Gustavus Theatre & Dance

Gustavus Theatre & Dance Home of the Department of Theatre and Dance at Gustavus Adolphus College The department also seeks to serve the greater St.

The Theatre and Dance Department’s mission emphasizes the value of performance as a vital means of working for social justice and personal transformation…

The Department mentors majors and non-majors alike in explorations of the many ways theatre and dance artists interpret and affect society. Students and faculty collaborate on creative research projects designed to raise awareness, create commu

nity, foster self-expression, challenge stereotypes, evoke compassion, and represent diverse perspectives. Advanced seminars and capstone experiences enable students to develop and articulate their own unique senses of vocation, purpose and creative vision for life and art beyond college. Theatre and Dance Department performance events entertain and challenge Gustavus audiences with dynamic, innovative productions. Peter community with the artistic excellence and educational outreach so important to our work…

…[the program] prepares students for graduate study and/or for professional work in the fields of Theatre and Dance. It also provides students with experience and confidence with collaboration, creative imagination, self-expression, problem-solving, critical analysis and empathy—abilities crucial to every walk of life.

Audition Notice! Auditions for multiple productions will be taking place throughout this week and weekend. See the Call ...
09/02/2025

Audition Notice! Auditions for multiple productions will be taking place throughout this week and weekend. See the Call Board by 219 in the Theatre & Dance Building for further information, and sign-up sheets for Theatre auditions. Auditions for the Dance productions do not require a sign-up. We are so excited to see you all there!

Happy First Day of Class Gusties!! The 2025-2026 Academic Year is officially underway, and we are so excited to see what...
09/02/2025

Happy First Day of Class Gusties!! The 2025-2026 Academic Year is officially underway, and we are so excited to see what this year holds. Tomorrow, September 3rd, we will have our Annual Department Pizza Party. We would love to see you there, whether you are a veteran within the department, a first year student, or anywhere in between. All are welcome and wanted here.

Freshmen Orientation is in full swing as we welcome the Class of 2029 to campus! Yesterday, we had our Theatre & Dance O...
08/31/2025

Freshmen Orientation is in full swing as we welcome the Class of 2029 to campus! Yesterday, we had our Theatre & Dance Orientation and we had an amazing turnout. Thank you to all who came out, we look forward to seeing you around campus and the T/D Building! Make sure to keep an eye out for more events as classes start up this week.

Jocelyn Horn, a sophomore Dance major and Theater minor, is finishing her summer with a bang! Jocelyn is part of Minneso...
08/26/2025

Jocelyn Horn, a sophomore Dance major and Theater minor, is finishing her summer with a bang! Jocelyn is part of Minnesota 4-H State Arts-In, a 22-day intensive experience which presents an original musical production at the Minnesota State Fair. She performs 3-4 shows each day of the fair in the Minnesota 4-H building. Stop by and catch a performance!

Only a few more weeks till our Gustie Showgirls are back on campus! We are so excited to welcome back all returning stud...
08/14/2025

Only a few more weeks till our Gustie Showgirls are back on campus! We are so excited to welcome back all returning students, and a HUGE welcome to the incoming Class of 2029. See you soon Gusties!

Photo credit:
Top Left, Bottom Right: Dan Norman
Top Right, Middle and Bottom Left: Kathy Burnham

Seven Gustavus dance alumni performed in the annual “Dances on the Lakewalk" in Duluth last weekend. Gusties performed w...
07/16/2025

Seven Gustavus dance alumni performed in the annual “Dances on the Lakewalk" in Duluth last weekend. Gusties performed with KASM Dance Collective, Kinetic Evolutions, Ray Terrill Dance Group, and Naomi Christenson. Pictured: McKayla Murphy Zelaya '16, Tessa Longshore '22, Allie Retterrath '17, Katy Becker '02, Sarah Hauss, Lillian Kline '22, Kadie Habana '15. Not pictured: Taylor Kmiech '20.

