Wichita State University School of Performing Arts

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Wichita State University School of Performing Arts Professional Training, Creative Growth, Artistic Community Outreach

Wichita State University School of Performing Arts is a pre-professional training school for Theatre (Design & Technical Theatre, Musical Theatre, Theatre Performance) and Dance. We are internationally and regionally recognized for programs in Dance, Theatre, and Musical Theatre. Our students are trained for some of the hardest careers by working professionals and highly experienced professors. Our student and alumni performers, designers, technicians and stage managers have worked with companies like Illinois Shakespeare Festival, Black Hills Playhouse, Infamous Commonweath Theatre, Timberlake Playhouse, Prather Entertainment, Seven Devils National Playwrights Conference, Roundabout Theatre, Monomoy Theatre, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Lyric Opera, Light Opera Oklahoma, Music Theatre of Wichita, Mosley Street Melodrama and Cabaret Oldtown. They have performed in and worked as technicians on National & International Tours (42nd Street, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Sesame Street Live, Cinderella and more) and on Broadway (The Scottsboro Boys, Porgy & Bess, Evita). Our alumni design work has also been featured with theatre companies like The Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre in KC and The Santa Fe Opera. We have graduates in AEA (Actor's Equity Association), SAG (Screen Actor's Guild), ITASE (The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees), and many other well-known unions and organizations that benefit artists and artistic communities. With the training received at Wichita State University, our students rest assured with the skills that will advance them into a career in the theatre and allied professions for years to come!

🎭✨Meet the creative team of Cabaret✨🎭We’re excited to introduce part 2 of our Creative team for Cabaret!🧑🏻‍🐰‍🧑🏾 👠Intimac...
10/27/2026

🎭✨Meet the creative team of Cabaret✨🎭We’re excited to introduce part 2 of our Creative team for Cabaret!🧑🏻‍🐰‍🧑🏾 👠

Intimacy Director - Sheldon Mba
Dramaturg - Lily Vetter
Lighting Mentor - Mario Raymond
Scenic Designer - Katie Bauman
Stage Manager - Ace La Valla
Lighting Designer - Ruby Quezada-Valadez
Sound Designer - Dani Little
📍Wilner Auditorium ✨
📆 November 12-14th 7:30PM, 15th 2:00PM
🎟️ $14 | $20 |$23🌾1 FREE student ticket with MyWSU

Stay tuned for more of our cast and creative team!💛🖤

🎭✨Meet the creative team of Cabaret✨🎭We’re excited to introduce part 1 of our Creative team for Cabaret!🧑🏻‍🐰‍🧑🏾👠Director...
10/23/2026

🎭✨Meet the creative team of Cabaret✨🎭We’re excited to introduce part 1 of our Creative team for Cabaret!🧑🏻‍🐰‍🧑🏾👠

Director - Jacob McGlaun
Choreographer - Sabrina Vasquez
Music Director - Dr. Samantha Balboa
Associate Choreographer - Kaete Mokrynski
Assistant Dramaturg - Grace Ryan
Costume Designer - Alexandra Enmark
Producer - Cheyla Clawson ✨
📍Wilner Auditorium �📆 November 12-14th 7:30PM, 15th 2:00PM
🎟️ $14 | $20 |$23�🌾1 FREE student ticket with MyWSU

Stay tuned for more of our cast and creative team!💛🖤

🎃A little Shakespeare. A little stage combat. A whole lot of Halloween drama.Wichita State University’s School of Perfor...
10/22/2026

🎃A little Shakespeare. A little stage combat. A whole lot of Halloween drama.

Wichita State University’s School of Performing Arts (SPA) is bringing the supernatural and gruesome tales of William Shakespeare to BOOtanica!

Directed by Joseph Urick, assistant professor of acting, BOOtanical Shakespeare features a condensed “Macbeth” and scenes from “Hamlet” and “Titus Andronicus.”

Expect witches, ghosts, dark revenge and outdoor performances that bring Shakespeare’s chilling stories to life. 🧙👻🗡️

📅Performance dates: Oct. 16–17 and Oct. 23–24
⏰BOOtanical Shakespeare Performances: 6:30–8:30 p.m.
⌛️Each performance sequence lasts approximately 20 minutes.

📌Botanica, The Wichita Gardens
701 N Amidon St
Wichita

🎃BOOtanica festival hours:
Fridays, 5–10 p.m.
Saturdays, 2–10 p.m.

🎟️BOOtanica festival admission is ticketed.

Photo credit: Jami Thomas
Macbeth: Charlene Grinsell
Banquo and MacDuff: Em Kerbs and Pashence Adkins
MacDuff vs Macbeth: Pashence Adkins and Charlene Grinsell
MacDuff vs Macbeth: Pashence Adkins and Charlene Grinsell
Three Witches: Pashence Adkins, Mackenzie Tanner, Ashlynn “Lemon” Crawford
Lord and Lady Macbeth: Charlene Grinsell and Jami Thomas

🩸Shakespeare and Halloween? A bloody good match. Long before slasher films, William Shakespeare was serving up murder, m...
10/21/2026

🩸Shakespeare and Halloween? A bloody good match.

Long before slasher films, William Shakespeare was serving up murder, mayhem and supernatural chills.

🔪”Titus Andronicus” brings gruesome revenge, seven murders, a live burial and a horrifying pie. [Hint. Don’t eat the pie.]

🧙”Macbeth” conjures three witches and one unforgettable incantation:

“Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn and cauldron bubble…”
[Hint. Don’t drink the soup.]

