Tickets to the public will be available Thursday, 12/7 beginning at 12pm.

Get ready for the 21st annual PLAYGROUND – a festival of independent student work

December 7–9, 2023

 

The School of Drama’s annual PLAYGROUND: A Festival of Independent Student Work, will begin on Sunday, December 3, with performances and art installations running Thursday – Saturday, December 7-9.

 

ABOUT PLAYGROUND

PLAYGROUND began as an annual event in the Fall semester of 2003 as a means to create a concentrated opportunity for students to engage in creative exploration that could exist outside of their regular curriculum and beyond their current areas of study.  During a single week, classes within the School of Drama are set aside, participation is completely voluntary, and grades are not given.

Students submit proposals to a committee consisting of students and faculty. A wide range of live performances, short films, light shows, art installations, murals, as well as collaborations with students from other schools such as the School of Music and the Entertainment and Technology Center (ETC) and even students from other universities rehearse and prepare over a period of four days followed by the festival of showings that runs from Thursday evening, through Friday and Saturday in and around the Purnell Center.

The students who participate in PLAYGROUND reap a number of rewards. It supports risk taking, community engagement and belonging, and empowerment. The School supports and encourages the students’ diverse artistic growth and interests.  Student participation in PLAYGROUND continues to grow and between 65- 80 proposals are submitted each year and countless students over the past 20 years have used their experiences in PLAYGROUND as seeds for future professional artistic endeavors.