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 snaughto@uwsuper.edu
Tickets
UWS Theatre 2025-26 Season
Dracula: A Feminist Revenge Fantasy Really
By Kate Hamill
Directed by Sean Naughton
Performance Dates
- October 31 – November 8
When your survival is at stake… will you be able to distinguish the monster from the man? Both terrifying and riotous, Kate Hamill’s imaginative, gender-bending “feminist revenge fantasy” is like no Dracula you’ve ever seen—exploring the nature of predators and reinventing the story as a smart, disquieting, darkly comic drama. Hamill’s signature style and postmodern wit upends this familiar tale of Victorian vampires—driving a stake through the heart of toxic masculinity.
Godspell
By John Tabelak and Steven Schwartz
Directed by Jess Hughes
Performance Dates
- April 10 – 18
A small group of people help the son of God tell different parables by using a variety of games, storytelling techniques and a hefty dose of comic timing. An eclectic blend of songs, ranging in style from pop to vaudeville, is employed as the story of Jesus of Nazareth life dances across the stage. Dissolving hauntingly into the Last Supper and the Crucifixion, timeless messages of kindness, tolerance and love come vibrantly to life.
Student Lab Series
Performance Dates
- Fall: November 21, 22, 23
- Spring: February 19, 20, 21
A series of student directed works in the Fall and Spring semesters including Actors Nightmare by Christopher Durang, Foreplay or The Art of the Fugue by David Ives, Here We Are by Dorothy Parker, and 15 Reasons To Not Be In a Play by Alan Haehnel.
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.