Experience the
Art of Change
Welcome
The Department of Performance, Play & Design (PPD) was is formed in 2023 from the fusion of the Department of Theater Arts and the Art and Design: Games & Playable Media Program. In 2024, PPD welcomed the Digital Arts and New Media M.F.A. program. These vibrant programs have come together to better serve students who are seeking not only advanced training in traditional theater and game design but also those who are interested in areas where the disciplines intersect.
Academic Advising
In addition to working with your department academic advisor, it is important to be in contact with faculty, who serve as mentors. Ladder rank faculty are here to help you with the direction of your work, and to give you ideas…
Research
Explore areas of research excellence, and view highlights from student work.
Get Involved!
Find out how you can participate in Department of Performance, Play & Design events.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
The UCSC Theater Arts Department collectively embodies a process of rigorous experimentation and socially conscious analysis to create equitable, accessible, and interdisciplinary performance and scholarship. We are deeply committed to making performance that speaks to the current moment, disrupts oppressive narratives of the past and present, and re-centers historically marginalized communities…
News
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UC Santa Cruz’s new Department of Performance, Play & Design redefines the art of storytelling for the modern era
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Bots and Broadway: Technology and theater go hand-in-hand for UCSC professor Marianne Weems
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Micha Cárdenas Has New Chapter in Her Book Ecogames
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Bene’t Benton Awarded our First Annual Danny Scheie Scholarship
Stay Informed
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Facts & Figures
18,980
17,084 Undergraduates 1,896 Graduate Students 2021-2022 year
150+
events our arts and humanities programs host each year
2,000
acres overlooking scenic
Monterey Bay, California
87%
of student enrollment profile: California residents
9%
of student enrollment profile: International
4%
of student enrollment profile: Domestic, out of state