Theatre is best when it incites or excites. Plays and musicals provoke action. Challenge complacency. Demand your attention. Productions from various eras and genres examine what makes someone rebel or challenge the established way things have always been done.

The Department of Theatre at MSU is challenging the traditional in order to create something new, unique and fresh. We are doing things differently! Our one of a kind self-selected undergraduate education (School of Choice) benefits from graduate mentors of our highly regarded artist/educator Master of Fine Arts programs. With the most advanced stage technology we allow designers the opportunity to defy conventional design. With focused-based theatre studies courses that surround today’s most pressing topics we challenge the traditional survey teaching model. Through forward-thinking acting classes we embrace media at its core. And our adventurous programs like the ĭmáGEN in collaboration with Wharton Center develops new trailblazing musicals with today’s most promising artists.

The Purposes of the Department of Theatre are:

  • To offer undergraduate and graduate programs of recognizable excellence
  • To promote drama and theatre as civilizing agents within society
  • To provide the auspices for enhanced understanding of current issues through theatrical expression
  • To serve as a source and contributing partner for the enhancement and expansion of theatrical expertise
  • To preserve and perpetuate theatrical traditions
  • To educate and train future practitioners of performing arts
  • To provoke and sustain interest in the theatre as a source of truth and insight into the human condition
  • To present new plays which reflect the present condition of society
  • To encourage and promote the exchange of ideas, research, and creative production in all aspects of theatre including related fields; and,
  • To address the redefinitions of dramatic and theatrical styles, forms, and structures as they emerge as artistic responses to the changing world.

Arts and Culture at MSU

Explore your world through the vibrant cultural community that is Michigan State University. Discover the hundreds of performances, exhibitions, and special programs that enrich lives on campus, in the community, and throughout the world. 

Arts and culture at MSU play a critical role in nurturing the human spirit while contributing to a richer quality of life. Museums, galleries, and gardens along with libraries, historic sites, and performance spaces provide a catalyst for cultural exchange of diverse ideas and inspirations. At the same time, audiences on campus and around the world take advantage of academic and research programs, public broadcasting, online resources, publications, and outreach initiatives.