The Centre for Drama, Theatre & Performance studies (CDTPS) was originally two separate entities: The Graduate Centre for Study of Drama and the University College Drama Program (UCDP). Established in 1966, the Graduate Centre for Study of Drama was solely a graduate, tri-campus unit and one of the last graduate units to join the Faculty of Arts and Science (FAS) after leaving the School of Graduate Studies following an organizational restructuring. Established in 1975, the UCDP was an undergraduate curriculum combining rigorous and varied academic education with a professionally-oriented theatre arts training taught by a group of well-established Canadian and international theatre professionals.
In 2011, the Graduate Centre for Study of Drama changed its name to the Centre for Drama, Theatre and Performances Studies (CDTPS) to reflect changes in the field and in the scholarly interests of both faculty and students. In 2012, the graduate program at the CDTPS under Director Stephen Johnson and the undergraduate program at the UCDP under Director Tamara Trojanowska amalgamated into one department under the CDTPS and became an integrated graduate and undergraduate Extra-Departmental Unit A (EDU-A).
Professor Stephen Johnson became the first director of the newly merged CDTPS, with his tenure lasting from July 2012 to June 2016. Thereafter, Professor Tamara Trojanowska was appointed as director from July 2016 to October 2022. Currently, Professor Kathleen Gallagher is the appointed director.
Since 2012, the CDTPS comprises an undergraduate and a graduate unit situated within the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Arts and Science (FAS) and is located on the St. George Campus. The CDTPS maintains three strong degree programs (BA, MA, and PhD) and remains one of the leading academic theatre programs in Canada. In 2016, the CDTPS celebrated its 50th anniversary.