The University and the Future of Theatre
In April 2026, Marilyn F. Vitale Artistic Director Avery Willis Hoffman participated in a University of Chicago Dean’s Salon event discuss partnerships between academic and artistic institutions, and how they will shape the future of the American theatre.
Featuring Deborah Nelson (Dean of the Arts and Humanities at the University of Chicago) and Peter Sellars (Distinguished Professor, Dept. of World Arts and Cultures/Dance at UCLA) alongside Avery, this conversation was hopeful, dynamic, and forward-facing.
“What does it mean to be able to verify something from human testimony and actually be in the room as someone lives through the implications and the results of certain actions?….The arts need to be everywhere but an arts center.” – Peter Sellars
“The making of art is embedded in these human connections and in the ways in which we have to relate to each other as humans…That’s what’s amazing about being on a university campus….We can have these conversations, we can invite you into that process.” – Avery Willis Hoffman
You can watch the full conversation online, and relive the event through the photos below!
Photos by John Zich.
American theatre has stamped out an important genre, namely science fiction. I do not mean fantasy monsters, ugly aliens and impossible scenes no theater could replicate. No, I am referring to what Isaac Asimov, the dean of Sci-Fi genre defined as human interaction with immerging technology or science. A dramatic parlor play could be sci-fi. Universities including UChicago have advocated a fusion between the sciences and humanities. What better media could serve this ambition than a science fiction play. The problem, of course is twofold. First, theatre companies would not consider such plays because of the risk and secondly where are the playwrights. The solution is soliciting such plays and the playwrights will come. The risk of productions can be mitigated by targeted marketing and other techniques. Court, be a leader and try it.