News

Brian Quijada and Nygel D. Robinson performing Mexodus

Mexodus Will Return Off-Broadway

Friday, January 23, 2026
Brian Quijada (2011 BA) and Nygel D. Robinson star in the live-looping musical, which premiered via Audible Theater last year.
kurt smith as thomas jefferson, black and white image

An Iowa Theatre Alum Travels Back in Time to Portray Thomas Jefferson

Kurt Smith’s University of Iowa connections land him the coveted role as a Founding Father with the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.

X Marks the Arts Presents: Free Week 2026

Wednesday, January 14, 2026
Free Week returns for its second year from February 16 – 22, 2026, transforming Downtown Iowa City’s Cultural & Entertainment District into a weeklong celebration of creativity, community, and connection.

Cygnet Theatre Awards 2026 Dee Silver, M.D. Commission To Playwright Christopher Lysik (2024 MFA)

Friday, December 19, 2025
Partnership with the Iowa Playwrights Workshop brings Lysik’s new musical to San Diego for a free public reading on January 17.
Playwright Tennessee Williams sits at his typewriter in New York on Nov. 11, 1940. (AP Photo/Dan Grossi, File)

Haunted house and invisible demons: Tennessee Williams’ early radio play ‘The Strangers’ publishes

Wednesday, December 17, 2025
According to Williams (BA 1938) scholar John Bak, “The Strangers” was among a handful of radio dramas the young playwright worked on while in Iowa, where he and his classmates were required to write and produce plays.
UI Theatre students in play rehearsal

A look back: Best Performing Arts photos of fall 2025 semester

Wednesday, December 10, 2025
As the fall semester winds down, we’re looking back at some of the best moments captured by Performing Arts At Iowa photographer Jason Smith.
Portrait of Mark Bruckner, MFA, BM, BA

Second annual CLAS Teaching Excellence Showcase celebrates teaching innovation across the college

Wednesday, December 10, 2025
Theatre faculty member Mark Bruckner was recognized in the second annual College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Teaching Excellence Showcase, co-sponsored by CLAS, the Center for Teaching, and the Office of Teaching, Learning, and Technology.

Theatre E-Newsletter December 2025

Friday, December 5, 2025
News from the Department of Theatre Arts and our alumni