By Kari Dickinson When University Theatre’s production of Michael Rohd’s “The Compass” opens this week, every performance may have a different ending. That’s because in this interactive courtroom drama, the audience doesn’t just watch the trial unfold. They become the jury. The story centers on a young girl who uses a predictive app called “The …
Teaching artists are deeply valuable members of the education community and should be funded accordingly, a UW–Madison School of Education faculty member argued in a recent editorial. Erica Halverson, chair of the Department of Theatre & Drama and professor in the Department of Curriculum & Instruction, pushed for year-round, well-paid jobs for teaching artists in …
UW–Madison’s Erica Halverson has been named to the Executive Committee of the Alliance in the Arts for Research Universities (a2ru). Halverson, the Gibb Faculty Professor of Curriculum and Instruction, chair of the Department of Theatre and Drama, and special advisor to the dean on arts and innovation in the School of Education, has dedicated her …
UW–Madison’s Aly Amidei, an associate professor of costume design in the School of Education’s Department of Theatre and Drama, has been nominated for a 2026 Equity Joseph Jefferson (Jeff) Award for Costume Design in the Midsize category. Amidei earned the nomination for her costume design work on the Buffalo Theatre Ensemble production of “Georgiana and …
By Kari Dickinson The University of Wisconsin–Madison will host the Comparative Drama Conference (CDC) 2026 from July 9–11 at the Madison Concourse Hotel, bringing together an international community of artists and scholars for three days of presentations, performances, and dialogue exploring theatre research and production. Co-directed by Ann Shanahan and Baron Kelly, faculty members in …
By Katie Grant, Office of Research & Scholarship The UW–Madison School of Education is proud to announce the selection of 18 projects for funding through the One School Innovation Fund, a competitive internal program designed to catalyze bold, collaborative research and scholarship across the arts, education, and health. Launched earlier this year by the Office …
UW–Madison’s Colleen Conroy, an assistant professor in the School of Education’s Department of Theatre and Drama, is the author of an article in Voice and Speech Review. The article, “Coaching the Gendered Voice: An Action Research Study on Pitch, Resonance, and Effective Techniques,” was published online in May 2025. It was also selected as a …
UW–Madison’s Micha Espinosa was recently featured in an American Theatre article highlighting the Latinx Theatre Commons Actor-Training Laboratorio, held March 27–30 on the UW–Madison campus. Espinosa, a professor in the School of Education’s Department of Theatre and Drama, is a longtime leader in the development of Latinx actor training methodologies. The story examines the Laboratorio …
A story on Terrace Views, the official blog of the Wisconsin Union, spotlights how a cross-campus internship program supported by School of Education alumna Kathy Deuel and her husband Joe Lillis is making a difference. The article notes that both Deuel and Lillis “found clarity and confidence” during their time at UW–Madison. “For Kathy, it was …
UW–Madison’s Ann M. Shanahan, a professor of acting and directing in the School of Education’s Department of Theatre and Drama, is the co-author of a feature article in the winter 2026 issue of SDC Journal’s peer-reviewed section. The article, titled “Changing Landscapes in Directing and Choreography in Higher Education: Reflections on a Decade of the …