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School of Performing Arts

WXXI features RIT's announcement to create a School of Performing Arts.

RIT is creating a School of Performing Arts to offer additional creative opportunities for thousands of students who wish to pursue their passions in performance while majoring in a range of other fields. The new school will be housed within RIT’s College of Liberal Arts beginning July 1, and a national search is underway for a director. 

NTID’s Department of Performing Arts presents its production of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Tony Award-winning musical In The Heights, April 15-17, at Panara Theatre, Lyndon Baines Johnson Hall. Directed by Principle Lecturer Luane Davis Haggerty, NTID’s production features deaf, hard-of-hearing, and hearing actors performing on stage simultaneously.

RIT’s College of Liberal Arts spring production, Men On Boats, opens at 7:30 p.m. tonight with additional performances at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday in Webb Auditorium in James E. Booth Hall.

RIT’s College of Liberal Arts began the academic year under new leadership. Dean Anna Stenport joined RIT from Georgia Institute of Technology’s Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts in September following a nationwide search. Stenport is a professor of communication and an expert in transnational cinema and media, modern literature and drama, and visual and cultural studies, with a focus on the Arctic and Nordic regions.

Architect Michael Maltzan, whose firm is the design architect behind RIT’s performing arts complex, will be the next featured speaker for the Vignelli Center for Design Studies' Design Conversations Lecture Series.

A $5,000 gift from Michael and Joanna Grosodonia of Rochester will allow performing arts students at Rochester Institute of Technology to see live, professional theater productions at Geva Theatre Center. In addition to tickets, the gift also pays for transportation to bring the students from the main campus to the theater in downtown Rochester.

The RIT Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Professor Michael Ruhling, is offering a series of four free performances Wednesday afternoons this semester, exploring the music of Ludwig van Beethoven.

The largest construction project on the RIT campus in more than 50 years remains on track to open in fall 2023. When complete, the Student Hall for Exploration and Development (SHED) will cover more than 120,000 square feet of new construction as well as more than 83,000 square feet of renovations in two existing buildings.

RIT is well on its way to developing the leading performing arts program in the nation for non-majors, attracting talented and creative students who can continue their passions for music, dance, theater, and other performing arts.  

RIT students will have a chance to show their talents and compete for cash prizes during Ovation: RIT Performing Arts Showcase, from 7 to 9 p.m. Feb. 4 in the Robert F. Panara Theatre in Lyndon Baines Hall. It is one of several events for this year’s 10-day FreezeFest festival.

The fall production of Angels in America: Millennium Approaches will be offered in streaming format this weekend. The streamed performances will include American Sign Language, spoken English, and captions.