Swarthmore College Department of Theater

10/05/2026

This week we'll be highlighting some of the work of our great alumni! First up, Fouad Dakwar's '22 semi-autobiographical Palestinian pop-punk dark comedy musical Fouad of Nazareth will be featured in the Festival of New Musicals through the National Alliance for Musical Theater. Get your tickets now!

10/02/2026

Last weekend, FringeArts hosted a day memorializing Dito Van Reigersberg ‘94 with song, dance and joy. We spoke to Professor Emeritus Allen Kuharski about this beloved Swat Theater Alumni and the ways Dito shaped the department. Read our conversation on our Spotlight Blog, link in bio.

09/17/2026

Designed by Chair of Production, Matt Saunders, the set for Chekhov's The Vaudevilles is a modular take on a small stage in Stanislavski's own home. It allows for three different looks for the three different one-acts that make up one hilarious night of theater.

CHEKHOV'S THE VAUDEVILLES opens November 13th! Mark your calendars now!

09/15/2026

09/15/2026

Every Swattie should take a theater class! Production Ensemble is a course where students get the chance to participate in a professionally staged production. Stay tuned this week to learn more about this semester's production of Chekhov's Vaudeville's, directed by Leah Walton

09/11/2026

For our final Fringe recommendation, please join us in celebrating Dito van Reigersberg ('94) for A Day Remembering Dito at The Miller Theater on Sunday, September 27, 2026.

7:30pm Tribute Cabaret and Concert
A performance hosted by Pig Iron, FringeArts, The Martha Graham Cracker Cabaret, The Bearded Ladies Cabaret, Ensemble Arts, and friends. Collaborators from contemporary dance, clown, and cabaret will share the stage in an evening of singing and magic and poetry, as we seek to evoke a little bit of the wild, heartfelt energy that Dito brought to so many performances. Tickets will be PWYC from $25 with reserved seating. A limited number of $10 tickets are available.

3:00pm Celebration of Life
Remembrances, poems and reflections from family and friends. This is mainly a quiet service for those all who wish to mourn Dito and reflect on his legacy in a contemplative setting. FREE RSVP required.

09/11/2026

Our last Fringe shout out is for Tell Me Your Name, directed by Adrienne Mackey ('04)

TELL ME YOUR NAME is a solo clown show that examines intergenerational trauma rooted in Japanese colonial occupation (but really, it’s funny!). Kim plays Myeong, an otherworldly contemporary Korean Pet Shaman who summons and embodies the souls of deceased pets. (Only pets! No humans!) Through playful interaction, Myeong invites audiences to invoke memories of their dead fur babies. She then calls the pet’s soul into her own body, physically embodying and coaxing the spirit toward the rainbow bridge. What begins as a tender and absurd ritual for beloved pets gradually opens into a deeper encounter with the ghosts, memories, and stories that human beings carry across generations. Written and performed by Yeonshin Kim, TELL ME YOUR NAME explores the absurd ways we hide from the trauma of our ancestors and how some stories lie in wait until we’re brave enough to witness them.

TELL ME YOUR NAME marks international theater and movement artist Yeonshin Kim’s first performance in Philadelphia, as a curated piece with Cannonball in the Philadelphia Fringe.

09/10/2026

More swat theater alumni fringe pics! Get your tickets and see our great alums in action!

FORGE
Directed and Written by Beth Applebaum + Daniel Brucker
Featuring Frank Paz ('26) + Rose Palmieri ('24)

This will be a retelling of Pinocchio, with Greek mythology putting in the mix, where Hephaestus, the God of Fire and Blacksmiths, is presented as the father instead of Geppetto. As a deaf character, Hephaestus also chooses to have Pinocchio being deaf, which leads to conflicted reactions from others, including Pandora, Aphrodite, and Ares.

Notice Me, Gwyneth
by Matthew Reid
Directed and Produced by Jack McManus ('21)

GP's personal assistant is honored to work for an icon, idol, and mogul, but he knows he could do more. If given the chance, he could run the flagship GOOP store in Brentwood and usher in an inspiring new era of GOOP. If only his boss saw him as more than just the perfect assistant. . .

Notice Me, Gwyneth is a solo show that explores Matthew's attempt to impress his aloof yet loving boss, navigate what the future holds for the doting boyfriend who he's uncertain about, and always come out looking better than his workplace frenemy. As he demonstrates celery juicing, cashmere sweater combing, and more, Matthew discloses to the audience both his plans for greatness and his fears of failure.

09/08/2026

The Philadelphia Fringe Festival Opens today! This week, we're highlighting some of our alums who are participating with their own work. Get your tickets now to support these alums!

The Groundhog
by Savannah Reich
Dramaturgy by Sophia Pereda-Echeverry ('25)

The Professor gives an excruciatingly detailed lecture on 1993's Groundhog Day while slowly losing control of the classroom, losing the thread of what they meant to say, and losing their grip on reality. A tour de force monologue for one talking clown (like Groucho) and one silent clown (like Harpo). Content warning: Academia, arts education, missing dongles, PowerPoint, teaching the worst class of your life.

returned, iridescent
by Rose Farrell
Directed by Jack McManus

Elio and Luna are lovers bound by the stars, a sun and moon destined to meet every dusk and every dawn, rise and fall, come together and drift apart, across a lifetime. With each reunion a loss, and with each departure a gain. Trans bodies shift and age, both weathered and bolstered by time, only realized through radical transformation, yet still able see the truths in one another. Elio and Luna will follow each other through the stars, and back again.

Rose Farrell's returned, iridescent is a new play and trans love story about leaving and returning, transformation, and the perpetual act of becoming. A poetic sensory experience, journey through a life long romance, and a reminder that there is still more time.

09/07/2026

First week of classes has us like 😴😴😴 Rest up for Labor Day, Swatties, and then back to it tomorrow!

📸: Fefu and Her Friends (2011). Photo by Elena Ruyter