UMass Amherst Theater

If you looked at the program for Silverthorne Theater’s Sanctuary City, which opens tonight, you could be forgiven for thinking at first glance that it’s a UMass Theater production. Many of the names in the cast and creative team, as well as the behind-the-scenes folks, are connected to the department as alumni, current students, faculty, and staff.

This small but vibrant professional theater company was co-founded in 2014 by the late Lucinda Kidder, an alumna of our graduate MFA program, and it has become a keystone of the Western Massachusetts theater culture. Since the beginning, the folks running the company have been intimately acquainted with the benefits of a UMass Theater education. Hiring theater artists and technicians who speak a common artistic language makes sense, and for those newer to the field, working with the company provides an atmosphere that is both challenging and supportive as they take their first professional steps.

We reached out to some of team involved in Sanctuary City to ask about the production and the connection to UMass Theater.

Here, we're sharing our responses from two folks: current MFA costume design student Hanh Rioux, who is on costumes for this show, and Rose Schwietz Malla, who just graduated from our directing program.

Visit our website to read their insights on what's been like to work on this show with UMass compatriots: https://www.umass.edu/theater/news/sanctuary-city-silverthorne-summer-home-umass-theater

For the rest of this week only: Travel to the 4th floor and take a peek at the David Korins Design Studio (BCA 410), where El Bowcut has displayed the STUNNING costume and illuminating poster she created and presented at the Undergraduate Research Conference last month.

Want to know more about how El went about researching and building this costume — and the smart reason why she chose to work in a design field that isn't actually her main specialty?

Read more on our website: https://www.umass.edu/theater/news/el-bowcut-braids-research-and-creativity-together