Step "Behind the Scenes" of MSU Theatre
with Two New Free Classes
Michigan State University Friends of Theatre will offer two opportunities this fall to step "behind the scenes" of two different productions of the Michigan State University Department of Theatre. These will include free classes focusing on two very different classic plays, Sophocles' "Antigone" and Eugene Ionesco's "Rhinoceros."
ANTIGONE
The first class focuses on "Antigone," which runs November 6-15 at MSU's Pasant Theatre. The classes will take place on November 5 and 19 at 3p.m., at The Peoples Church in East Lansing.
SESSION ONE: The initial class will focus on the structure of the play and the MSU production. Director Ann Folino White will introduce the play, first performed around 442-441 BCE, putting it into context for class participants. This session will be held at The Peoples Church, on Thursday, November 5, 2026, from 3 to 5 pm.
ATTEND THE PLAY: Class participants will have a one-week opportunity to attend the play at MSU’s Pasant Theatre on a day and at a time of their choosing, between November 6 and 15. Parking is available in the Wharton Center parking structure or in the Shaw Lane parking ramp.
SESSION TWO: After the play closes, a second discussion-style session will be held at The Peoples Church, on Thursday, November 19, from 3:00 to 5:00 pm. This class will be led by actors and designers from the production. This always promises to be a lively discussion.
Location: All classes take place in the Robertson Room at The Peoples Church, which is located at 200 Grand River Ave., East Lansing. Free parking, including handicap spaces, is available on the west side of the church. The church is handicapped accessible.
Cost: The classes are FREE. Tickets are available by calling WHARTON CENTER Ticket Office at (517) 432-2000 or toll-free at 1-800-WHARTON. The cheapest way to purchase tickets is to go to Wharton Center in person.
ABOUT THE PLAY:
Adapted by Emily Mann and based on the ancient Greek tragedy of Antigone by Sophocles, the story focuses on the daughter in a powerful family as she tries to bury her brother’s corpse against the dictates of her uncle, Creon. Mann's modern, accessible adaptation of the play uses elevated but contemporary phrasing that feels more accessible to audiences unfamiliar with Greek theater.
RHINOCEROS
The second class features Eugene Ionesco's 1959 play, "Rhinoceros," running November 18-22 in Studio 60, MSU Auditorium. A small town is besieged by one roaring citizen who becomes a rhinoceros and proceeds to trample on the social order. As more citizens become rhinoceroses, the trampling becomes overwhelming until only one sane man, Berenger, remains, refusing to surrender his identity. The play serves as a sharp warning against mass conformity, political fanaticism and the erosion of critical thinking.
SPECIAL LECTURE AND FREE PREVIEW PERFORMANCE
A special lecture on Theatre of the Absurd by Dan Smith will take place on Tuesday, November 17, at 6 p.m., in room 12 of the MSU Auditorium Building with the free preview performance to follow at 7 p.m in nearby Studio 60. (A donation for the preview is requested.)
THE CLASS
For this production, there will only be one "Behind the Scenes" class meeting, taking place on Tuesday, November 24, from 3-5 p.m., at The Peoples Church. The class will feature play directors Nick Torres and Andrew Keller.
ATTEND THE PLAY: If not attending the preview on Tuesday, November 17, class participants will have a five-day window to attend the play on the day of their choosing. This production is at MSU’s Studio 60, located on the lower level of the Michigan State University Auditorium Building. Parking is available after 6 p.m. in the open lots across from the Auditorium. Please note: Those attending “Rhinoceros” on the evening of the show must get their tickets at the MSU Auditorium Box Office prior to the performance. Those attending the free Preview Performance need only to register.
Cost: All Behind the Scenes classes are FREE. Participants purchase their own tickets to the production on the date of their choosing. Tickets are available by calling WHARTON CENTER Ticket Office at (517) 432-2000 or toll-free at 1-800-WHARTON, or online at whartoncenter.com. The cheapest way to purchase tickets is to go to Wharton Center in person.
Registration: Although classes are free, seating is limited and advance registration is required.
To reserve a spot for "Antigone," please submit this https://forms.gle/U5JBp4BpTiyQBUB38
To reserve a spot for "Rhinoceros," please submit this https://forms.gle/8zbJmK3ghp9d1SeR9
If you have any questions, please contact Kath Clark at the MSU Department of Theatre, [email protected] or (517) 884-7796. Seating is limited.
THE DIRECTORS
Ann Folino White
Dr. Ann Folino White is a scholar and theatre artist. She received her B.A. in Theatre from Michigan State University, M.A. in Theatre from Northwestern University, and Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Theatre and Drama along with a Gender Studies Certificate from Northwestern University.
Dr. Folino White’s teaching interests include stage directing, performance theory, and American theatrical and popular performance from the late-nineteenth century to the early-twentieth century. In 2015, Dr. Folino White received the Mid-Michigan Alumni Association Quality in Undergraduate Teaching Award.