𝗧/𝗗 𝟭𝟵𝟵: 𝗔𝗿𝘁𝘀 & 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗻 – 𝗔 𝗢𝗻𝗰𝗲-𝗶𝗻-𝗮-𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲! 🌍This May term, Gustavus students took their le...
06/26/2025

𝗧/𝗗 𝟭𝟵𝟵: 𝗔𝗿𝘁𝘀 & 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗻 – 𝗔 𝗢𝗻𝗰𝗲-𝗶𝗻-𝗮-𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲! 🌍

This May term, Gustavus students took their learning across the pond to London for over three unforgettable weeks of theater, art, culture, and adventure!

From 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗲 to Olivier-winning musicals and cutting-edge new works, we immersed ourselves in London’s vibrant performing arts scene. We kicked things off with a city tour and 𝗥𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗜𝗜 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗝𝗼𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗕𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗲𝘆 at the Bridge Theatre—yes, THAT Jonathan Bailey! 🤩

Other show-stopping highlights included:
▪️𝘔𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘈𝘥𝘰 𝘈𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘕𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 with the 𝗥𝗼𝘆𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗮𝘁 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗱-𝘂𝗽𝗼𝗻-𝗔𝘃𝗼𝗻
▪️𝘙𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘑𝘶𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘵 at 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝗚𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗲
▪️Award-winning revivals like 𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘌𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 at the National Theatre and 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵 𝘓𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘉𝘢𝘣𝘢 𝘚𝘦𝘨𝘪’𝘴 𝘞𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 at the Arcola
▪️Bold new productions including 1536 at the Almeida, 𝘚𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢 𝘙𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 at the Royal Court, and 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘩𝘢𝘪 𝘋𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘴 at Kiln Theatre
▪️Musicals like 𝘍𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘭𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘰𝘰𝘧 (2025 Olivier Award winner) and Sondheim’s 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘴
▪️Cutting edge dance performances like 𝘉𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘖𝘸𝘯 by (La)Horde & Rambert and 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘵 by Becky Namgauds at Sadler’s Wells

A special moment? Seeing Gustavus alum 𝗖𝗵𝗹𝗼𝗲 𝗥𝗮𝗱𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲 '𝟭𝟮 bring down the house with her one-woman show 𝘊𝘏𝘌𝘈𝘛 at the Soho Theatre!

But the experience didn’t stop at the stage. Days were filled with visits to iconic museums and galleries like the British Museum, the V&A, the Wellcome Collection, the National Portrait Gallery, and the Graffiti Tunnel at Lake Street Arches among others.

We explored the world through 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘀 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝘀, including the Borough Market, and topped it all off with a special dinner with 𝗚𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘃𝘂𝘀 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗕𝗲𝗰𝗸𝘆 𝗕𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗺𝗮𝗻.

18 shows, countless cultural encounters, lifelong memories.
This course wasn’t just a class—it was a 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘫𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘺 through the arts and the heart of one of the world’s greatest cities.

DANA MARQUIS The 2025 Distinguished Dancer Award is presented to Dana Marquis. Dana has demonstrated tremendous growth a...
05/18/2025

DANA MARQUIS The 2025 Distinguished Dancer Award is presented to Dana Marquis. Dana has demonstrated tremendous growth and unwavering commitment toward increasing her knowledge and skill as a multi-dimensional dance artist while attending Gustavus. Her expressive and skillful technique, nuanced musicality, and compelling stage presence have been a delight for so many of us to watch over the last four years: in the classroom and in many varied performance events on campus; such as, Shared Space, Choreographer’s Gallery, annual departmental dance concerts, and Christmas in Christ Chapel.

In January, Dana performed in 5 of the 9 dances (including a compelling solo choreographed for her by Melissa Rolnick) that were presented for the “Wintering” dance concert. Dana is deeply dedicated to the continual improvement of her technique, taking advantage of opportunities to learn and improve whenever they arise, such as enrolling in extra technique classes (far beyond the requirements of the major), participating in student dance concerts (as a dancer and as a choreographer) and even regularly driving up to the Twin Cities to take professional level classes. In class, her dance professors have noted her engaged and thoughtful written reflections and investigations with course content. Dana has been selected to represent Gustavus as both a dancer and as a choreographer numerous times for the annual American College Dance Association’s regional conference. As a choreographer, Dana’s peers have delighted in her engaging choreography and have appreciated her attention toward creating an inclusive, inspiring, and enriching rehearsal process. Dana’s artistic investment and commitment to growth, discipline, and refinement inspires others to elevate their own artistic journeys.

