Theatre
The artist-scholar. That is the animating principle behind Middlebury Theatre, where students immerse themselves in all aspects of theatre making and in the rigorous study of theatre’s many histories, theories, practices, and literatures.
Through a process that is both creative and collaborative, students delve into the latest movements in theatre design, acting, stage management, playwriting, and directing.
At its core, the department aims to be an artistic home where students reimagine traditional distinctions and strive to become innovators and collaborators, capable of shaping our culture.
Auditions for the 28th Annual First Show
Friday, September 15 | 6:00 PM | MAC 232
Never been in a Theatre Department production?
Join the 28th Annual First Show!
This year the Theatre Department is collaborating with Climate Change Theatre Action to create an inventive, truthful, and life-affirming piece about what it means to dream up a future during climate crisis.
Auditions: Friday, September 15th from 6-9pm | MAC 232
Call Backs: Saturday, September 16th from 10-2pm | MAC 232
Performances: October 5th-7th | Hepburn Zoo Theatre
Sign up at 5:45pm on September 15th in front of Mac 232. Please come prepared with a short 30-45 second monologue, piece of poetry, prose, OR newspaper article. Memorization not required.
Get Involved
Auditions
Design and Technology
Master Classes and Workshops
Traditions
Professional Connections
Interdisciplinary Curriculum
The Theatre Department offers a diversity of courses designed to provide a balance between the study of history, literature, and theory, and the making of theatre.
Theatre itself is inherently interdisciplinary, and our students enjoy exploring connections between classes offered in dramatic literature, visual creativity, the creative process, playwriting, acting (improvisation, scene study, acting styles), directing, set design, lighting design, and costume design. As a program in a liberal arts setting, students also reference classes taken outside the discipline in order to provide depth and context.
Introducing The Dogteam Theatre Project
The Dogteam Theatre Project provides transformative experiences for emerging and professional artists, creating meaningful theatrical engagements for diverse audiences. Among its programs, the Dogteam Theatre Project provides training opportunities for emerging theatre artists in all realms of the field, including but not limited to acting, directing, playwriting, and design disciplines. The Dogteam Theatre Project produces theatrical works, including works in translation, reflecting the stories of our more connected world.
Our Productions
Each year we stage numerous full-scale productions that involve theatre majors and faculty as well as others from the community who audition. We also offer workshops and smaller-scale performances featuring our many artists in residence. More about productions.
Our Facilities
The performing arts are central to Middlebury’s life and culture. Students have a multitude of facilities available for their use, including a design lab with plotters, drafting, and rendering stations, two scene and costume shops, a lighting lab equipped with a grid and an ETC Ion console, and acting labs. Venues include Wright Memorial Theatre, Seeler Studio Theatre, and Hepburn Zoo Theatre.
Seeler Studio Theatre
The Seeler Studio Theatre is a modern black-box theatre with flexible seating for up to 165 audience members, a full catwalk system, and a fully-equipped shop adjacent to it.
Wright Memorial Theatre
Wright Memorial Theatre is a 350-seat proscenium theatre with a full fly system, lighting grid, and removable fore stage. It is adjacent to a fully equipped scene shop.
Learning Spaces
- Rehearsal Studios
- Design Studios
- Lighting Lab
- Scene Shops
- Costume Shops
- Hepburn Zoo Theatre
Featured Events
More Events-
Greek Tragedy
A play by Lia Romeo directed by Michole Biancosino.
Anna is a famous and fabulous Instagram influencer. Jennifer is her drab best friend. But Jennifer is the one who’s been writing all of Anna’s content, while Anna spirals into addiction and out of control. And now Jennifer’s the one who’s writing this play. A story about telling stories… and about how to live our lives when we live our lives online.
Performances: October 26 - 28, 7:30 pm each evening and 2 pm on Saturday.Wright Theatre
Open to the Public -
Greek Tragedy
A play by Lia Romeo directed by Michole Biancosino.
Anna is a famous and fabulous Instagram influencer. Jennifer is her drab best friend. But Jennifer is the one who’s been writing all of Anna’s content, while Anna spirals into addiction and out of control. And now Jennifer’s the one who’s writing this play. A story about telling stories… and about how to live our lives when we live our lives online.
Performances: October 26 - 28, 7:30 pm each evening and 2 pm on Saturday.Wright Theatre
Open to the Public -
Greek Tragedy
A play by Lia Romeo directed by Michole Biancosino.