👻”Hamlet” features a ghost with a deadly message and a mission of revenge.
[Heads up. The ghost may not have your best interests in mind.]

This October Wichita State University’s School of Performing Arts brings Shakespeare’s darker tales to life at BOOtanica, with outdoor performances and stage combat.

Come for the Halloween thrills. Stay for the Bard. 🎭

📅Performance dates: Oct. 16–17 and Oct. 23–24
⏰BOOtanical Shakespeare Performances: 6:30–8:30 p.m.
⌛️Each performance sequence lasts approximately 20 minutes.

📌Botanica, The Wichita Gardens
701 N Amidon St
Wichita

🎃BOOtanica festival hours:
Fridays, 5–10 p.m.
Saturdays, 2–10 p.m.

🎟️BOOtanica festival admission is ticketed.

Photo credit: Jami Thomas
Three witches: Pashence Adkins, Mackenzie Tanner, Ashlynn “Lemon” Crawford
Banquo and MacDuff: Em Kerbs and Pashence Adkins
Lord and Lady Macbeth: Charlene Grinsell and Jami Thomas

Join the Wichita State University School of Performing Arts!Priority review starts October 23!The School of Performing ...
10/21/2026

Join the Wichita State University School of Performing Arts!

Priority review starts October 23!

The School of Performing Arts is excited to announce a Technical Direction & Scenic Design faculty opportunity! We are seeking collaborative artist-educators who are passionate about undergraduate student success, creative excellence, and training the next generation of theatre professionals.

This position is perfect for a professional with expertise in technical direction and scenic design who enjoys hands-on teaching, creative problem-solving, and collaboration. The successful candidate will guide students through the design and realization of theatrical environments while helping them build the technical, artistic, and leadership skills needed for careers in the field.

At Wichita State, faculty work closely with talented undergraduate students in an engaged learning environment that values creativity, collaboration, and real-world experience.

See the Linktree link in our bio.

Please share with colleagues, alumni, and members of your professional network who may be interested in joining our community.

✨ Faculty Spotlight! ✨Behind every successful production is a team dedicated to collaboration, creativity, and hard work...
10/20/2026

✨ Faculty Spotlight! ✨
Behind every successful production is a team dedicated to collaboration, creativity, and hard work. From supporting student artists to managing the countless details that make a show possible, faculty member Lily Vetter is helping shape the future of the industry one production at a time.✨
🔗 Read more about Lily here:
https://www.wichita.edu/profiles/academics/fine_arts/school_of_performing_arts/Faculty/Vetter-Lilly.php

MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET CREDITS:
Director/Music Director: Sam Sherwood
Assistant Director: Luke Ferrante
Scenic Designer: Mia Irwin
Lighting Designer: Eli Goldberg
Costume Designer: Andrew Burns
Sound Designer: Zachariah Rosenbaum
Hair & Wig Designer: Jeff Knaggs
Production Stage Manager: Brenna Bishop*
Assistant Stage Manager: Wavyne White*
2nd Assistant Stage Manager: Ace La Valla
Photography& Videography: WolfReel Media
*Member of Actors’ Equity Association

🎭 Calling all SPA students! Meet Madi White—a full-time fool, producer, artist, and WSU Alumna who brings serious craft ...
10/19/2026

🎭 Calling all SPA students! Meet Madi White—a full-time fool, producer, artist, and WSU Alumna who brings serious craft to deeply unserious work.

Living at the intersection of physical theater, puppetry, and contemporary clowning, Madi has spent over a decade training worldwide with legends like Frantic Assembly in London, Bread and Puppet, and Dell’Arte International. She’s fresh off an international tour of her solo show The Free State, a residency in France, and a performance at Prague’s prestigious Letní Letná festival! 🎪🎨

Now, she’s bringing her global expertise right to you.

🗓️ When: Friday, October 23rd at 1:00 PM

📍 Who: DANC 365, THEA 180D but also OPEN to all SPA students who want to explore physical storytelling!

Don't miss this chance to learn from the creator of Wichita's own Clown Jam before her new show Strixdebuts in Spring 2027. Come ready to move, play, and embrace the beautiful art of being a fool! ⏳✨

Join us for a showing of Facing Shores, a powerful work by choreographer Kirven Douthit-Boyd.📅 Sunday, October 18🕜 1:30-...
10/17/2026

Join us for a showing of Facing Shores, a powerful work by choreographer Kirven Douthit-Boyd.
📅 Sunday, October 18
🕜 1:30-2:00 PM
📍 Heskett Center Dance Studios, WSU Campus
Stay after the performance for a Q&A with the choreographer and performers!

10/14/2026

Wichita State University School of Performing Arts

Join us for an inspiring evening with Kirven Douthit-Boyd, an internationally recognized dancer, choreographer, educator...
10/14/2026

Join us for an inspiring evening with Kirven Douthit-Boyd, an internationally recognized dancer, choreographer, educator, and Artistic Director of Saint Louis Dance Theatre.

With eleven years of experience performing with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Kirven brings a wealth of knowledge and insight into the world of contemporary dance. The evening will contain a screening of some of his performances and choreography including “Revelations" by Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.

This is a wonderful opportunity for dancers, students, educators, and anyone passionate about the arts to learn from an accomplished artist and gain new perspectives on dance and creativity.

Event Details:
What: Artist Talk and Film Screening with Kirven Douthit-Boyd
When: Thursday, October 15, 2026, at 6:00 PM
Where: Ulrich Museum of Art, Wichita State University
Cost: Free!

Address

1845 Fairmount Street
Wichita, KS
67260

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