The second installment of the School of Theatre, Dance, and Film’s Impact Series features the Saturday Creative Drama program and three Illinois State University students who taught in the program during the spring 2024 semester.
A passion for theatre keeps Sandi Zielinski ’67, M.F.A. ’81, young at heart, and that passion was born at Illinois State University.
The Illinois State University School of Theatre and Dance (SoTD) Theatre Teacher Education program has grown exponentially in the past few years, expanding the number of opportunities for secondary students in the Bloomington-Normal area to be able to work with new and upcoming theatre professionals. SoTD students foster a love for the fine arts in the next generation while also gaining invaluable experience that will prepare them for the next steps in their careers.
The School of Theatre and Dance will wrap up the spring 2024 semester with the Spring Dance Concert, Transcend!, with artistic direction from Laina Reese. The concert will consist of five unique pieces, featuring choreography from Kyle Ayers, Greg Merriman, Laina Reese, Sarah Semonis, and guest artist Will Gill.
Playwright Novid Parsi will be on campus to workshop his play The Life You Gave Me, which will be presented in a staged reading on Friday, April 26.
Illinois State University’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare will have an official preview performance on April 17 at 7:30 p.m. with tickets sold at reduced prices. There will also be a preshow talk and reception at 6 p.m. that includes a discussion with a panel of creators associated with the show, including the dramaturg, Sarah Hall, and director, Connie deVeer.
The Crossroads Project will present a staged reading of The Life You Gave Me by Novid Parsi, winner of the 2024 Diverse Voices Playwriting Initiative. The event will take place in person on Friday, April 26, at 7:30 p.m. in Stevenson Hall, Room 401. Following the staged reading will be a talkback with the playwright.
This April, the Illinois State University School of Theatre and Dance presents Shakespeare’s beloved comedy “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” directed by Professor of Acting and Voice Connie deVeer.
Junior Sage Brown and sophomores Devin Creighton and Andrew Conrad Faber were recently named Sutter Scholars.
This March, the School of Theatre and Dance presents In Pieces, a new contemporary musical, written by Joey Contreras and directed by M.F.A. in directing candidate Al Oltmanns with musical direction by Dr. Matthew Vala. It is a story of love, loss, and the paths that we take in life that can separate us and bring us back together.
