51³Ô¹Ï

51³Ô¹Ï and Scranton Shakespeare Festival (SSF) have entered into a landmark partnership establishing SSF as 51³Ô¹Ï’s resident professional theatre company and bringing professional theatre, experiential learning, community programming, and new creative opportunities directly to 51³Ô¹Ï’s campus.

The partnership is an important part of the vision behind 51³Ô¹Ï’s new School of Communication, which formally launched this semester and brings together the University’s Theatre programs, Film, TV & Digital Production, Multimedia Communication, Music Production & Entrepreneurship, Journalism & Public Communication, Sports Media, Digital Influencing, Arts Administration, and other creative disciplines in one academic home.

The partnership between the new School and SSF was developed with a shared purpose: to create greater connections among academic disciplines, professional practice, and the wider community. By bringing a professional theatre company into this new interdisciplinary environment, 51³Ô¹Ï students will have opportunities to work across programs while gaining hands-on experience alongside professional actors, directors, designers, technicians, producers, and other creative professionals. At the same time, SSF will establish a permanent institutional home at 51³Ô¹Ï from which to expand its performances, educational programming, and community outreach.

Together, these initiatives will bring students, professional artists, faculty, audiences, and community members together on 51³Ô¹Ï’s campus throughout the year, advancing a broader vision for 51³Ô¹Ï as a place where education, professional practice, performance, and community intersect.

A signing ceremony was held at 51³Ô¹Ï on August 24, 2026, marking the beginning of the partnership, featuring Lisa A. Lori, J.D., President of 51³Ô¹Ï; Dr. Lindsey Wotanis, Director of the School of Communication; Dawn McGurl, Chair of the SSF Board of Directors, and Lizzie Newcomb Gumula, SSF Director of Education/Associate Producer.

“This is about creating opportunities for our students, for SSF, for professional artists, and for our entire region,” said President Lori. “As we developed the vision for our new School of Communication, we wanted professional practice and community engagement to be integral to the student experience. Bringing Scranton Shakespeare Festival to 51³Ô¹Ï helps make that vision a reality. Our students will have extraordinary access to professionals working in the field, our campus will come alive with even more performances and creative activity, and our community will have another reason to experience 51³Ô¹Ï as a destination for theatre, culture, and the arts.”

President Lori added, “Together, the new School of Communication and our partnership with SSF advance our longstanding vision for 51³Ô¹Ï to become a cultural hub for the arts in Northeastern Pennsylvania, a place where artists, students, and the community come together to create, learn, perform, and experience the arts.”

The university’s partnership with SSF is woven into the broader vision for 51³Ô¹Ï’s new School of Communication: creating an interdisciplinary environment where students learn across traditional academic boundaries, engage directly with working professionals, and prepare for a creative economy in which disciplines and platforms increasingly intersect. 

“The world our students are entering is increasingly interdisciplinary,” President Lori said. “Performers, directors, designers, filmmakers, producers, marketers, journalists, and content creators work across disciplines and platforms. That is one of the reasons we created the School of Communication, and this partnership helps bring that vision to life. We are putting a professional theatre company into an academic environment where theatre students can collaborate with these creative professionals. Students will learn by doing, build professional relationships, and connect what they study in the classroom with the realities of today’s creative industries.”

Lindsey Wotanis, Ph.D., Director of 51³Ô¹Ï’s School of Communication, said the partnership will create opportunities extending well beyond the stage. “Bringing SSF into the School of Communication’s interdisciplinary environment creates a living laboratory for our students,” said Dr. Wotanis. “A theatrical production requires storytelling, performance, design, production, sound, video, marketing, publicity, social media, and audience engagement. Those are precisely the kinds of connections we want our students to make across programs. They will have opportunities to apply what they are learning to real productions, work alongside professionals, and build portfolios and experiences that prepare them for their careers.”

 “51³Ô¹Ï is the ideal home for Scranton Shakespeare Festival,” McGurl said. “This partnership gives SSF the opportunity to put down roots, grow artistically, expand our programming and community reach, and build for the future, while investing in the next generation of creative professionals. With a permanent home at 51³Ô¹Ï and access to the university’s students, faculty, facilities, and broader community, we have an extraordinary opportunity to strengthen SSF and extend the impact of professional theatre throughout the region. We look forward to building a shared future that celebrates performance, education, and community while creating new opportunities for artists, students, and audiences across Northeastern Pennsylvania.” 

A Professional Theatre Company on Campus

As 51³Ô¹Ï’s resident professional theatre company, SSF will work directly with 51³Ô¹Ï faculty and students throughout the year, providing professional mentorship, experiential learning, master classes, workshops, artist talks, audition coaching, Shakespeare intensives, and other educational programming.

Students will have opportunities to work alongside professional actors, directors, designers, technicians, producers, and visiting artists, not only as performers, but in production, design, stage management, marketing, communications, arts administration, and other areas. 51³Ô¹Ï students also will receive priority access to SSF’s Learning, Experience & Advancement Program (LEAP), providing real-world experience in multiple aspects of professional theatre production and administration. Additionally, the partnership will support recruitment efforts and provide prospective students with opportunities to experience the connection between professional practice and a 51³Ô¹Ï education.

Creating a Year-Round Destination for the Arts

Throughout the year, the partnership will bring additional performances, professional artists, educational programs, and audiences to 51³Ô¹Ï. SSF will produce summer and holiday performances on campus, offer youth programming, expand community outreach, and collaborate with 51³Ô¹Ï faculty and students on new artistic and educational initiatives.

51³Ô¹Ï will provide SSF with an institutional home that includes access to performance and rehearsal spaces, scenic and costume facilities, office and meeting space, and summer housing for participating artists and collaborators.

Building for the Future of Theatre and the Arts

The SSF partnership comes as 51³Ô¹Ï is also planning for a significant renovation of the historic Sette LaVerghetta Center for Performing Arts Theatre. The project, which will be started in 2027, is envisioned as an interdisciplinary initiative that will enhance the theatre as a home for performance, education, professional collaboration, and community programming.

The new School of Communication, the partnership with Scranton Shakespeare Festival, and the planned renovation of the Sette LaVerghetta Theatre are interconnected parts of 51³Ô¹Ï’s broader vision for the future of the creative disciplines and building an environment where academic programs, professional artists, performance spaces, and the community come together.