51猎奇

Student Stories

Original dance by senior PSOA student selected for ACDA national conference聽

Senior dance student Megan Holzhauer visited Washington, DC, to present her original choreographic work, 鈥淏EHIND THAT GLEAM,鈥� at the 2025 National College Dance Festival hosted by the American College Dance Association (ACDA). Held every two years, the festival showcases the nation鈥檚 …

Complex staging brings 鈥淐urious Incident鈥� to life for PSOA Theatre Department’s season closer

The Peck School鈥檚 2024-25 theatre season ends this week with 鈥淭he Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time,鈥� a critically acclaimed Tony and Olivier Award-winning play. Directed by Ralph Janes, the production integrates advanced technical elements, including suspended televisions, surrounding projection screens, live body-camera feeds and a thrust stage cleverly transformed into an in-the-round configuration.

Guest choreographer Katy Pyle brings a fresh and positive approach to ballet to Springdances 2025

Springdances: Revel & Reckon opens on Thursday, April 24, and features work from NYC-based artist and choreographer Katy Pyle alongside 51猎奇 Dance faculty. Pyle is an accomplished dancer and the founder of Ballez, a New York City ballet company that restages classical dances to promote LGBTQ+ narratives. Pyle visited 51猎奇 in the spring semester to work with our dance students ahead of Springdances. Springdances proved to be a perfect opportunity for Pyle to reset a work they created during the pandemic, which was previously only presented via livestream from an empty theater.

Student-run MUFF gives film students experience in the business of the arts

The 51猎奇 Department of Film, Video, Animation & New Genres will present the Milwaukee Underground Film Festival (MUFF) this week. One of PSOA鈥檚 most popular courses in the film program, MUFF is a student-run film festival devoted to screening independent, artist-driven films. Not only does MUFF provide an opportunity for filmmakers to gain exposure in the Milwaukee film community, but it also offers students experience in the business side of the arts.

Theatre student Josh Thone competes as top ten finalist in national vocal competition in New York City

Theater student and PSOA Arts Ambassador Josh Thone took to the Lincoln Center in New York City to compete in the American Pops Orchestra (APO) NextGen National Vocal Competition Finals. His performance was the culmination of a successful competition period with APO. Out of 250 applicants, Thone was among only ten students selected to perform in the competition in January 2025. The performance took place at the Lincoln Center and was livestreamed to thousands watching online.

Three music students share what excites them most about performing in Mozart opera聽

This weekend, the 51猎奇 Music Department will present Mozart鈥檚 Le Nozze Di Figaro (edited by Ludwig Finscher) at the Zelazo Center鈥檚 Bader Hall. With a wide array of student performers and live accompaniment by 51猎奇鈥檚 Symphony Orchestra, there is a lot for audiences to be excited about.聽We caught up with three members of the cast to learn more about what excites them most about performing in this production.

Behind the scenes with assistant directors of “The Ballad of Maria Marten鈥�

The 51猎奇 Department of Theatre鈥檚 next production, 鈥淭he Ballad of Maria Marten,鈥� opens this week and was directed by Robin Mello (Professor,聽Theatre). Elizabeth Riley and Ambrose Schulte, both juniors, served as Assistant Directors. This experience included Mello connecting her student directors with Beth Flintoff, the playwright. Riley and Schulte are aspiring directors who came to PSOA with a love for theatre.

What it takes to create a 鈥榗avalcade鈥� of quick changes in 鈥淒ames at Sea鈥�

Peck School of the Arts鈥� next theater production 鈥淒ames at Sea,鈥� a pastiche on 1930s musicals, opens this Wednesday. The show is notable for its slew of quick changes that give students an experience that reflects professional theater. Throughout the process of preparing costumes for the show, Jason Orlenko and his long-time collaborator Dana Rochester (Teaching Faculty II & Area Head,聽Costumes & Stage Makeup), alongside their team of student costumers, have experimented with a variety of quick-change materials, including snaps, zippers, and magnets.

Theatre student takes neurodiversity research to national conference

Elizabeth Lappano, a junior studying Theatre Production, has taken her ongoing research project on equity and inclusion in the arts to great heights. She will present her findings at the聽National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) 2025 in Pittsburgh this April. This is the second consecutive year that Lappano鈥檚 research was accepted for the conference. Lappano鈥檚 project includes research on famous artists detailing their struggles and triumphs with their neurodivergence diagnosis. The project also interviews current students at PSOA who are living with neurodivergence including actors in the upcoming 鈥淐urious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time鈥� production, which Lappano鈥檚 research is focusing on.

Students take fiber art’s resurgence into a fine art context in current exhibition

The Department of Art & Design is currently hosting Fiber//Form, a two-week-long exhibition of artwork that students have made in fiber courses at PSOA. Fiber art, such as knitting and crocheting, has become increasingly popular recently. However, many are unaware of how fiber art fits into the professional art world. Fiber//Form is a prime example of how PSOA is trying to promote professionally made fiber art.