Theatre is for Everybody!
Become a part of a vibrant, on-campus community dedicated to growth, learning, and connection. Whether you’re looking to expand your creative skills, meet like-minded individuals, or simply find inspiration, there’s a place for you here onstage or behind the scenes. The skills and experiences you gain working in the theatre will last you a lifetime in whatever your chosen field may be. Join us today and super-charge your UWS experience!
- Earn course credit for working on a play
- Add a Theatre Minor or Theatre and Digital Film Making Major
- Courses offered in:
- Acting for the Camera
- Acting Shakespeare
- Intro to Acting
- Intro to Theatre
- Intro to Technical Theatre
- Directing for the Stage
- Work study opportunities in our costume and scene shops
- Join our student organization
- Stretch your creative muscles in new ways
- Be part of a caring and inclusive community on campus
For more information email Assistant Professor and Director of Theatre Sean Naughton at [email protected]
UWS Theatre 2026-27 Season
Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play by Ann Washburn
Directed by Sean Naughton
Performance Dates
After a mysterious catastrophe wipes out modern civilization, a group of survivors gathers around a campfire, piecing together a remembered episode of The Simpsons. Spanning decades and generations, Anne Washburn’s Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play is a wildly inventive, darkly funny exploration of storytelling, pop culture, and the myths we create to make sense of the world. Blending comedy, music, and theatrical imagination, this acclaimed play asks what endures when everything else is lost.
Check back for tickets – on sale soon!
Stupid F***ing Bird by Aaron Posner
Directed by Andy Hill
Performance Dates
A sharp, funny, and unexpectedly moving reimagining of Chekhov’s The Seagull, Stupid F***ing Bird follows a group of artists, lovers, and dreamers struggling to connect in a world that never quite meets their expectations. Aaron Posner’s acclaimed adaptation blends comedy, heartbreak, and direct audience engagement into a bold contemporary exploration of love, art, and the search for meaning.
Check back for tickets – on sale soon!
The Shining Lives by Melanie Marnich
Directed by Merry Renn Vaughn
Performance Dates
These Shining Lives by Melanie Marnich is a luminous and heartbreaking story of the young women workers at the Radium Dial Company in 1920s Illinois, who painted watch faces with radioactive paint and were told — lied to — that it was perfectly safe. Marnich weaves together movement, music, and soaring theatrical poetry to tell the true story of these “Radium Girls,” women who literally glowed in the dark and who fought back with extraordinary courage even as their bodies betrayed them, turning a tragedy of corporate greed into a blazing testament to solidarity, sisterhood, and the unstoppable human will to be seen and remembered. These Shining Lives will be directed by UWS Theatre alumni Dr. Merry Renn Vaughn who most recently served as Professor of Theatre at the College of St. Scholastica.
Check back for tickets – on sale soon!
Mozart’s Catalogue: A Singspiel in Two Acts by Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Adapted by Vicki Fingalson and Jeff Madison
Directed by Vicki Fingalson
Performance Dates
A hilarious and operatic romp of devised opera in collaboration with the Department of Music. This singspiel mash-up features selections from Mozart’s operas and promises a soaringly sublime night of song!
Check back for tickets – on sale soon!
UWS Theatre Auditions
Audition for a Play
Auditions!
Auditions for UWS Theatre’s Fall Productions of Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric Play by Anne Washburn and Stupid F***ing Bird by Aaron Posner are September 8 starting at 6:30pm in The Experimental Theatre Lab Room 2131 in the Holden Fine Arts Center! To audition, prepare a short monologue to perform or show up to read a provided text. No experience required, just a passion for storytelling!
Auditions will be held in 5-minute slots on 9/8 at 6:30 pm.
Callbacks will be held Wednesday 9/9 and Thursday 9/10 starting at 6:30 pm.
Auditions FAQ
What should I bring?
Yourself! If you have a picture and theatre resume we are happy to accept it, but there will also be a place on the audition form you can tell us a little more about your experience.
Do I need to prepare a monologue?
Returning UWS Theatre majors and minors should prepare a 1 – 2 minute contemporary monologue of their choosing. Students new to the UWS program are welcome to prepare a monologue, but it is not required. If you prefer, there will be some text from the play you can read at the audition.
Can I get college credit for participating?
Yes! Participating in this production falls under Comm 350 – Creative Collaboration. It is a repeatable course that you can take for anywhere between 1 – 3 credits.
I prefer backstage more than to be on stage. Is there a way to get involved?
Absolutely! We are looking for stage managers, assistant stage managers, prop builders, scenic builders, run crew, fight captains, and everything in between! It takes a lot of dedicated individuals to make theatre happen and we want YOU!
I still have questions. Who do I ask?
For more information, email Assistant Professor and Director of Theatre Sean Naughton at [email protected].
Facilities
The Theatre Program is located in the Holden and Applied Arts Center, which has multiple performance spaces and the capability to support many different styles of dramatic productions. All of the rooms described below are located in the Holden Fine Arts Center, which is also home to the Music and Art departments.
Manion Theater
Our main stage performance venue is a 237-seat proscenium theatre with an asymmetrical layout to both the audience seating and the stage itself. A hydraulic orchestra pit can be raised/lowered for the productions, and the main playing area is trapped. In addition, 32 counter weight line sets allow for flying scenic elements out of view; grid height is 60 feet. The proscenium opening is 40 feet by 20 feet. A lighting designer has access to four electrics on the main battens, several floor pockets, two catwalks and four cove positions. The numerous lighting options available make the Manion Theater a very flexible venue for lighting designs.
The Experimental Theatre
This venue, also referred to as the Black Box, can seat over 100 patrons and measures 33 feet by 50 feet. This flexible space is used for rehearsals, as a classroom space, and as a venue for special student projects, and occasionally hosts our main stage productions.
The Scene Shop
Our modern scene shop is located directly between the two performance venues, with over-size doors that allow scenery to be built in the shop and then moved to the main stages. A loading dock immediately adjoins the shop. Besides a wide selection of standard power tools and cordless tools for wood working construction, the scene shop is also set up for welding. It has a modern dust collection system and a hooded paint area.
The Green Room
Our Green Room connects directly to the backstage of the Manion Theater and also serves as a general meeting area for students throughout the year.
The Costume & Make-Up
Our Costume Shop area also serves as the general storage area for all fabrics and previous costumes; it is outfitted with multiple sewing machines, sergers and complete laundry facilities. It connects directly to our Make-Up Room, which can easily accommodate a couple of dozen actors at a single sitting.