A message from Dean Dan J. Martin: Celebrating Peter Cooke as he retires from Carnegie Mellon University Dear School of Drama community, Earlier this summer, I wrote to all of you to inform you that Peter Cooke, AM PhD, decided to step down as head of the School of Drama to resume his practice as a designer and consultant, and to continue teaching in international arts academies. Today, Peter formally

Exploring the Human Condition Two worlds colliding set CMU alumnus Dick Hughes on the path to a meaningful life By Pam Wigley Raised in Pittsburgh’s Shadyside neighborhood in the 1950s, Dick Hughes (A 1966) didn’t venture far to attend college, choosing to major in drama at Carnegie Mellon University. After graduating in 1966, he went further afield to earn a Master of Fine Arts from Boston University. Soon, he found himself around

Dean Dan J. Martin Announces Interim Leadership at the School of Drama Dan J. Martin, Dean of the College of Fine Arts, announced the establishment of a four-person leadership team to support the School of Drama’s ongoing efforts to strengthen its position as an innovative, impactful and internationally prominent theatre school, and to invest more energy and effort into bringing greater justice and equity for every member of the Drama

Relationship Builder School of Drama alumna crafted her own pathway to Hollywood As a teenager, Mary-Margaret Kunze (A 2012) was reading a book detailing the production of the movie series “The Lord of the Rings” when she stumbled upon a photo that set her course for the future. “I remember very vividly seeing a picture of a female producer standing in front of a big group of orc warriors and instructing

CMU at the Drama Desk Awards The 65th annual Drama Desk Awards took place virtually on June 13 due to the ongoing pandemic.  The ceremony, which streamed on DramaDeskAwards.com, featured Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama alumni in numerous categories.  Among them were Leigh Silverman, nominated for Outstanding Director of a Musical for Soft Power and Peter Hylenski, who won Outstanding Sound Design for a Musical for Moulin Rouge! A

“I Will Prove You Wrong” School of Drama alumna Ming-Na Wen achieves her dream (and becomes a Disney Legend) By Pam Wigley It started with the Easter Bunny. Dressed as the holiday favorite, Ming-Na Wen started to take the stage at her third-grade play when she tripped and fell. The audience erupted into laughter. Some little girls would have been mortified. Wen, though, loved the reaction. The acting bug had

CMU Elects 5 New Trustees, Including Entertainer Tamara Tunie By Jason Maderer Media Inquiries Award-winning actor, director and producer Tamara R. Tunie was unanimously elected to Carnegie Mellon University’s Board of Trustees at their most recent meeting on May 15. The 1981 alumna of Carnegie Mellon’s College of Fine Arts (CFA) is best known for her starring role as Dr. Melinda Warner in “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” and her longstanding character, Jessica

Chen-Wei Liao, MFA, was recently selected to join a group of early-career designers for a virtual commission co-curated by leading design practitioners, Clint Ramos and Cha See.  The commission, “DES19NED BY…,” was launched as part of the Movement Theater Company’s “1MOVE” program which will showcase designer-driven digital content created as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The completed content will be available for viewing on the Movement Theatre Company’s website