Since the launch of UTSA’s new four-year Dramatic Arts Program in the fall, the number of students majoring in theater has nearly doubled. Higher education reporter Danya Pérez with more:
 We recently visited the University of Texas at San Antonio’s first ever Dramatic Arts Program where a growing class of students have found a space to explore careers in the arts including, acting, directing, playwriting, stagecraft and more.
The four-year degree program was launched in fall 2025, but conversations among faculty about creating a pathway for students who otherwise had to leave San Antonio to pursue a degree in arts, began about a year and a half ago.
“Students who have just a thriving and amazing high school theater scene in town,” said program director Paul Ardoin. “And then students who finish [high school] have the choice to go to some of the great programs at Alamo Colleges, but if they want a four-year degree at a public institution they have to make their way up to Texas State.”
The program launched with the help from faculty from other departments including Film and Media, Ardoin’s second home, and English. This spring, the program premiered its first dedicated professor, actor Victor “Vic” Trevino, who began teaching his first class focused on acting and directing.
Later this semester, Saagar Shaikh will join the program to teach a short course. The actor is known for his roles in the series “Deli Boys” and in the movies “Ms. Marvel” and “The Marvels.”
Through the program, students such as Grecia Ortiz, 19, have found a new opportunity to pursue their passion. The junior took a leap of faith last fall after finding out about the program and changed her major from nursing to dramatic arts.
Her goal, Ortiz said, is “majoring in something that I’m going to actually enjoy doing for the rest of my life.”
By the numbers
39 — The number of UTSA students enrolled as theater majors this spring. It was 22 in the fall.
30 — Actor and professor Victor “Vic” Trevino has nearly three decades of experience.
|
|
