Arts MSU

Stylized illustration of three women in vintage aviation uniforms walking forward with determined expressions. The first two wear matching blue uniforms and hats, while the third, leading the group, wears a red bandana, rolled-up sleeves, and carries a toolbox. A plane flies overhead.

New Musical Takes Flight at MSU in Partnership with Department of Theatre and Wharton Center

September 3, 2025

Buckle up for turbulence, tunes, and 1960s hijinks as Michigan State University’s Department of Theatre, in collaboration with Wharton Center, presents “Taking Off!,” a high-flying new musical comedy and this year’s New Musical Laboratory production. Performances are scheduled for Sept. 19-21, 2025, at Wharton Center’s Pasant Theatre.

AAHD / Arts MSU / Exhibition / Faculty / Faculty / Lansing-East Lansing Impact / News / Staff / Visual Arts, Arts Administration, and Performing Arts

‘Nexus’ Exhibit Features Work by Artists Who Help Shape MSU’s Arts Community

August 26, 2025

Michigan State University’s Department of Art, Art History, and Design (AAHD) is shining a spotlight on the creative work of its academic staff, offering the public a look into the lives and practices of the artists who help shape MSU's arts community. Their work, brought together for the “Nexus” exhibition, is now on display through Sunday, Sept. 21, at (SCENE) Metrospace.

A group of college-aged performers on a theater stage, energetically acting out a scene. One performer stands center stage with arms outstretched, surrounded by others wearing red and green shirts, some crouching and others clapping or laughing in the background.

Arts MSU / Lansing-East Lansing Impact / News / Performance / Student / Theatre / Visual Arts, Arts Administration, and Performing Arts

MSU Department of Theatre Looks Forward to 2025-2026 Season

August 21, 2025

The Michigan State University Department of Theatre’s 2025-2026 Season, Secrets & Spotlights, features performances designed to foster empathy by immersing audiences in stories that highlight diverse characters and perspectives. The season opens with “Taking Off!” — a New Musical Laboratory production running Sept. 19-21, 2025 — and concludes with a Storefront Series production April 23-26, 2026. Seven additional shows will be presented throughout the year.

Ten portraits created by Michigan State University and OCAD University students for the Faces and Traces: A Cross-Border Portrait Project, arranged in two rows of five. Each piece uses a different style and medium to interpret the artist’s partner, from realistic graphite drawings to abstract line work and vibrant mixed media compositions.

AAHD / Arts MSU / Faculty / International Impact / News / Student / Student / Visual Arts, Arts Administration, and Performing Arts

Art Project Brings U.S. and Canadian Students Together

August 13, 2025

When Emma Sambaer, an Art Education student at Michigan State University, was paired with Shiva Mohseni, an OCAD University student from Toronto, for a unique cross-border art project, she noticed how much they had in common despite being separated by an international border.Students from MSU and OCAD U were tasked with creating portraits of each other to capture the likeness…

Three women stand side-by-side on stage, each holding a script at a music stand and singing into individual microphones. They wear black attire under stage lighting.

Alumni / Arts MSU / Featured Alumni / News / Performance / Theatre / Visual Arts, Arts Administration, and Performing Arts

Theatre Alum Comes Full Circle with ‘We Foxes’ Performance in New York City

July 15, 2025

For Isa Rodriguez, stepping onto the stage at the Baruch Performing Arts Center in New York City to perform in “We Foxes” was more than just another role. It was the realization of a dream sparked years earlier by watching a rehearsal of that same play at Michigan State University where it was presented as part of the imáGen collaboration,…

Two people stand smiling in a contemporary gallery. The person on the left has their arm around the person on the right. To the right is a tall, textured sculpture of a human figure holding chains connected to small, creature-like figures on the floor.

AAHD / Alumni / Arts MSU / Event / Exhibition / Featured Alumni / News / Visual Arts, Arts Administration, and Performing Arts

Work of MSU Alums, a Father-Daughter Duo, on Display at SCENE Metrospace

July 11, 2025

An exhibition at MSU’s SCENE Metrospace features new work by a father-daughter duo, both Michigan State University alums, offering a unique opportunity to see two generations of Spartan artists in dialogue.

Alumni / Arts MSU / Diversity, Equity and Inclusion / Faculty / Faculty / Faculty Stories / Lansing-East Lansing Impact / Michigan Impact / News / Publication / Publishing, Editing, and Authorship / Research / Theatre

MSU Faculty Member Publishes Book on Creating Theatre With Neurodiverse Audiences in Mind

June 30, 2025

For nearly a decade, Dionne O'Dell has led the Sense-Ability Ensemble at Michigan State University, which develops multisensory theatrical works for audiences often excluded from traditional performance spaces. Dionne O'Dell O’Dell is an Academic Specialist in MSU’s Department of Theatre who specializes in teaching children’s theatre and writing and directing plays for youth and community, and Routledge has now published…

A picture of a woman with curly black hair. She has large earrings and a denim jacket.

Alumni / Arts MSU / Diversity, Equity and Inclusion / Excel Network Communities / Featured Alumni / News / Visual Arts, Arts Administration, and Performing Arts

Graduate Voice: How MSU Shaped Sandra Seaton’s Path to the Stage and National Recognition

June 24, 2025

Sandra Seaton is an award-winning playwright and librettist whose acclaimed works have premiered at major venues including Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and LA Opera. She is best known for “From the Diary of Sally Hemings,” set to music by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer William Bolcom and her recent Pulitzer-nominated “Dreamland: Tulsa 1921,” a “ploratorio” created with composer Marques L.A. Garrett.…

A smiling individual with glasses and a navy jacket holds up a binder labeled 'The Book of Mormon Script & Score, North American Tour.' The background shows a city skyline over water at sunset.

Alumni / Arts MSU / News / Performance / Production / Theatre / Visual Arts, Arts Administration, and Performing Arts

Theatre Alum Returns to Campus as Part of ‘The Book of Mormon’ North American Tour

June 17, 2025

As a high school student, Kevin T. Mazur sat in the audience at Detroit's Fisher Theatre watching the Broadway tour of “The Book of Mormon” and dreamt of a life on stage, a future in New York, and the possibility of one day joining a company like the one performing that day. Nearly a decade later, he has accomplished all that.

A close-up of a person beading by hand. Their hands are stitching black fabric while colorful piles of seed beads in a rainbow gradient sit on a white work surface.

Arts MSU / Diversity, Equity and Inclusion / Faculty / Faculty / Faculty Stories / News / Programs / Religious Studies / Scholarship / Visual Arts, Arts Administration, and Performing Arts

Religious Studies Professor to Explore Her Artistic Side as a KBS Artist-in-Residence

June 12, 2025

Blaire Morseau started doing beadwork 20 years ago, first learning how to create on a loom and then teaching herself beaded embroidery. Her beaded creations even helped pay her rent when she was a graduate student at the University of New Mexico. Morseau is now an Assistant Professor in the Department of Religious Studies at Michigan State University and an 1855 Professor of Great Lakes Anishinaabe Knowledge, Spiritualities, and Cultural Practices at MSU.