balloon," were performed in 1908. During his tenure at St. Thomas, Jamieson organized the drama club known as "The Players."  Fenton Spence was hired to lead the department in 1928.  Under his direction, 1929 production of the  "The Fool" was the first to use female actors, students from the College of St. Catherine.  In 1932, the St. Thomas "Players" merged with the College of St. Catherine drama club. Dr. Lee Doll was hired in 1946 to head the Theater Department.  He revived the department by spearheading the remodel of the school's auditorium.  The theater space reopened in 1958 as Foley Theater with its inaugural production, "The Birds."  In 1971, the College of St. Thomas and the College of St. Catherine formally merged their theater deparments.  This joint program ran until 2008 when the University of St. Thomas dissolved its Theater Department.  UST students still participate in productions put on by the St. Catherine University Department of Music and Theater.