The Department of Theatre Arts' long tradition of presenting exciting work each summer began anew in 2018, with Summer Partnership in the Arts. Building on nearly a century of Iowa Summer Rep and twenty-five years of the academic year Partnership program, the department now offers students and audiences something new.

The purpose of the Summer Partnership program is to bring one or more guest artists to campus to work with students during a four-week residency and create a new theatrical piece. This developmental project will be presented as a small-scale production or a showing of work in process. It might follow the traditional new play development format or explore a highly experimental collaborative process.

Goals:

• Provide opportunities for students to work with professionals on the development of a new work and possibly a new way of making theatre.
• Maximize student impact and participation during a period when they are unencumbered by their regular class load.
• Offer this paid opportunity to both graduate and undergraduate students in every field of theatre arts.
• Engage the local community by offering audiences the opportunity to participate in the development of a play through pre-show and post-show discussions.