From the Chair

  This year on the Annie stage doubts will abound, swords will clash, love will bloom and faries will fly through the air as we feature the talents of our students alongside exceptional guest actors, directors, and designers.  Our 76th season features comedy, music, dance and drama that will engage us in journeys of the soul and explorations of the heart, with a healthy dose of humor thrown in for good measure.

At the Fred Stone we offer three contemporary plays produced, performed and designed by our students as part of our Second Stage series. Please join us at the Fred for the world premiere of Stage Fright; a drama based upon the life on Annie Russell and written by myself and senior theater major, Joseph Bromfield. 

Come visit the Annie!  And whether its your first night here or you have been with us many times before, I hope you will take a moment to look around at the beauty of this space and at your fellow audience members as they settle into their seats.  This theater is our students' home away from home and our audience members are the reason they work as hard as they do.  Our students spend countless hours in the shops, in rehearsal, and in the classroom working with our dedicated faculty and staff to become imaginative, skilled and purposeful artists who are committed to transforming the communities in which they live, work and serve.  We are very proud of our young performers and designers and I hope you will enjoy getting to know them and their work over the coming years.

Annie Russell once wrote, "I am always a student,  I shall never stop thinking, studying, learning as long as I live.  There is so much to do, so much to express, such worlds of artistic beauty to explore."  Miss Russell's words serve as an inspiration to those of us privileged to work in her beautiful theater.  They express the true spirit of the liberal arts and remind us that this theater is the artistic home for a community of life long learners.

See you in the footlights!

Dr. Jennifer Cavenaugh

Winifred M. Warden Endowed Chair

Producing Director, Annie Russell Theatre