She has served as a dramaturg for Appletree Theatre and Writers’ Theatre in the Chicago-area, and as a new play reader for Steppenwolf Theatre Company. Select directing credits for MSU DOT include "The Grapes of Wrath," "In the Blood," "Widows," "Macbeth," and "Fallen Angels." Dr. Folino White also directed her own adaptation of the book "The Lady Victory" (by Jane Vincent Taylor, Turning Point Press 2012), which explores the experiences of girls sent to a home for unwed mothers in 1960s Oklahoma.
Her scholarship on American drama, protest, and performances has appeared in American Drama, Text and Performance Quarterly, Performing Arts Resources, Women and Performance and TDR: The Drama Review. She is contributing co-editor of the essay anthology, Food & Theatre on the World Stage (Routledge, 2015). Her book "Plowed Under: Food Policy Protests and Performance in New Deal America" (Indiana University Press, 2015) was awarded the 2015 Working Class Studies Association CLR James Book Award.
Andrew Keller and Nick Torres
Co-directors Andrew Keller and Nick Torres are both Department of Theatre MFA acting candidates, and both have been panelists at previous "Behind the Scenes" classes including "Othello" (Keller) and "Persuasion" (Torres).
Andrew Keller's recent credits at MSU include Othello (Iago), Inching Toward Yeolha (Kyo-Choong), Thinner than Water (Benjy), and A Beautiful Day in November (Granddada). Elsewhere he appeared as Lord Lovelance in Ada and the Engine at the Clague Playhouse, and as Alan in One Man, Two Guvnors at Blank Canvas Theatre.
Nick Torres's recent credits at MSU include Othello (Roderigo), 9-5 The Musical (Franklin Hart Jr.), Thinner than Water (Mark), and Inherit The Wind (Henry Drummond). Elsewhere he was Eddie in Andrew Lippa’s Wild Party at the Queen Street Playhouse, and as Jeremiah in SHIP at The Void Theatre Company.
Daniel T. Smith
Daniel T. Smith is a dramaturg, translator, director and theatre historian with research interest in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century French theatre, history of sexuality and translation studies. After studying French Literature at the University of Notre Dame, Dan earned degrees in Theatre from the University of Massachusetts Amherst (MFA) and Northwestern University (PhD). He has worked extensively as a professional dramaturg and director at numerous Chicago theatres. His translations for the stage include Don Juan by Moliere and Dangerous Liaison by Madame Beaunoir, among others. He has published numerous articles, translations and reviews in professional journals.
But Dan is more than a theatre professional. His broad scope of knowledge led him to being a three-time “Jeopardy” champion, with his episodes airing in 2009.
Class Organizers: Joan Mattson, Carol Bryson, Jeanie Croope and Jean Lyle Lepard. Faculty Liaisons: Rob Roznowski and Kirk Domer
with Two New Free Classes
Michigan State University Friends of Theatre will offer two opportunities this fall to step "behind the scenes" of two different productions of the Michigan State University Department of Theatre. These will include free classes focusing on two very different classic plays, Sophocles' "Antigone" and Eugene Ionesco's "Rhinoceros."
ANTIGONE
The first class focuses on "Antigone," which runs November 6-15 at MSU's Pasant Theatre. The classes will take place on November 5 and 19 at 3p.m., at The Peoples Church in East Lansing.
SESSION ONE: The initial class will focus on the structure of the play and the MSU production. Director Ann Folino White will introduce the play, first performed around 442-441 BCE, putting it into context for class participants. This session will be held at The Peoples Church, on Thursday, November 5, 2026, from 3 to 5 pm.
ATTEND THE PLAY: Class participants will have a one-week opportunity to attend the play at MSU’s Pasant Theatre on a day and at a time of their choosing, between November 6 and 15. Parking is available in the Wharton Center parking structure or in the Shaw Lane parking ramp.
SESSION TWO: After the play closes, a second discussion-style session will be held at The Peoples Church, on Thursday, November 19, from 3:00 to 5:00 pm. This class will be led by actors and designers from the production. This always promises to be a lively discussion.
Location: All classes take place in the Robertson Room at The Peoples Church, which is located at 200 Grand River Ave., East Lansing. Free parking, including handicap spaces, is available on the west side of the church. The church is handicapped accessible.
Cost: The classes are FREE. Tickets are available by calling WHARTON CENTER Ticket Office at (517) 432-2000 or toll-free at 1-800-WHARTON. The cheapest way to purchase tickets is to go to Wharton Center in person.
ABOUT THE PLAY:
Adapted by Emily Mann and based on the ancient Greek tragedy of Antigone by Sophocles, the story focuses on the daughter in a powerful family as she tries to bury her brother’s corpse against the dictates of her uncle, Creon. Mann's modern, accessible adaptation of the play uses elevated but contemporary phrasing that feels more accessible to audiences unfamiliar with Greek theater.
RHINOCEROS
The second class features Eugene Ionesco's 1959 play, "Rhinoceros," running November 18-22 in Studio 60, MSU Auditorium. A small town is besieged by one roaring citizen who becomes a rhinoceros and proceeds to trample on the social order. As more citizens become rhinoceroses, the trampling becomes overwhelming until only one sane man, Berenger, remains, refusing to surrender his identity. The play serves as a sharp warning against mass conformity, political fanaticism and the erosion of critical thinking.