Anna is a famous and fabulous Instagram influencer. Jennifer is her drab best friend. But Jennifer is the one who’s been writing all of Anna’s content, while Anna spirals into addiction and out of control. And now Jennifer’s the one who’s writing this play. A story about telling stories… and about how to live our lives when we live our lives online.
Performances: October 26 - 28, 7:30 pm each evening and 2 pm on Saturday.Wright Theatre
Open to the Public -
Greek Tragedy
A play by Lia Romeo directed by Michole Biancosino.
Anna is a famous and fabulous Instagram influencer. Jennifer is her drab best friend. But Jennifer is the one who’s been writing all of Anna’s content, while Anna spirals into addiction and out of control. And now Jennifer’s the one who’s writing this play. A story about telling stories… and about how to live our lives when we live our lives online.
Performances: October 26 - 28, 7:30 pm each evening and 2 pm on Saturday.Wright Theatre
Open to the Public -
Polaroid Stories
Naomi Iizuka describes her play Polaroid Stories as “a visceral blend of classical mythology and real life stories told by street kids.” 10 actors play characters ranging from Echo, Eurydice, Orpheus and Narcissus to Skinhead, Kaos, Melody and Disappear. “Iizuka journeys into a dangerous world where myth-making fulfills a fierce need for transcendence, where storytelling has the power to transform a reality in which character’s lives are continually threatened, devalued and erased. Like their mythic counterparts, these modern-day mortals are engulfed by needs that burn and consume.
Mahaney Arts Center Seeler Studio Theatre
Open to the Public -
Polaroid Stories
Naomi Iizuka describes her play Polaroid Stories as “a visceral blend of classical mythology and real life stories told by street kids.” 10 actors play characters ranging from Echo, Eurydice, Orpheus and Narcissus to Skinhead, Kaos, Melody and Disappear. “Iizuka journeys into a dangerous world where myth-making fulfills a fierce need for transcendence, where storytelling has the power to transform a reality in which character’s lives are continually threatened, devalued and erased. Like their mythic counterparts, these modern-day mortals are engulfed by needs that burn and consume.
Mahaney Arts Center Seeler Studio Theatre
Open to the Public -
Polaroid Stories
Naomi Iizuka describes her play Polaroid Stories as “a visceral blend of classical mythology and real life stories told by street kids.” 10 actors play characters ranging from Echo, Eurydice, Orpheus and Narcissus to Skinhead, Kaos, Melody and Disappear. “Iizuka journeys into a dangerous world where myth-making fulfills a fierce need for transcendence, where storytelling has the power to transform a reality in which character’s lives are continually threatened, devalued and erased. Like their mythic counterparts, these modern-day mortals are engulfed by needs that burn and consume.
Mahaney Arts Center Seeler Studio Theatre
Open to the Public -
Polaroid Stories
Naomi Iizuka describes her play Polaroid Stories as “a visceral blend of classical mythology and real life stories told by street kids.” 10 actors play characters ranging from Echo, Eurydice, Orpheus and Narcissus to Skinhead, Kaos, Melody and Disappear. “Iizuka journeys into a dangerous world where myth-making fulfills a fierce need for transcendence, where storytelling has the power to transform a reality in which character’s lives are continually threatened, devalued and erased. Like their mythic counterparts, these modern-day mortals are engulfed by needs that burn and consume.
Mahaney Arts Center Seeler Studio Theatre
Open to the Public -
Your Sexts are Sh*t: Older Better Letters
Written and performed by Rachel Mars. Award-winning theatre maker Rachel Mars performs a gloriously rude new solo show that unearths the hot-as-hell letters that make sexts blush. Before sexts there were hand-written letters—and loads of them were properly filthy. With the help of the internet, friends, and two sexologists, Mars has unearthed missives dating back centuries.
Wright Theatre
Open to the Public -
Your Sexts are Sh*t: Older Better Letters
Written and performed by Rachel Mars. Award-winning theatre maker Rachel Mars performs a gloriously rude new solo show that unearths the hot-as-hell letters that make sexts blush. Before sexts there were hand-written letters—and loads of them were properly filthy. With the help of the internet, friends, and two sexologists, Mars has unearthed missives dating back centuries.
Wright Theatre
Open to the Public