Productions and Events
Coming Up Next
2026 Acting Capstone
Orlando
by Sarah Ruhl
Adapted from the Novel by Virginia Woolf
Directed by K. Elizabeth Stevens
February 20th 8:00 PM
February 21st 2:00 PM and 8:00 PM
February 22nd 2:00 PM
Frear Ensemble Theater
Based on the fantastical novel by Virginia Woolf, Orlando tells the story of a writer born in Elizabethan England who travels through the centuries, changing gender and fortunes, falling in and out of love and composing a great poem about an oak tree. This Acting Capstone project features Senior Theater Majors and Minors directed by Associate Professor of Theater K. Elizabeth Stevens.mation.
Pig Iron Theater presents
Bartok’s Monster
Friday March 20 7:00 PM
Saturday March 21st 2:00 PM + 7:00 PM
LPAC, Pearson-Hall Theatre
In 2024, the acclaimed Daedalus Quartet, visual and performance artist Sebastienne Mundheim, and director Dan Rothenberg of Pig Iron came together to create an original work of experimental, interdisciplinary performance inspired by Jay Kirk's Avoid the Day: A New Nonfiction in Two Movements. This kaleidoscopic memoir follows Kirk's research into Hungarian composer Béla Bartok's methods of creation, Kirk's travels to Transylvania, and ultimately, a flirtation with madness.
In 2026, this lecture-demonstration-fever-dream returns with a presentation of Bartok's Monster.
This event is supported by the Cooper Foundation and will be part of the 2025-2026 Cooper Series.
Jason Fang ('28), The Threepenny Opera. Photo by Jaime Alvarez
Spring '26 Senior Honors Directing Thesis
Woyzeck
by Georg Büchner
Directed by Grace Fruauff (‘26)
March 27 8:00 PM
March 28 2:00 PM + 8:00 PM
March 29 2:00 PM
Frear Ensemble Theater
A fragment of a play about a person broken by jealousy, grief and maltreatment. Based on the true story of the murder case of Johann Christian Woyzeck, this German expressionist play haunts the Frear this spring as a part of our Senior’s Honors Directing Thesis project.
Spring 26 Senior Honors Directing Thesis
Circle Mirror Transformation
by Annie Baker
Directed by Kana Nagata (‘26)
April 24 8:00 PM
April 25 2:00 PM + 8:00 PM
April 26 2:00 PM
Frear Ensemble Theater
In Circle Mirror Transformation, one teacher and four students gather for a weekly acting class in a small Vermont town. Playwright Annie Baker sought to show “how beautiful and noble it is when people throw themselves earnestly and unselfconsciously into something”. Swarthmore Theater students will embody her story about strangers and families, arrival and departure, memory, age, and faith.
A New Play by Frank Paz (‘26)
To Be Announced
Frear Ensemble Theater
May 2026
This spring, Senior Frank Paz will produce a new play for his Playwriting Thesis. Stay tuned for more information!
Spring 2026 Night of Scenes
Frear Ensemble Theater
Dates To Be Announced
Finally, our Directing II Class led by Professor K. Elizabeth Stevens will present a short night of scenes to wrap up our spring semester.
