Led by Donahue Professor, Series Aims to Grow the Next Generation of Artists and Audiences
09/19/2024
Young people throughout the region will experience the wonder of live performance through a new UMass Lowell program that draws on the creative strengths of the university, Middlesex Community College and Merrimack Repertory Theatre.
Together, the institutions will stage two live productions for K-12 students and bring educational resources connected to those plays to area schools, according to Shelley Barish, a UMass Lowell theatre arts professor whose idea for the series prompted her appointment as UMass Lowell’s 2024 Nancy L. Donahue Endowed Professor of the Arts.
“With this honor, I strive to continue my lifelong goal of exposing young people to the magic of the theater, which creates a space for all, regardless of ethnicity, gender, social economic class, or language,” Barish said. “It’s an environment that inspires and encourages expression, creative problem solving and connection. I want all community members to feel comfortable and welcome, and to know theater is a place for them.”
The upcoming performances in 2025 and 2026 will expand on UMass Lowell’s successful collaboration with both partners earlier this year. In January, they staged MRT’s “Red Riding Hood” by Alison Gregory at the community college’s Richard and Nancy Donahue Family Academic Arts Center in downtown Lowell. Matinee performances of the play for students were sold out. The production showcased two professional actors understudied by MCC students and the set was built, painted, and installed by students in UMass Lowell’s theatre arts program.
“Shelley Barish is an exemplary designer, teacher, mentor, and leader of our theatre arts program,” said UMass Lowell Dean Sue Kim, who leads the university’s College of Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. “We’re very excited about the work she’s already done with community partners and will continue to accomplish through the Donahue Professorship. Engagement with the Greater Lowell community is a hallmark of the college and UMass Lowell.”
Barish anticipates the new productions will be attended by more than 1,500 elementary and middle school students. The program will foster diversity by including a bilingual (English/Spanish) production in 2026 and shows adapted for individuals with sensory differences, according to Barish.
“The community partnership will combine the talents of many collaborators and cultivate both essential aspects of the theater ecosystem: creators and audiences,” Barish said. “Students at both UMass Lowell and Middlesex Community College will gain valuable experience working on a production and shadowing professional artists, while young people will experience live performance and learn about the craft.”
In addition, local schools may ask the theater collaborators to bring scaled down productions of each show into local K-12 schools or host the troupe for question-and-answer sessions or theater workshops. All events will be free and open to the public.
“It is so important UMass Lowell, Middlesex Community College, Merrimack Repertory Theatre and the Greater Lowell community all work together to enhance the experience of the theater for young and old and those in-between,” Donahue said. “Shelley has an amazing resume. I am thrilled that she has been named the Donahue Professor of the Arts.”
Members of the public who would like more information should email Carolyn_Brooks@uml.edu.
Media contacts: Emily Gowdey-Backus, director of media relations and Nancy Cicco, assistant director of media relations