Performance

Theatre Department Takes ‘The Gun Show’ on the Road Around the State

February 7, 2020

(PLEASE NOTE: Due to the novel coronavirus outbreak and in the interest of public safety, the Wednesday, March 18, performance of The Gun Show that was scheduled for the Swords into Plowshares Peace Center & Gallery in Detroit has been canceled.) The Michigan premiere production of The Gun Show, a non-partisan play about guns and America’s gun culture, is set to take center stage…

Award / News / Performance / Programs

Inspiration Drawn from Detroit for ‘Into the Woods’ Production

January 28, 2020

MSU is giving the Tony Award-winning fairytale-themed musical Into the Woods a creative re-imagining designed to resonate with mid-Michigan audiences. Inspiration for the set and costumes came from images of Detroit in the 1930s. The Michigan State University Department of Theatre production of Into the Woods by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine runs for 10 performances February 14-23 in the MSU Auditorium building’s Fairchild Theatre.

News / Performance / Student

MSU Theatre Freshmen Class Serves Up End-Of-Semester Laughs

December 3, 2019

The freshmen class of Michigan State University’s Department of Theatre will celebrate the end of their first semester of college with five performances of hilarious “improvisational” comedy. “Freshman Showcase: The Power of Spontaneous Invention” runs Dec. 5 through 8 in the MSU Auditorium building’s Studio 60 Theater. While this is the 13th year for the Freshman Showcase, this year marks the second year that the…

News / Performance

Award-Winning Director Returns as Guest Director of MSU’s ‘Twelfth Night’

October 29, 2019

Award-winning playwright, director, and actor Gus Kaikkonen returns to Lansing as a guest director for the Michigan State University Department of Theatre production of Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare, running November 8-17 in the Auditorium building’s Arena Theatre. Kaikkonen directed, acted in, or wrote more than a dozen BoarsHead Theater shows, including three separate productions of his play Time Steps. The BoarsHead Theater was mid-Michigan’s oldest…

Event / News / Performance

2019 Haunted Aud Tells a Tale of Vengeance

October 17, 2019

MSU’s Department of Theatre invites you to join them for a vengeful evening at the 11th annual Haunted Auditorium scheduled for October 25, 26, and 31. Filled with supernatural scares and chilling tales, the Haunted Aud is perfect for a Halloween spook. This year’s production, Vengeance, will use all three floors of the auditorium to tell the tale of a wronged character exacting revenge on…

Event / News / Performance

New Adaptation of ‘Frankenstein’ Examines Gender Norms Through Non-Traditional Casting

October 8, 2019

Michigan State University’s Department of Theatre is presenting a new adaptation of Mary Shelley’s classic gothic horror novel, Frankenstein. Through the use of some creative casting, the production examines the themes of gender norms and the plight of humanity at the hands of a thoughtless creator. The new adaptation, developed in 2018 by Southwest Shakespeare Company co-Producing Artistic Director Quinn Mattfeld, more closely follows the original…

News / Performance

New Musical Makes Stage Debut as part of ĭmáGen Collaboration

September 16, 2019

Exterior photographs of the newly expanded Wharton Center for the Performing Arts. On September 21 and 22, a group of Broadway stars, Michigan State University Theatre students, and local high school students will present the results of an intense three-week workshop of a brand-new musical, Dr. Fox and the Impossible Cure for Death, as part of the ĭmáGen collaboration. These performances will mark the first time the…

News / Performance / Programs

Department of Theatre Announces 2019-2020 Season

September 12, 2019

The Michigan State University Department of Theatre announces its 2019-2020 Season, which focuses on invention and reinvention, adaptations of classics alongside new works. “One of the greatest opportunities in theatre is discovering how an old story is newly relevant. In selecting our latest season, we asked ‘What is it about this particular story that has a direct connection with the world we live in today?’ The MSU Department of Theatre thrives by reinventing…

Alumni / Featured Alumni / News / Performance

Alum Invited to Join Prestigious Musical Theatre Writing Workshop 

August 29, 2019

Only four short years after graduating from Michigan State University, Mark Schenfisch (pictured above in the Williamston Theatre production of Murder for Two. Photo by Chris Purchis) has been invited to join New York City’s prestigious Advanced BMI Lehman Engle Musical Theatre Writing Workshop. Schenfisch graduated from MSU in 2015 with two degrees: a BFA in Acting from the College of Arts & Letters and a BMUS in Music Composition from…

Event / News / Performance / Student

59th Summer Circle Theatre Season Announced

May 16, 2019

Since 1960, the Michigan State University Department of Theatre has heralded the unofficial start of summer with its Summer Circle Theatre (SCT) program by using the talents of MSU students, professional artists, and community members to offer free theatre to mid-Michigan audiences. This year’s theme, Laughing Matters, is devoted to comedy in its many forms including spoof, comedy of manners, and commedia dell’arte. The season begins…