Performance Studies in the Interpreters Theatre
At UNI, we give students the chance to devise, write, direct, and perform their own shows! The Interpreters Theatre is a performance lab where students and faculty can collaborate to create performances that relate to storytelling, identity, social issues, and pop culture. Every show in the Interpreters Theatre offers a unique perspective on life and engagement in the world.
Our curricular and production emphases are on the exploration of contemporary and evolving forms of group performance, based on scripts from a variety of texts, including fiction, oral history, diaries, and folklore. Our production spaces include a black box theatre for staging performances, a state of the art technical booth, a fully equipped scene shop for storage and construction of sets, a green room, and a makeup and costume changing room.
With state of the art spaces designed for Performance Studies production, top-notch Performance Studies faculty, and high quality undergraduate and graduate education, our production program is one of the finest in the country.
Roses are Red
NEW DATE – Friday, October 7 at 7:30 p.m. – written and directed by Emma Kossayian
Get Involved in Interpreters Theatre
The Interpreters Theatre program is student centered. While faculty and professional guest artists sometimes create scripts and direct productions, students also have many opportunities to do these things and more, getting an inside look at all aspects of theatrical production firsthand!
- Learning arts administration and management
- Practicing house management
- Writing scripts
- Directing
- Acting
- Designing scenery, lighting and makeup
- Building sets
- Curating costumes and props
- Designing and engineering audio and multimedia
- Setting lights and special effects
Professionally trained faculty provide leadership and guidance to our student technicians/artists, teaching them performance and production theory, but our goal is for students to learn by doing. Each semester, auditions are announced and held for student performers, and calls are placed for student writers, directors and technicians.
The Interpreters Theatre performance laboratory embraces inclusivity and equity in our productions, and roles are available for any person and ability.
Interested in directing a show during our next season? Fill out the Application to Direct and bring your vision to life!
Please contact Danielle Dick McGeough for more information.
Follow the Interpreters Theatre in the news
Dr. Danielle Dick McGeough
Artistic Director
Dr. Danielle Dick McGeough (PhD.; Louisiana State University; 2011) is interested in how performance, as a mode of communication, is used for collaborative problem solving, community building, and advocacy work. She has written productions around issues of "throw away culture," waste, and water quality. Dr. McGeough is fascinated by how everyday life performances (i.e., routine family storytelling or bathroom practices) maintain, reproduce, and challenge cultural norms. Her other research interests span the topics of adolescent sexuality and desire, critical pedagogy, the relationship between art and science, and gendered/sexed communication. Dr. McGeough hopes to help students cultivate curiosity and find joy in the learning process. She views the theatre as a classroom and a laboratory for students to research, play, experiment, and learn about themselves and others.
Email: danielle.mcgeough@uni.edu
Tim Matheson
Assistant Stage Manager
Tim is a BA student majoring in Communication Studies and Theatre Education (projected: 2022). He has worked with the Interpreters Theatre on Aut Is Love and The Bandit Queen, and he's excited to be part of the crew this season!
Past Productions
- 2019-2020
- Sex/Body/Self. Written and performed by guest artist Tim Miller.
- A Body in the O. Written and performed by guest artist Tim Miller.
- The American Audit. Written and performed by guest artist Donney Rose.
- Pronoun. Directed by Ernest Toutant III.
- Hi God. Written, directed, and performed by Grace Mertz.
- Burnt City: A One-Persian Show. Written, directed, and performed by Dr. Josh Hamzehee.
- 2018-2019
- Aut Is Love. Conceived, written, and directed by Nathan Selove.
- PAT. Conceived, written, and directed by Laney Kraus-Taddeo.
- An Evening of "Text Messages." Featuring "the best of the best" from beginning and advanced performance and digital media classes.
- EZRA and Me. Conceived, written, and directed by James Keane.
- The Bandit Queen. Conceived, written, and directed by Brittany Starr.
Performance Power Hour. Featuring "the best of the best" from beginning and advanced performance and digital media classes.
- 2017-2018
- Animal Rites. Written and directed by Dr. Chris Collins.
- In Real Life. Written by Jen Wang, adapted by Brenna Splinter and Dr. Paul J. Siddens III, directed by Hannah Twitchell.
- Genuine Cigarettes. Written and directed by Kelso Breitsprecher.
- An Evening of "Text Messages." Featuring "the best of the best" from beginning and advanced performance and digital media classes.
- Live Thy Neighbor. Conceived, written, and directed by Milica Njezic.
- Booby Hatch. Written and performed by Heather Carver, directed by Barbara Salvadori Heritage.
- Performance Power Hour. Featuring "the best of the best" from beginning and advanced performance and digital media classes.
- 2016-2017
- Cornucopia. Conceived, written, produced, and directed by Dr. Danielle Dick McGeough.
- An Evening of "Text Messages." Featuring "the best of the best" from beginning and advanced performance and digital media classes.
- Boys Will Be Boys. Conceived, written, and directed by Ryan Courtney.