SPECIAL LECTURE AND FREE PREVIEW PERFORMANCE
A special lecture on Theatre of the Absurd by Dan Smith will take place on Tuesday, November 17, at 6 p.m., in room 12 of the MSU Auditorium Building with the free preview performance to follow at 7 p.m in nearby Studio 60. (A donation for the preview is requested.)
THE CLASS
For this production, there will only be one "Behind the Scenes" class meeting, taking place on Tuesday, November 24, from 3-5 p.m., at The Peoples Church. The class will feature play directors Nick Torres and Andrew Keller.
ATTEND THE PLAY: If not attending the preview on Tuesday, November 17, class participants will have a five-day window to attend the play on the day of their choosing. This production is at MSU’s Studio 60, located on the lower level of the Michigan State University Auditorium Building. Parking is available after 6 p.m. in the open lots across from the Auditorium. Please note: Those attending “Rhinoceros” on the evening of the show must get their tickets at the MSU Auditorium Box Office prior to the performance. Those attending the free Preview Performance need only to register.
Cost: All Behind the Scenes classes are FREE. Participants purchase their own tickets to the production on the date of their choosing. Tickets are available by calling WHARTON CENTER Ticket Office at (517) 432-2000 or toll-free at 1-800-WHARTON, or online at whartoncenter.com. The cheapest way to purchase tickets is to go to Wharton Center in person.
Registration: Although classes are free, seating is limited and advance registration is required.
To reserve a spot for "Antigone," please submit this https://forms.gle/U5JBp4BpTiyQBUB38
To reserve a spot for "Rhinoceros," please submit this https://forms.gle/8zbJmK3ghp9d1SeR9
If you have any questions, please contact Kath Clark at the MSU Department of Theatre, [email protected] or (517) 884-7796. Seating is limited.
THE DIRECTORS
Ann Folino White
Dr. Ann Folino White is a scholar and theatre artist. She received her B.A. in Theatre from Michigan State University, M.A. in Theatre from Northwestern University, and Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Theatre and Drama along with a Gender Studies Certificate from Northwestern University.
Dr. Folino White’s teaching interests include stage directing, performance theory, and American theatrical and popular performance from the late-nineteenth century to the early-twentieth century. In 2015, Dr. Folino White received the Mid-Michigan Alumni Association Quality in Undergraduate Teaching Award.
She has served as a dramaturg for Appletree Theatre and Writers’ Theatre in the Chicago-area, and as a new play reader for Steppenwolf Theatre Company. Select directing credits for MSU DOT include "The Grapes of Wrath," "In the Blood," "Widows," "Macbeth," and "Fallen Angels." Dr. Folino White also directed her own adaptation of the book "The Lady Victory" (by Jane Vincent Taylor, Turning Point Press 2012), which explores the experiences of girls sent to a home for unwed mothers in 1960s Oklahoma.
Her scholarship on American drama, protest, and performances has appeared in American Drama, Text and Performance Quarterly, Performing Arts Resources, Women and Performance and TDR: The Drama Review. She is contributing co-editor of the essay anthology, Food & Theatre on the World Stage (Routledge, 2015). Her book "Plowed Under: Food Policy Protests and Performance in New Deal America" (Indiana University Press, 2015) was awarded the 2015 Working Class Studies Association CLR James Book Award.
Andrew Keller and Nick Torres
Co-directors Andrew Keller and Nick Torres are both Department of Theatre MFA acting candidates, and both have been panelists at previous "Behind the Scenes" classes including "Othello" (Keller) and "Persuasion" (Torres).
Andrew Keller's recent credits at MSU include Othello (Iago), Inching Toward Yeolha (Kyo-Choong), Thinner than Water (Benjy), and A Beautiful Day in November (Granddada). Elsewhere he appeared as Lord Lovelance in Ada and the Engine at the Clague Playhouse, and as Alan in One Man, Two Guvnors at Blank Canvas Theatre.
Nick Torres's recent credits at MSU include Othello (Roderigo), 9-5 The Musical (Franklin Hart Jr.), Thinner than Water (Mark), and Inherit The Wind (Henry Drummond). Elsewhere he was Eddie in Andrew Lippa’s Wild Party at the Queen Street Playhouse, and as Jeremiah in SHIP at The Void Theatre Company.
Daniel T. Smith
Daniel T. Smith is a dramaturg, translator, director and theatre historian with research interest in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century French theatre, history of sexuality and translation studies. After studying French Literature at the University of Notre Dame, Dan earned degrees in Theatre from the University of Massachusetts Amherst (MFA) and Northwestern University (PhD). He has worked extensively as a professional dramaturg and director at numerous Chicago theatres. His translations for the stage include Don Juan by Moliere and Dangerous Liaison by Madame Beaunoir, among others. He has published numerous articles, translations and reviews in professional journals.
But Dan is more than a theatre professional. His broad scope of knowledge led him to being a three-time “Jeopardy” champion, with his episodes airing in 2009.
Class Organizers: Joan Mattson, Carol Bryson, Jeanie Croope and Jean Lyle Lepard. Faculty Liaisons: Rob Roznowski and Kirk Domer
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