Written by Simon Stephens

Based on mark Haddon’s best-selling 2003 novel of the same name, the play follows 15-year-old Christopher Boone, who has been accused of killing the neighbor’s dog. Thought the production, Christopher overcomes his fears and embarks on an unforgettable journey to solve the mystery of the real killer. The adventure changes his life forever.

Direction  Tommy Wedge
Scenic Design Jerry Dennis
Costume Design Jennifer Lothian

A Saginaw Valley State University Department of Theatre Mainstage Production in the Malcolm Field Theatre. 

Photos by Michael Randolph

Written by Martin MacDonagh

The play is set in 1934, when the people of Inishmaan learn Hollywood director Robert Flaherty is coming to the neighboring island to film his documentary “Man of Aran.” No one is more excited than Cripple Billy, an unloved boy whose chief occupation had been gazing at cows and yearning for a girl who wants no part of him. For Billy is determined to cross the sea and audition for the Yank. And as news of his audacity ripples through his rumor-starved community, “The Cripple of Inishmaan” becomes a merciless portrayal of a world so comically cramped and mean-spirited that hope is an affront to its order. - Excerpt from an SVSU press release

Direction  David Rzeszutek
Scenic Design Jerry Dennis
Costume Design Jennifer Lothian

A Saginaw Valley State University Department of Theatre main stage production in the Malcolm Field Theatre. 

Photos by Michael Randolph

Written by Quiara Alegría Hudes 

"Winner of the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Water by the Spoonful tells the story of Iraq war veteran Elliot Ortiz as he struggles to find his place in the world, while being haunted by the ghosts of his past. Upon the death of a family member, Elliot finds his world colliding with the world of his birth mother as she moderates an online chat room for recovering addicts like herself. As families splinter and collide online and face-to-face, Quiara Alegría Hudes masterfully draws patterns of genuine warmth, forgiveness, and redemption." - Quote from the University of Iowa Theatre Arts website

Direction  Tlaloc Rivas
Scenic Design Tasep Lee
Costume Design Jess Fialko

A University of Iowa Theatre Arts main stage production taking place in the David Thayer Theatre.

Photos by R. Eric Stone

Written by Alan Ayckbourn

"Acclaimed playwright Alan Ayckbourn outdoes himself this time with a hysterical farce following three couples, in three kitchens, on three successive Christmas Eves. Watch as relationships change, fortunes soar and then dive, and the social kaleidoscope gets shaken up. Add an off-stage couple whose jokes are really bad, some of the most ingenious failed suicide attempts ever devised, and lots of gin, and you’re in for some truly memorable holiday parties!" - Quote from the University of Iowa Theatre Arts website

Direction  Eric Forsythe
Scenic Design Kevin S. Dudley
Costume Design Emily Busha

A University of Iowa Theatre Arts main stage production taking place in the David Thayer Theatre.

Written by Steven Epp, Dominique Serrand, and
Nathan Keepers
In collaboration with The Moving Company

Quote from the Iowa Now Article - "The show uses the world of fairy tales as its jumping-off point; Out of the Pan features elements such as outrageous physical imagery and movement, monstrous characters, and impossible narrative, combined with video design. The subject matter, however, deals with things found in our modern world. 'We use the construct of a fairy tale world to tell a contemporary story,' says Dominique Serrand, co-founder of the Moving Company and director. 'For many people, the future seems doomed. People are without work, people are trying to figure out what tomorrow brings. These feelings are reaching a larger segment of the population. Our story documents poverty and loneliness, but it is not without hope—far from it, in fact.”
Link to Iowa Now Article

Direction Dominique Serrand
Scenic Design  R. Eric Stone
Costume Design Jess Fialko

A University of Iowa Partnership in the Arts main stage production taking place in the David Thayer Theatre.

Photos by R. Eric Stone

Written by Qui Nguyen

She Kills Monsters is described as "A comedic romp into the world of fantasy role-playing games, She Kills Monsters tells the story of Agnes Evans as she leaves her childhood home in Ohio following the death of her teenage sister, Tilly. When Agnes finds Tilly’s Dungeons & Dragons notebook, however, she stumbles into a journey of discovery and action-packed adventure in the imaginary world that was Tilly’s refuge. In this high-octane dramatic comedy laden with homicidal fairies, nasty ogres, and 90s pop culture, acclaimed young playwright Qui Nguyen offers a heart-pounding homage to the geek and warrior within us all." 

What have reviewers said about the show? 
"Nguyen is a refreshing, break-the-rules writer — he has a ready embrace of pop culture, high-school speak and 'High Fidelity' cool, and he also has a mission to redeem gaming geeks everywhere...She Kills Monsters, delivers exactly what it promises, is generally a blast" - Chicago Tribune
"Packed with action, wit, and a sizable nerd-quotient, the production is a delight from start to finish" - Theatremania

Direction  David Rzeszutek
Scenic Design Jerry Dennis
Costume Design Jennifer Lothian
Puppet Design Katie Godell

An Saginaw Valley State University Department of Theatre main stage production in the Malcolm Field Theatre. 

Photos by Michael Randolph

Written by Donna Hoke

In 2011, a young gay teen hang himself-but the events leading to the suicide began decades before, in 1986, when bullies tormented Nancy and her closeted best friend. Twenty-five years later, the cycle continues when Nancy is confronted by another bully-her son.

Direction  David Rzeszutek
Scenic Design Jerry Dennis
Costume Design Melissa Penkava Koza

A Saginaw Valley State University Department of Theatre Mainstage Production in the Malcolm Field Theatre. 

