Category: Department of Theatre and Drama

PBS Wisconsin spotlights Department of Theatre and Drama’s role in arts career summer program

Posted on

UW–Madison’s Department of Theatre and Drama was recently featured on PBS Wisconsin’s “Wisconsin Life” program for its involvement in the Arts Career Exploration Spotlight (ACES) program, a summer initiative designed to introduce high school students to careers in the arts. The ACES program, based at Madison’s Overture Center, offers hands-on experiences at arts organizations across southern Wisconsin. …

University Theatre’s ‘Dance Nation’ production receives KCACTF recognition

Posted on

University Theatre’s production of “Dance Nation,” by Clare Barron, has received recognition from the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF) following its fall run. A KCACTF respondent attended the Sept. 21 performance, directed by Audrey Lauren Standish, a teaching faculty member in the Department of Theatre and Drama, and praised the production, highlighting several individuals and …

Finding joy and confidence in writing with new ‘Whoopensocker’ collection

Posted on

By Tawny Morrison, PBS Wisconsin Education PBS Wisconsin Education, in partnership with the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Education, recently launched Whoopensocker, a new educational resource collection for upper elementary learners that provides an on-ramp to writing through group games and scaffolded lessons. Whoopensocker was first developed as a six-week teaching artist residency by Erica Halverson, a …

UW–Madison’s Halverson wins Ear Worthy award for arts educators podcast

Posted on

UW–Madison’s Erica Halverson, a professor in the School of Education’s Department of Curriculum and Instruction and chair of the Department of Theatre and Drama, has received the 2025 Ear Worthy Award for Best Education Podcast for her show, “Arts Educators Save the World.” The Ear Worthy awards recognize excellence in podcasting across multiple categories. Halverson …

New research examines how hands-on arts training improves teaching

Posted on

By Karen Rivedal, WCER Communications A new working paper from the Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER) at the University of Wisconsin–Madison investigates how professional learning in the form of embodied arts experiences can help schoolteachers understand, design, and deliver better social-emotional learning practices in the classroom, such as increased educator empathy and student-centered instruction. …

UW–Madison alumna Carrie Coon earns Emmy nomination for ‘The White Lotus’

Posted on

UW–Madison alum Carrie Coon, who earned her MFA in acting from the School of Education’s Department of Theatre and Drama in 2006, has earned her third Primetime Emmy nomination. Coon was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Laurie in Season 3 of “The White Lotus.” Coon is one …

University Theatre presents ‘Dance Nation,’ a fierce coming-of-age dance drama opening July 24

Posted on

By Kari Dickinson Opening this week, University Theatre’s summer production of “Dance Nation” invites audiences into the electrifying world of competitive dance — where glitter, ambition, and adolescent angst collide. Written by Pulitzer Prize finalist Clare Barron, “Dance Nation” follows a team of pre-teen dancers from “somewhere in America” as they aim to claw their way …

University Theatre’s electric ‘Spring Awakening’ rocks the stage April 17-27

Posted on

By Kari Dickinson Opening this Thursday, University Theatre’s latest production, “Spring Awakening,” explores the timeless tension between youth and authority — and the perils of coming of age — in an electrifying musical driven by a pulsating rock score and brought to life by a bold cast of student performers. Set in Germany in the late 19th …

UW–Madison’s Reilly lights world premiere of Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor’s children’s book adaptation

Posted on

UW–Madison’s Megan Reilly, an assistant professor in the School of Education’s Department of Theatre and Drama, was the lighting designer for the world premiere musical adaptation of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s bestselling children’s book, “Just Ask!”at The Coterie Theatre in Kansas City, Missouri. The production, which ran Jan. 29 to Feb. 23, brought …

Alumni Q&A: Marcus Jahn, Theatre and Drama and Political Science

Posted on

Graduates of the UW–Madison School of Education are enjoying successful careers in fields across the arts, health, and education — and we are excited to share what they are doing today. Following is a Q&A with Marcus Jahn, who graduated in 2016 with a BS in Theatre and Drama and Political Science. How did you …