Department News

Message From The Acting Chair

Kirk A. Domer

Greetings to Alumni and Friends of the MSU Department of Theatre!

As I look around the Department of Theatre, I hardly recognize it. During my seven years at MSU much has changed. New faculty, exciting guests and compelling initiatives have altered the landscape of Theatre and Dance at MSU—but our mission remains the same: To provoke and sustain interest in the theatre as a source of truth and insight into the human condition.

Theatre has an obligation to take you in different directions. In these difficult times we wanted to create a season that both defines and detours today’s worries. We chose to create a season of diverse destinations offering distinct diversions.

We selected classics that speak to us today because they present familiar issues (Trojan Women, You Can’t Take it With You) as well as contemporary works that examine today’s circumstances (Rent, Palmer Park, In the Blood). We found titles that explore the consequences of war and the pain of financial hardship and provide social commentary on the tenor of our times.

Theatre and Dance must also allow an audience the distance needed to forget the distractions of their everyday life. Encountering alien activity (The Rocky Horror Show), surrendering your mind to a familiar story (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest), soaring through the exploratory world of contemporary dance (Dancing In Our Time) or meeting the Department’s newest members (Freshman Showcase) we offer a chance to enjoy Theatre and Dance in its purest form.

We hope that you will join us for this season that offers an audience exactly what performance should – productions that transport an audience to diverse destinations.

~ Kirk A Domer - Acting Chair