Dance photos credit: Dan Norman

Students in Henry MacCarthy's May-term class, T/D 199: Arts & Performance in London, had the incredible opportunity to s...
05/16/2025

Students in Henry MacCarthy's May-term class, T/D 199: Arts & Performance in London, had the incredible opportunity to see Gustavus alum Chloe Radcliffe '12 perform her one-woman show "CHEAT" at the Soho Theatre last night! Fun fact: Chloe took this same class when she was at Gustavus! If you are in London, catch "CHEAT" on its final two nights, May 16th and 17th at 9:15 pm.
https://sohotheatre.com/events/chloe-radcliffe-cheat/

WREN HEIMAN has been chosen to receive the Arthur Lundgren Theatre Award which ispresented annually to a student who has...
05/16/2025

WREN HEIMAN has been chosen to receive the Arthur Lundgren Theatre Award which is
presented annually to a student who has made the greatest contribution to excellence in the
Department of Theatre and Dance. Wren joined Gustavus in sophomore year and hit the ground running as a consistent, supportive, and energetic leader, always thinking about the needs and considerations of everyone in a production. This has made Wren an outstanding Stage Manager and as such was the optimal choice for helping lead this year's Stage Management class as Teaching Assistant. Wren has spent countless hours in the classroom, in the costume studio, and at the tech table honing their own craft while providing exemplary leadership to the next generation of artists and technicians with seemingly effortless enthusiasm. It has been said before, but bears repeating, that above all else Wren is profoundly kind, thoughtful, and generous to everyone they meet, ensuring every member of the community feels respected and welcome. The department is honored to name Wren our Arthur Lundgren Theatre Award recipient for 2025.

MARIANA RODRIGUEZ-GUZMAN is the recipient of the 2025 Outstanding Student in Design, Technology, and Production award, a...
05/14/2025

MARIANA RODRIGUEZ-GUZMAN is the recipient of the 2025 Outstanding Student in Design, Technology, and Production award, an honor presented annually to a junior or senior who demonstrates exceptional leadership, artistic excellence, and dedication in the fields of design, technical theatre, or stage management. Mar was recognized for her outstanding contributions across multiple areas of production and her consistent commitment to excellence. As Associate Wig Designer for The New House, she played a key role in conceptualizing and styling all of the wigs for the production. She also contributed her skills as a Costume Studio Employee, building garments and supporting production costume designs, through her craftwork and collaboration. Mar has proved her reliability, strong work ethic, and ability to deliver high-quality work, even under pressure. Her work in the studio included stitching, craftwork, and detailed finishing work, all executed with precision and care. She approached each project with a collaborative spirit and a sharp eye for design, ensuring that each piece she worked on was both beautiful and functional.

Top-left photo credit: Kathy Burnham

TIMOTHY SNYDER is the recipient of this year’s Lee and Laurie Walker Scholarship, awarded by the Department of Theatre a...
05/12/2025

TIMOTHY SNYDER is the recipient of this year’s Lee and Laurie Walker Scholarship, awarded by the Department of Theatre and Dance to a first-year or sophomore who shows promise and commitment to theatre and music. Matt Trucano writes, “Timothy has been an exemplary leader in every production I’ve directed him in. From his early work in Cymbeline to his performance in Anything Goes, he has brought professionalism, focus, and a deep commitment to growth. In rehearsal, Timothy consistently arrived early, script in hand, taking time to walk his role and prepare with intention. I’ve also had the pleasure of teaching him in Performance I, Movement for Actors, and two dramatic literature classes, and I’ve watched his understanding of the craft mature in remarkable ways. I’m proud of Timothy’s work, and I look forward to seeing where his dedication and talent will take him.

Top left photo credit: Kathy Burnham

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Saint Peter, MN
56082

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