Samantha Sheppard:
Hello. My name is Samantha Sheppard and I am an associate professor and chair of the Department of Performing and Media Arts. I am so happy to welcome you to the department. In this brief video, I want to help you have a sense of who we are and what we do as a group of faculty, students, and staff.
The work we do here in PMA is located at the intersection of creativity and critical thought; we believe you cannot have one without the other. We combine the making of media, films, and live performances, with the study of dance, theatre, film, television, and related forms. We also explore new hybrids between live and mediated art. As a whole, we are a department where innovation and investigation are celebrated; versatility and creativity re championed; and passion and purpose is cultivated. We fully believe that you will find yourself in the Schwartz in more ways than one.
In the department, we offer a major in performing and media arts, and various minors in theatre, film, dance. We also support novel combinations of these subareas. If you work with us, you can study these artforms and learn to make them yourselves. Each year, our distinguished faculty and hard working staff also program and support a series of live performances, film productions, dance concerts, immersive installations, lectures, speaker series, workshops, and so much more. But the faculty and staff do not do it alone. Each fall, students are invited to submit proposals for the following year, co-curating our dynamic and student-centered events. We do this because, here, at PMA, we celebrate experiential learning where classrooms and knowledge takes all different forms.
PMA offers wonderful hands-on for-academic-credit learning opportunities. As a student, you can participate in the areas of acting, design, dance, technical production, or even be on a backstage crew. Whether you are a major, minor, or just an admirer of the arts, these learning opportunities can often be used to fulfill academic credit across the university.
This year, student opportunities include the production of I WANT A COUNTRY, a play that will directed by our visiting lecturer Samuel Buggeln, who is also the Artistic and Executive Director of the Cherry Arts. We also will have our annual dance concerts in the Fall and Spring. PMA will be heading back to the Sundance Film Festival for our third annual visit. Plus, you will be hearing more about an exciting new opportunity coming up in Spring 2027 when PMA launches its Cornell in Los Angeles domestic study program. Info sessions will begin in Spring of 2026.
I would like to invite you all to explore the Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts during our upcoming Open House Tours on Thursday, August 21. If you're curious about performing and media arts at Cornell, this is your perfect opportunity to discover the spaces where creativity flourishes. We hope to see you at our events and in our classes.
And I personally want to see you at my “Chats with the Chair” events on Thursday, September 18 and Thursday, November 6. They are open to not only PMA majors and minors but anyone interested in the department.
Other videos here provide more information about what performances, films, and events are in the works this year. And you will find a brief virtual tour of the spaces and resources at the Schwartz Center. We hope you will get involved this year as participants, as audience members, and, most importantly, as students in our classes that I know will challenge you to think creatively, critically, and historically while cultivating your own artistic and academic voice.
If you have questions don’t hesitate to come by the Schwartz Center located in Collegetown or email faculty or staff. I’d love to talk to you more, so don’t be shy and reach out to me directly.
In the meantime, check out other videos, look around our website, and have a great year at Cornell.