St. Olaf College named the Studio Theatre for Ralph H. Haugen in May 1990. This honor was in recognition of his 41 years of distinguished service to the College, the Speech Theatre Department and the Theatre.
A native of Washington State, Ralph earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in speech at Pacific Lutheran University at Tacoma. He received his Master of Arts degree from Northwestern University in Evanston, IL in speech-theatre. He enrolled at the University of Minnesota to work on his Ph.D. because it had a prominent Scandinavian studies program to go along with his emphasis in theatre, and he could do research on Swedish dramatist August Strindberg. He received his Ph.D. in 1956.
In 41 years of directing, Ralph was always at the cutting edge of discovering and presenting new dramatic material for participants and audiences. He staged Waiting for Godot at St. Olaf before anyone had heard of of Samuel Beckett. He brought insight and life to Shakespeare, Moliere and Ibsen. He was a champion of Miller 's Death of a Salesman in 1959. He supported the work of new playwrights and aimed to give his productions the fresh insight and careful analysis of a master director.
The St. Olaf Theatre is a reality because of Ralph's continued persistence. He worked tirelessly through a number of administrations to push the cause of the theatre curriculum and building. He was a one-person department for many years and due to his efforts, the theatre now is a full department major, and has a physical plant that is rated as one of the best in the Midwest. Thanks to Ralph, students and the college community have discovered the magic of theatre and the importance of the art form in the liberal arts setting. It is indeed fitting that the former Studio Theatre is now known as the Ralph Haugen Theatre.