- [Your Response Matters.] A Performance-Based Workshop. Led by Amandajean Freking Nolte and the students of SAVE.
- Performance Power Hour. Featuring "the best of the best" from beginning and advanced performance and digital media classes.
- 2015-2016
- An Evening of "Text Messages." Featuring "the best of the best" from beginning and advanced performance and digital media classes.
- Facing Our Truth: Short Plays on Trayvon, Race, and Privilege.
- Performance Power Hour. Featuring "the best of the best" from beginning and advanced performance and digital media classes.
- 2014-2015
- A Life in Performance: Celebrating the Career of Phyllis Scott Carlin.
- Just Another Day in Paradise. Conceived, designed, and directed by Dr. Paul J. Siddens III, written by Dr. Paul J. Siddens III and others.
- An Evening of "Text Messages." Featuring "the best of the best" from beginning and advanced performance and digital media classes.
- The Soul Food Museum: A Revealing Exploration of Black Life Through the Lens of Sunday Dinner. Conceived, designed, directed, and written by DeRod Taylor.
- Dogs of Rwanda. Conceived, designed, and directed by guest artist Sean Lewis.
- That's So Dumb, Crazy, Lame. Directed by Dr. Karen S. Mitchell and Amandajean Freking Nolte, written by Rich Orloff.
- Performance Power Hour. Featuring "the best of the best" from beginning and advanced performance and digital media classes.
Performance Studies at UNI
Undergraduate
Undergraduates in Performance Studies classes at UNI are offered the opportunity to devise and direct their own shows in the Interpreters Theatre. Our undergraduates have produced award-winning scripts and performances in collaboration with faculty mentors. Undergraduate students often form the cast for faculty-directed and grad student-directed shows as well.
Our undergraduates are also eligible for the annual Interpreters Theatre Awards:
- The Phyllis Carlin Rising Star Award, which acknowledges the work of a student who goes above and beyond in their first year of involvement in the Interp
- The Technical Service Award for Outstanding Achievement, which acknowledges a student who has made significant contributions to the Interp's technical department
- The Karen S. Mitchell Outstanding Service Award, which acknowledges a student who has demonstrated service leadership throughout their time in the Interp
Graduate
Our Communication Studies MA program, which is open to full-time and part-time students from Iowa, other areas of the United States, and all around the world, offers Performance Studies coursework and a variety of hands-on activities outside the classroom.
All graduate students have the option of writing and directing a show as part of a Creative Thesis or Studio Thesis. Our goal is to produce “practicing scholars and creative artists” who can critically apply the theories and research methods they learn through their graduate programs within the public and professional arenas they serve.
Our graduate students have gone on to get PhDs, perform and write professionally, and pursue a variety of creative careers that impact the world!
Students with Performance Studies assistantships work primarily with the Interpreters Theatre in publicity assistance and/or technical assistance for specific productions.
Performance Studies Courses
- COMM 1941: Applied Performance Studies (1-2 credit hours)
Credit for approved participation in Performance Studies (e.g., participation in Interpreters Theatre, performance in community, campus, or festival settings).
- COMM 2256: Performing Texts (3 credit hours)
Introduction to the performance, analysis, and criticism of literary and aesthetic texts.
- COMM 2455: Skills for Making Performance (3 credit hours)
Adaptation and staging of texts for live and electronic group performance. Work in narrative adaptation, montage scripting, and ethnodrama.
- COMM 2456: Performance of Popular Culture (3 credit hours)
Introduction to the critical analysis, study, and performance of popular culture artifacts, phenomena, and texts. Special emphasis given to the socio-political implications and technological advances affecting popular culture consumption in U.S. culture.
- COMM 3455: Performing Stories, Narratives, and Identity (3 credit hours)
Introduction to methods of collecting, analyzing, theorizing, and performing stories, narratives, and identities. Applications for communication research and performance, including projects in museums, public relations campaigns, organizational settings, and community media.
- COMM 3941: Advanced Applied Performance Studies (1-2 credit hours)
Credit for approved participation in Performance Studies (e.g., participation in Interpreters Theatre, performance in community, campus, or festival settings).
- COMM 4412/5412: Performing History (3 credit hours)
Theoretical and practical introduction to the critical analysis, study, and performance of history. Construction and representation of history using performance techniques and perspectives in innovative digital storytelling.
- COMM 4448/5448: Cultural Performance (3 credit hours)
Advanced study of verbal art, texts, and aesthetic traditions in community, cultural, and political contexts. Emphasis on the roles narrative, ritual, and ceremony play in creating and contributing to cultural identity and social advocacy.
- COMM 4490/5490: Interpreters Theatre Production (1-2 credit hours)
Advanced study and practice in preparing scripts, directing group performance for public presentation, and designing and implementing technical elements of productions. Usually involves directing, scripting, designing, or researching for an Interpreters Theatre production.
- COMM 4909/5409: Readings in Performance Studies (1-3 credit hours)
Extensive individual study of special topics in performance studies theory, history, or research.