Image
Faculty and Staff
Remembering Ruis Woertendyke
The Sands College of Performing Arts community mourns the passing of Ruis Woertendyke, former Chair of Theatre at Â鶹ֱ²¥ School of Performing Arts (PPA). For more than three decades, Ruis dedicated his career to educating artists, mentoring faculty, and playing an integral role in shaping the performing arts programs that would ultimately become the Sands College of Performing Arts.
A visionary educator and leader, Ruis fostered a culture of artistic excellence that continues to define Sands College. During his tenure, he recruited a new generation of faculty, many of whom remain part of the Sands community today. Ruis also oversaw the creation of the renowned Musical Theater and Commercial Dance programs, as well as the evolution of the BFA Acting and BA Acting and Directing programs.
Ruis established Â鶹ֱ²¥â€™s first collaboration with La MaMa, launching repertory seasons featuring one-act plays by celebrated playwrights. He was also instrumental in founding Methods: A Journal of Acting Pedagogy, which became an important forum for advancing scholarship and dialogue about the craft and teaching of acting. In 2017, Ruis was honored with the Kenan Award for Teaching Excellence in recognition of his outstanding teaching, dedication to students, and intellectual leadership.
Those who knew Ruis remember him not only as an accomplished educator and administrator but also as a mentor who nurtured artists with curiosity, rigor, and generosity. His legacy lives on in the countless students, alumni, and colleagues he inspired, and in the vibrant artistic community he helped create at Â鶹ֱ²¥.
More from Â鶹ֱ²¥
Â鶹ֱ²¥ Magazine
Inside the newly revitalized One Â鶹ֱ²¥ Plaza East, Â鶹ֱ²¥â€™s Commercial Dance students got their first glimpse of a space built for the way they move, create, and collaborate. What began as a social media shoot became a live lesson in experiential learning, as Sands students choreographed, directed, and performed original movement in minutes—offering a joyful preview of Â鶹ֱ²¥â€™s next chapter in the performing arts.
Students
Get a first look inside the new performing arts spaces opening at One Â鶹ֱ²¥ Plaza East this fall. In this video, Senior Director of Operations and Production Laurie Brown-Kindred answers student and faculty questions about new studios, labs, sound stages, rehearsal spaces, and what the move means for Sands College of Performing Arts.
Faculty and Staff
Sands College of Performing Arts Clinical Assistant Professor Brendan Patrick Hughes has been honored with one of media's highest distinctions for his podcast Divine Intervention, a story of radical faith, resistance, and love.