Point Park unveils new performing arts program to enhance students' versatility

A new program at Point Park University aims to better prepare its performing arts students with transferable skills while also making its conservatory more elite.

The Downtown Pittsburgh university will launch an accelerated bachelor of fine arts degree in performance and creative industries next fall, said Keisha Lalama, interim dean of Point Park’s school of theatre, film and animation and executive producer of the Pittsburgh Playhouse.

“We want to remain one of the top conservatories in the country,” Lalama said. “We want to be a downtown epicenter for entertainment and education. This helps us strategically plan for our vision as a university.”

Lalama said the program stemmed from conversations with alumni that have been successful in the performing arts industry. To have success today, people need to be able to do many different things, she said.

Lalama pointed to A-Lister Denzel Washington starring in Broadway shows and many Broadway actors having roles in the TV show “The Gilded Age.”

“We want to make sure the crossover is provided in undergrad,” Lalama said. “That’s what’s happening right now in the industry and we want to get ahead of that.”

The performance and creative industries program is for the “multi-talented and uniquely curious student that excels,” Lalama said. The three-year program merges performance and production training with business and life skills, such as entrepreneurship, multimedia and broadcasting, and education.

Students will also tap into the Pittsburgh Playhouse, Point Park’s professional theater complex, to work on live productions or arts. In their second year, they will have the opportunity for co-ops or paid performances, Lalama said.

“We will leverage the Pittsburgh Playhouse as a professional theater and provide students with a true hands-on experience year round,” she said.

Lalama said graduates with a wide variety of performance and business skills pave the way for the future of the industry. Graduates will not only be able to perform, but also produce, manage and lead in their future careers, she said.

“It’s very unstable in regard to consistency,” she said. “The dream is to see these students find consistency and define sustainability on their own two feet, while the gig is that extra bonus.”