Theater Arts Caltech – or TACIT – is the department of Theater Arts at the California Institute of Technology. TACIT operates within Caltech’s department of Performing and Visual Arts (PVA) and is led by Director of TACIT Brian Brophy.
TACIT provides a creative outlet for Caltech students and everyone across the entire Caltech/JPL community
TACIT typically produces one or two mainstage shows each academic year. Recent productions include Rent, Little Shop of Horrors, Company, Avenue Q, and new, original works such as Earth Data: The Musical, From Earth to the Moon, Alice through the Wormhole, Bradbury 100, and Boldly Go!.
If you’re interested in getting involved, check out our audition board!
For a full production list (including photos and videos) dating back decades, check out our extensive archive of past shows.
TACIT offers opportunities to connect with others from Caltech/JPL and have fun on and off stage
Through our performances, workshops, and classes, we cultivate a welcoming, supportive, diverse community that networks people across discipline. Our participants span undergrads, grad students, postdocs, staff, and faculty from both Caltech and JPL.
“I owe so much to TACIT… for making my time at Caltech so memorable. TACIT quickly became my home away from home and was a much-needed release from the often very stressful academic rigor of Caltech.”
Phil Rodriguez (BS ’98)
Learn about theater and develop your creativity and skills with TACIT
Through TACIT, members of the Caltech/JPL community can gain experience in all aspects of theatrical craft – acting, crew, sets, costumes, lighting, sound, props, stage management, and publicity – and learn by working with theater professionals. We also provide an appreciation of dramatic literature and exposure to the literature of many languages (in translation).
Our performance training helps to develop skills in public speaking and stage presence that can be applied throughout our participants’ lives in whatever careers they pursue.
“[Theater at Caltech] had as much of an impact on me as my classes. Learning how to effectively communicate my thoughts and feelings in a larger setting has been indispensable to me in my current lectures to students as a professor of cell biology. When I think of the things that helped me to develop at Caltech, I think of my peers, my classes, my professors, and the musicals.”
Stanley Cohn (BS ’79)
“I find that it’s really important to have some kind of outlet; something else to care about besides my research. For one thing, taking time to be creative outside of science resets my brain… That is enormously encouraging and has kept me feeling productive and positive through really rough spots.”
Meg Rosenburg (PhD ’14)
TACIT programs go beyond mainstage offerings
We also offer courses for credit, including credits for performing in shows or working on stage crew, improvisation, and the popular “Storytelling for Scientists.” In all our education, we emphasize a hands-on approach, not just classroom theory.
Through these courses, as well as other workshops and initiatives, TACIT supports the development of storytelling, communication, and creative thinking skills for students and scientists at Caltech and JPL.
Alongside fully-staged plays and musicals productions, TACIT produces an annual festival of new science-driven plays by LA-area playwrights in its MACH 33 program.
Additionally, TACIT provides support to the student-led theater club EXPLiCIT, the EXtracurricular PLayers at the California Institute of Technology (the “i” is imaginary), and IMPLiCIT, the IMprovisational PLayers.
“In TACIT, science merges with culture, and our performers end up engaging both sides of the brain. In the process, students gain self-confidence and develop the skills to be leaders.”
Brian Brophy
TACIT was officially founded in the mid-1980s by a group of enthusiastic students and director Shirley Marneus, though its roots date back even further. For years, Marneus provided strong artistic and practical leadership. After her retirement in 2007, Caltech appointed Brian Brophy as Director of TACIT. To learn more about TACIT’s history, check out our story.
TACIT House is located at 275 South Hill Avenue on the Caltech campus. In addition, behind our House, is a scene shop and rehearsal space. Most productions are held at Ramo Auditorium at Caltech.
ta•cit (adj.)
- expressed without words or speech
- implied or indicated (as by an act)
