This production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream is set in Appalachian Athens, Ohio, in 2012, during the height of contemporary music festival culture, a moment defined by utopian longing, economic precarity, the end of the Mayan calendar (and perhaps the world), and the promise of escape through art.

This adaptation treats the chaos of Midsummer not as harmless mischief, but as a reflection of systems that confuse desire, manipulate consent, and profit from disorientation. At the same time, it honors the genuine joy, connection, and creative risk that festivals can hold. This production invites audiences to see Shakespeare’s comedy as a story about power, labor, love, and land, and to consider who benefits from the dream, who bears its aftermath, and what it means to wake up after the music stops.

Join us for this magical romp through the forest festival, featuring more than 25 student actors and an extensive student and staff production team. Look out for surprise performances by student groups from across campus during select shows!

Following the 2 p.m. performance on Sunday, Nov. 1, audiences are invited to stay for a post-performance talkback with the cast, director Shannon R. Davis, and guest speakers Steve Hayward, Gennie Love, and others.

Oct. 29-Nov. 8 | Celeste Theatre, Cornerstone Arts Center

All performances are free and open to the public!

What do Burning Man, Mardi Gras, professional wrestling, and Las Vegas have in common? They’re all examples of spectacle culture, and they’re just a few of the phenomena students will explore in TH/DA107: Art, Spectacle, and Society.

Offered in Block 4, this course takes learning beyond the classroom with frequent field trips, including a visit to Meow Wolf, and hands-on activities that encourage students to experience spectacle culture firsthand. Along the way, students will explore how performance, ritual, and play shape popular culture, challenge social norms, and influence the world around us.

The course fulfills both the Critical Learning: Creative 

Process (CP) and AIM requirements, making it an engaging opportunity for students looking to satisfy degree requirements while exploring the intersection of art, performance, and society.

Spring pre-registration is just around the corner! Beginning in Week 3 of Block 3 and continuing through Week 1 of Block 4 (Nov. 3-21), students can begin planning their spring schedules and exploring the courses available through the Department of Theatre & Dance.

From experimenting with comedy and storytelling to examining climate change through performance and exploring the intersection of art and biotechnology, our spring offerings bring together creativity, collaboration, and a wide range of academic interests.

Take a look at a few of our featured spring courses below!

How do we tell stories about climate change, and how can those stories come to life on stage?

In Writing Climate Change, students will explore how playwrights, performers, and theatre artists are reimagining narratives about the climate crisis. Through examples of contemporary theatre and performance, the course examines how storytelling can address

environmental justice, represent perspectives beyond the human experience, and make the global challenges of climate change more tangible.

Discover how theatre can offer new ways to understand, question, and respond to one of the most pressing issues of our time.

What makes something funny? And how are today’s performers reinventing comedy?

From stand-up and improv to performance art and experimental theatre, this course explores the creative techniques behind live comedy. Students will study established and emerging comedic artists, experiment with their own material, and build a personal archive of comedy through writing, research, and performance.

Workshops with theatre artists, stand-up comedians, and improv performers offer

opportunities to put those ideas into practice.

Also listed as DA200 and CO200. Two evening field trips are required.

What happens when science becomes art, or a laboratory experiment becomes a performance?

In this interdisciplinary course, CC professors Sara Hanson (Molecular Biology), Ryan Platt (Theatre & Dance), and artist Kathryn Hamilton invite students to blur the 

boundaries between science and society.

No previous experience in science or the arts is required.

Also listed as MB100.

What happens when theatre tackles one of the most pressing issues of our time?

This spring, the Department of Theatre & Dance will launch its inaugural Second Stage Production, directed by Professor Sam Collier. Centered on the theme of climate change, the production will explore environmental issues through the power of live performance.

Students will have the opportunity to participate in the production through an adjunct class spanning Blocks 6-8, with auditions taking place in Block 5. Performances are scheduled for the first two weekends of Block 8.

The play’s title and additional details will be announced soon. Stay tuned for more information about how to get involved!

Think dance classes are only for dancers? Or that you need to be naturally funny to try stand-up comedy? Think again!

The Department of Theatre & Dance offers opportunities to step outside your comfort zone, discover new interests, and develop skills that extend well beyond the studio or stage.

Contemporary Dance can help improve flexibility, build physical strength, relieve stress, and encourage creativity. Ballet offers opportunities to develop balance, posture, coordination, and confidence, regardless of your experience level.

And Stand-Up Comedy? It’s not just about getting laughs; it’s about finding your voice, thinking creatively, building confidence, and learning to perform under pressure.

Whether you’re looking to move more, express yourself, meet new people, or simply try something completely different, there’s something here for you!

Explore our Block 3+4 offerings below and enroll in Banner.

14 E. Cache La Poudre St.
Colorado Springs, CO 80903