Abstract
This retrospective account analyzes the University of South Carolina’s Summer School of the Arts at Hilton Head Island (1967–1970) as an experiment in off-campus theatre education and institutional partnership. Conceived as a collaboration between the university and Sea Pines Plantation, the program sought to merge artistic training with a resort environment, providing intensive study and production experience for students in theatre and art. The narrative documents logistical, financial, and morale-related challenges, including limited facilities, budgetary constraints, and conflicts over food service and housing supervision. Despite these difficulties, the project succeeded in offering meaningful experiential learning and in attracting students from across the country, some of whom continued into the university’s graduate program. The essay situates the Hilton Head venture as both a product of its era’s enthusiasm for cultural outreach and a cautionary case of administrative overextension. The author concludes that while the program’s challenges were significant, they reflected the broader complexities inherent in sustaining off-campus artistic initiatives within academic institutions.
Recommended Citation
Green, Russell
(1986)
"Off-Campus Summer Theatre Programs: An Administrator's Nightmare? USC at Hilton Head,"
Association for Communication Administration Bulletin: Vol. 58, Article 7.
Available at:
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/aca/vol58/iss1/7
