PERFORMING ARTS & PRODUCTION
Cultural enactments are at the very heart of performing arts. In order to engage your skills as a creator or performer, programs abroad employ innovative methods, new practices, and cutting edge technology. Whether you are playing an instrument or a character or studying digital production, students explore their specialty through theory, analysis, and practical experience. Studying your discipline in another cultural framework can produce a new appreciation for your craft, provide a new perspective, and build adaptability skills from working in unfamiliar environments.
Subjects
KEI offers a wide range of performing arts subjects. Click on a subject area to view program locations that offer courses in that subject.
Faculty Steering Committee
KEI was founded on the belief that education abroad should focus on students’ academic and professional goals. Our focus on discipline-specific programming and our core values of cultural understanding, global participation and access to quality education are integral to all KEI programs.
The KEI Steering Committee for Performance Arts & Production programs provides oversight of academic curriculum and makes tangible recommendations for improvement. The Committee consist of faculty and academic advisers from KEI affiliated universities in the USA.
David SmithDean, School of Professional Studies
City University of New York
College of Technology
dsmith@citytech.cuny.edu
Andrea Montgomery
Dean of Humanities
Tougaloo College
amontgomery@tougaloo.edu
Bernardo Scarambone
Assistant Professor, Music (Piano)
Eastern Kentucky University
bernardo.scarambone@eku.edu
Mark Reimer
Director, Music Program
Distinguished Professor, Music
Christopher Newport University
reimer@cnu.edu
Kevin McCluskeyAssociate Professor, Theater and Dance
Associate Chair
University of Mary Washington
kmcclusk@umw.edu
Charles Gehr
Associate Professor, Music Business
McNally Smith College of Music
Charles.Gehr@mcnallysmith.edu
Steve Ray
Associate Professor, Theater
Chair of Division of Theater
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Steve-Ray@utc.edu
Tara Sievers-Hunt
Assistant Professor, Music
Marygrove College
TSievers7525@marygrove.edu
Faculty Spotlight
Kathryn Smith, Soprano and Voice Teacher is a native of Dublin and one of Ireland’s most versatile and renowned performers. Kathryn has been teaching voice at The Leinster School of Music and Drama, Griffith College for over 20 years. She has brought many of her students to professional level, including Lucy O’Byrne who recently scored great success in the final of the U.K. Voice.
Kathryn has a vast repertoire of opera, operetta and oratorio, and performed principal roles with major companies in Ireland, U.K., U.S., Canada, Hong Kong and Japan at prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Boston Symphony Hall and The State Theatre. In 2002, Kathryn was awarded the Margaret Burke Sheridan Award for her contribution to Singing in Ireland.
Kathryn is the Musical Director of the concert choir, ‘The Cor Unum Singers’ (One Heart), which had the honor of performing for the President at the Annual Garden Party. Kathryn is also Musical Director of St. Patrick’s Church Choir, where she enjoys expressing her great love for sacred and liturgical music.
Employability & Education Abroad
Education abroad has been shown to have significant impact on learning, academic performance, graduation, careers, and personality development. Below is a summary of results from notable studies on the impact of education abroad.
| Careers, Salaries & Job Skills | |
|---|---|
97% |
of study abroad students found employment within 12 months of graduation, when only 49% of college graduates found employment in the same period. (1) Among study abroad alumni, 90% landed a job within 6 months. (2, 11) |
25% |
higher starting salaries: that’s how much more study abroad students earn than those college graduates who do not study abroad.(1) This equates to approx. $7,000 annually for US students. (3) |
90% |
of study abroad alumni who applied got into their 1st or 2nd choice grad school. (1) |
84% |
of study abroad alumni felt their studies abroad helped them build valuable skills for the job market. (4) A second study confirms this at 85%. (9) |
40% |
of US businesses failed to expand due to a dearth of staff international experience. (13) |
80% |
of study abroad students reported that study abroad allowed them to better adapt to diverse work environments. (4) |
70% |
of study abroad alumni claimed that because of study abroad they were more satisfied with their jobs. (4) |
59% |
of employers said study abroad would be valuable in an individual’s career later on with their organization. (10) |
34% |
of study abroad alumni claimed that study abroad helped them choose their career field. (4) |
19% |
lower unemployment rates were found among study abroad alumni according to a British study. (4) |
| Graduation & Academic Performance | |
100% |
greater improvement in GPA post-study abroad. Students who studied abroad saw their GPAs rise twice as quickly as their peers. (8) |
19% |
more likely to graduate: that describes how study abroad participants are more likely to graduate than non-participants. (5, 6, 7) |
| Personal Growth | |
97% |
of study abroad alumni attributed study abroad to increased maturity. (12) |
96% |
of study abroad alumni claimed an increase in self-confidence attributed to study abroad. (12) |
89% |
of study abroad alumni reported that study abroad facilitated a greater tolerance for ambiguity. (12) |
| Resources | |
| 1 | Benefits of Study Abroad |
| 2 | New Survey Shows College Graduates Who Study Abroad Land Career-Related Jobs Sooner, with Higher Starting Salaries |
| 3 | How Higher Education Affects Lifetime Salary |
| 4 | AIFS Study Abroad Outcomes |
| 5 | UC San Diego Study: 2011 EAP and OAP Retention, Graduation, and Time-to-Degree Combined |
| 6 | Go Abroad and Graduate On-Time: Study Abroad Participation, Degree Completion, and Time-to-Degree |
| 7 | The Effect of Study Abroad on College Completion in a State University System |
| 8 | Academic Outcomes of Study Abroad |
| 9 | The Impact of Studying Abroad on Recent College Graduates’ Careers |
| 10 | Employers Value Candidates Who Study Abroad |
| 11 | Mobile Students More Likely to Have a Job |
| 12 | How More Study Abroad Programmes Could Benefit Society |
| 13 | Paul Simon Study Abroad Act Back on Legislative Cards |
PERFORMING ARTS PROGRAMS
IN THE NEWS
How Studying Abroad Makes You A Better Leader by Shellie Karabell
Once upon a time, doing business abroad was unique: Berlitz and others published books on business etiquette for those venturing across the ocean, language books enabling you to order in a restaurant or to get you through a social encounter. And once upon a time, that was enough. Today, thanks to technology and the internet, the world is global. Business is global. Nearly three-fourths of all S&P 500 companies today report some kind of international revenue. Read more.
Study abroad: the career benefits by James Connington
There are skills to be gained from moving country and adjusting to a new teaching system. It’s also far easier to identify the skills you are lacking when you step outside your comfort zone – and going abroad to study is a fairly serious step. Read more.
