Dean Corrin, an associate dean at The Theatre School, has been teaching at the school for 32 years.

“For a lot of us who have been here for a long time, in addition to the emotion and excitement of the current students and celebrating their success and thriving, the echo of those important names from the past is really emotional,” Corrin said.

He recalled the old DePaul Parish Elementary School on Kenmore, where The Theatre School had offices where the nuns who had taught in the school had lived. “Everyone had a sink in their office because it used to be someone’s home,” he said.

“The radiators would make terrible racket during class and the whole building would shake,” Corrin said. “I remember being in a meeting in the dean’s office and there was all of this stomping, and the light fixtures were shaking, and it was because there was a movement class above us. They thought it was an earthquake or something going on.”

The Goodman Theatre is Chicago’s oldest and largest not-for-profit theater and it also happens to be a piece of DePaul history that people may not recognize when passing The Theatre School’s modernistic building on the Lincoln Park Campus. Opening in 1925 as part of the Art Institute of Chicago with a drama school and a professional acting company, the school eventually disbanded from The Art Institute and officially became part of DePaul in 1978, however DePaul considers 2025 to be The Theatre School’s centennial year, celebrating 100 years of it’s legacy since The Goodman.

“Part of the separation with The Art Institute was that we could keep the name for five years or something like that, and then it had to take on a new name,”Corrin said.

Part of the negotiation with The Art Institute was that the school could continue to say that they were founded as The Goodman School of Drama, but they couldn’t use that as their name anymore. The school was officially renamed “The Theatre School at DePaul University” in 1982.

The Theatre School began its 100-year anniversary celebration with a kickoff ceremony on Monday, Jan. 27.

“DePaul could not be what it is today without The Theatre School,” DePaul president Robert Manuel told attendees at the Watts Theatre.

Theatre School alumnus Paul Konrad then took the podium to tell the story of how he came to attend The Goodman School of Drama.

“If you are a kid and you want to figure out theater, be an actor, or whatever facet you want to pursue,” Konrad said. “I still believe there is no better place on the planet than right here.”

Konrad is in good company; The Theatre School has an impressive roster of alumni. Gillian Anderson, a two time Emmy Award winner known for her role as FBI Special Agent Dana Scully on the television series “The X-Files” graduated in 1990. Alongside her is Joe Keery, known for his role as Steve Harrington in Netflix’s “Stranger Things.” He graduated in 2014.

Martine Kei Green-Rogers, dean of The Theatre School, then held a moment of silence for the people struggling due to the wildfires in Los Angeles.

Green-Rogers proceeded to outline some of the accomplishments the school has seen over the last couple of years and others that are underway.

The school recently launched a certificate program in intimacy coordination. Intimacy coordination is an evolving practice in theatre and film that ensures actors are respected, comfortable, and safe when performing intimate scenes. An intimacy coordinator does this by setting boundaries and addressing potential issues early on.

The Theatre School also embarked on their first official collaboration with DePaul’s School of Cinematic Arts (SCA) this year with the short film “The Day I had an Exorcism.” It is expected to be completed by this spring.

“We are a few short days away from opening our first co-production with Timeline Theatre, which is especially heartwarming since the theatre company was founded by alums from The Theatre School,” Green-Rogers said.

After the celebration, student workers brought in the scenery for a student production of  Ike Holter’s “Lottery Day,” scheduled to take place in the Watts Theatre.

The Watts Theatre was named after John Ransford Watts, former dean of The Theatre School. He was essential in shaping the school into one of the top conservatory theatre programs in the country, as was his long-time colleague, Bella Itkin.

Corrin told stories about Itkin and her father, David Itkin. He taught at The Goodman and DePaul at the same time in the 1940s.

Corrin, assistant dean Jason Beck, and Phillis Griffin, a professor of performance, each have one of Bella Itkin’s chairs in their offices.

“There is a weave between the two institutions,” he said. “That’s one of the things about history …is that most of us are unaware of that weave and that we go back to having that connection.”

Related Stories

• ‘Little Women’ at The Theatre School: The pressure and power behind a play adaptation
• ‘Inherit The Wind’ at Goodman Theatre
• King, Sondheim, and a Band of Blue Demons: Carrie The Musical Comes To DePaul

Stay informed with The DePaulia’s top stories, delivered to your inbox every Monday.