Throughout the Spring 2021 semester, the Michigan State University Department of Theatre Musical Theatre classes focused on workshopping a new musical by composer Joshua Salzman and lyricist Ryan Cunningham and the classes were able to safely meet in-person on the spacious Wharton Center stages. Michael Collins was one of 90 submissions for the Fall 2020 ĭmáGen New Musical Development Workshop. Though not…
Pre-pandemic, “live and in-person” meant just that. Today, most “live and in-person” events take place via live stream and virtual platforms, which is especially challenging when it comes to education and the arts.
In recognition of his outstanding scholarship and teaching, Assistant Professor of Theatre Bradley Willcuts was named a 2021 recipient of Michigan State University’s Teacher-Scholar Award. Assistant Professor Bradley Willcuts Supported by the Office of University Development, Teacher-Scholar Awards recognize faculty who, early in their careers, have earned the respect of students and colleagues for their devotion to and skill in…
A group of Michigan State University Department of Theatre students created a series of new audio plays, each connected to themes of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). All five “Audio Anthology” plays, along with a student-produced documentary short, are now available online at theatre.msu.edu/dei_audio.
When the Michigan State University Department of Theatre’s productions for the Fall 2020 semester were canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, a call went out to all faculty and students for ideas focused on themes of diversity, equity, and inclusion. First-year MFA Design Candidate Zech Saenz, who specializes in costume design, pitched a project addressing the pandemic through the lens of drag queens and comedy. The result is a three-episode web series, called Grads in Drag, which is now available for streaming on-demand.
In conjunction with Digital Learning Day on February 25, the Michigan State University Department of Theatre MFA Acting cohort will launch a six-season podcast, entitled “The Moment Before: An Actor’s Warm-Up Podcast,” which is the only known podcast focusing on quick and convenient ways for actors to warm-up and prepare for auditions, rehearsals, and performances with each season consisting of…
The freshmen class of Michigan State University’s Department of Theatre have created a mockumentary-style web series satire about the experience of starting college during the COVID-19 pandemic. Freshman Showcase: Pandemic’d! will premiere its first two episodes with a Facebook Live Viewing Party on Friday, February 12, at 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.
G. “Max” Maxin IV (MFA Design ’12) was scheduled to return to Michigan State University as a guest scenic designer for the Department of Theatre’s production of 9 to 5: The Musical that was slated to open in February 2021, but when the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered theatres and most of the department’s productions, the Dolly Parton musical based on the…
Jake Gerard Price, junior Arts and Humanities major, received a CREATE! Micro-Grant to create a dance film that addresses the societal impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The CREATE! Micro-Grant program selected 12 student projects, including Price’s, to each receive $500 to respond critically and imaginatively to events occurring during the pandemic. The winning projects are now displayed in a virtual…
Marshall Ross, a senior BFA Acting major, received CREATE! Micro-grant funding to support his SOLO* project, a short-film that follows the experience of a young man living on his own during the Michigan stay-at-home order in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Written, directed, filmed, and acted entirely by Ross on his smartphone, the film explores the impact prolonged…