MSU Department of Theatre Returns to Full-Scale Productions

Michigan State University's Department of Theatre returns to full-scale performances this October with its first mainstage production, A Contemporary American's Guide to a Successful Marriage © 1959 by Robert Bastron. Performances run October 15-24 at the Pasant Theatre in the Wharton Center for Performing Arts. Attendees must be masked for the health and safety of our students.

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MSU Department of Theatre presents The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood

The Department of Theatre at Michigan State University will present The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood as part of its new Storefront Theatre Initiative. Performances run October 5-9 in the Studio 60 Theatre in the MSU Auditorium Building.  Oscar Rodriguez Quiroz (left), who plays the role of "Male Character," and Mona Eldahshoury (right), who plays the role of Penelope. “The Storefront Theatre Initiative shows focus on dynamic…

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Gift to Benefit Summer Circle Theatre Program

Former Chair of the Michigan State University Department of Theatre, Frank C. Rutledge used to say that his daughter and the Summer Circle Theatre (SCT) Program were born in the same year. Now, in celebration of SCT’s recent 60th anniversary of producing free professional theatre on the banks of the Red Cedar, Andrea S. Rutledge, daughter of Frank C. Rutledge…

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Graduate Gains Experience Producing Capstone Film

Film Studies major Tessa MacDonald, who is preparing to graduate this spring, has gained real-world experience as the Producer of the 2020-2021 Fiction Filmmaking Capstone film, Varnish, which is about an elderly father seeking reconciliation with his son after abandoning him a lifetime ago to travel the world.  Work on the film began in September and it is set to be…

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Theatre Students Develop Anthology of Audio Plays to Evoke Conversations Around Social Justice Issues

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.

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Theatre Student’s Drag Queen Web Series Uses Costume Design to Examine Current Events

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.

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Honky Tonk Musical in Houston Showcases MSU Scene Design

A new musical opening in Houston, Texas, at Stages Repertory Theatre features scenic design by Michigan State University Professor of Scene Design Kirk Domer and Department of Theatre student Michael Gault (BFA Theatre Design ’20). Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, performances will be live-streamed Nov. 10-15, giving audiences in Michigan and around the world an opportunity to see what typically can only be seen by an in-person audience.

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MSU Musical Theatre Students Workshop New Show Virtually

Michigan State University’s Department of Theatre, in partnership with the Wharton Center Institute for Arts & Creativity, will premiere “Medusa: A New Musical Development Documentary” as part of the annual ĭmáGen program. Virtual screenings of the documentary will take place on Saturday, Nov. 7, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 8, at 2 p.m.  The film, affectionately referred to by its…

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