Photos by Michael Randolph

Written by Ken Ludwig

It is December 1936, and Broadway star William Gillette, admired the world over for his leading role in the play Sherlock Holmes, has invited his fellow cast members to his Connecticut castle for a weekend of revelry. But when one of the guests is stabbed to death, the festivities in this isolated house of tricks and mirrors quickly turn dangerous.

Direction  Steven C. Erickson
Scenic Design Jerry Dennis
Costume Design Melissa Penkava Koza

A Saginaw Valley State University Department of Theatre main stage production in the Malcolm Field Theatre. 

Photos by Michael Randolph

Written by Emily Dendinger

"Dark comedy. October, 1962. With the shadow of the Cuban Missile Crisis hanging over the nation, a group of friends, relatives, and strangers gather to celebrate the life of a brilliant but troubled composer who has been killed under mysterious circumstances in a car accident. Between dusk and dawn, unspoken truths will be revealed within a house built and nestled above a waterfall."- Quote from the University of Iowa Theatre Arts website

Direction  Tlaloc Rivas
Scenic Design Kevin Loeffler
Costume Design Megan Rowley

University of Iowa's New Play Festival production taking place in David Thayer Theatre.

Photos by R. Eric Stone

Coe College Theatre Arts

Written by Moliere --Translated by Richard Wilbur

Direction  Steven Marc Weiss

Scenic Design Ben Schmidt

Costume Design Susan Wolverton

A Coe College main stage production taking place in The Dows Theatre. 

Photos by Stepen Eckert

Flint Youth Theatre

Direction William P. Ward

Scenic and Costume Design William P. Ward

Alien Soil was an original production created as part of the National Exchange of Art and Civil Dialogue hosted by Animating Democracy; A program of Americans for the Arts

The Animating Democracy Initiative National Exchange on Art and Civic Dialogue, a multiyear, national project of Americans for the Arts designed to foster artistic activity that encourages civic dialogue on important contemporary issues. This conference will bring 200 artists, cultural and civic leaders, dialogue specialists, scholars, and funders from throughout the United States to Flint. A new production, “Alien Soil,” written by Ward, will premiere at the conference. The production explores the concept of resettlement, the plight of refugees, and the definition of “home” and what it might mean to be without one. - Quote from the C.S. Mott Foundation website

University of Iowa New Play Festival

Written by Janet Schapkohl

Direction Kristin Clippard

Scenic Design Kevin Loeffler

Costume Design Emily Busha

Dr. Zweifel has died. He has impacted the lives of all the people he has worked with in his lab. Each character deals with the loss of their co-worker and mentor and takes the audience on journey through their memories, each having a different take on the same events.

Photos by R. Eric Stone

University of Iowa Theatre Arts

Direction  Carol MacVey

Scenic Design Lisa Johnson

Link to University of Iowa News Series Article

A University of Iowa main stage production taking place in the David Thayer Theatre.

Quote from the Iowa News Series Article - "A Hamlet" is minimally staged with costume changes visible, radically condensed to less than two hours with several subplots excised, and designed to draw the audience inside the heads and hearts of Hamlet, Ophelia, Gertrude, Claudius, Polonious, and Laertes -- and the actors who rehearse to portray them -- as they struggle with treachery, revenge, ghosts, love, and moral corruption.

University of Iowa Gallery Series

Written by Emily Dendinger

Direction Kristin Clippard

Scenic Design Adam Phillips

Costume Design Emily Brink

A University of Iowa Galley Series production in Theatre B.

"Set among the marble halls of the British Museum on the night of a New Years Eve fancy dress gala, Holly has made the greatest archeological discovery of the 21st century—an oracle of the god Apollo that shows you the person you’re meant to spend your life with, however, when Holly decides that there’s more to life than archeology, her colleague Will takes it upon himself to change her mind. A throwback to the screwball comedies of the 1920s and 30s, Champagne Gods is a romantic romp about fate, farce and fidelity." - Quote from the University of Iowa Theatre Arts website

Photos by R. Eric Stone

Flint Youth Theatre

Direction William P. Ward

Scenic and Costume Design William P. Ward

A young boy discovers his grandfather is dying. The old man's behavior is different; he's short-tempered and no longer tells his wonderful stories. The boy enlists the grandfather's aid in helping him with a school project—counting the stars. Their togetherness seems to renew the old man's interest and he begins telling stories, one of them about the dragon in the sky. The dragon, he explains, is there to guard the stars. An old legend says that should the stars be returned to earth; it would mean a new paradise with no unhappiness, no death. Hearing this, the boy goes off to slay the dragon and return the stars to earth, seeking a means of keeping his grandfather from dying. At play's end, the youngster comes to understand how important he is to his grandfather. "I don't need to live forever," says the old man. "I need you. I need you to care about me." - Quote from Dramatic Publishing

Flint Youth Theatre

Adapted by Walter Mark Hill

Direction William P. Ward

Scenic and Costume Design William P. Ward

A Signature Series production in the Ann D. Elgood Theatre

Remember those ghost stories you heard around the campfire? The ones about the vanishing hitchhiker, the babysitter who gets a phone call from inside the house and the man with a hook for a hand? Scary Tales is a review style show made up of all your favorite ghost stories brought to life with an ensemble cast.

Saginaw Valley State's Department of Theatre

Written by Kathryn Schultz Miller

Direction  Ric Roberts

Scenic Design Jerry Dennis

Costume Design Melissa Penkava Koza

An SVSU Department of Theatre Mainstage Production in the Malcolm Field Theatre. 

Photos by Michael Randolph

Press Release about the production