Playshop Theatre
Upcoming Production: Revel/Reveal
We understand different parts of ourselves in different ways as we engage ourselves in varied environments and with different people over time. Sometimes, we peel away parts of ourselves to reveal newness; sometimes we retreat into a part of ourselves that feels protected.
Through difficult and joyous times, we can revel in the experiences. Students share their varies experiences in a devised piece led by alumna Susaan Jamshidi ’01.
Friday, Sept. 18 at 7 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 19 at 2 p.m.
Gladys Mullenix Black Theatre in the Vukovich Center for Communication Arts
This is a free show. For questions, contact the Box Office (814) 332-3414.
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The 2026-27 Playshop Theatre Season
Revel/Reveal
Students share their varied experiences in a devised piece led by alumna Susaan Jamshidi ’01.
September 18-19, 2026
The King Stag
A beloved comedy mixing courtly love, romance, intrigue, and magic in a production sure to entertain audiences of all ages.
November 20-22, 2026
Cabaret
Who recognizes the warning signs, who looks away, who stays — and who still has the privilege of leaving?
April 2-4, 2027
On Stage Gallery
About the Playshop Theatre
The Playshop Theatre at Allegheny College was inaugurated by Alice Huntington Spalding in 1929 with her production of Dear Brutus in Arter Hall. In the intervening years, the Playshop has produced over 500 plays including classic works by Shakespeare, Molière, Shaw, Williams, O’Neill, Miller, Wilder, and Coward, contemporary playwrights such as Sam Shepard, Tom Stoppard, Suzan-Lori Parks, Wendy Wasserstein, Tina Howe, Tony Kushner, Caryl Churchill, and Paula Vogel, and musicals including The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, The Pirates of Penzance, and Carousel, as well as original works by faculty, students and visiting artists. In 2009 we moved into our new home in the Vukovich Center for Communication Arts. The Playshop season is now performed in the Gladys Mullenix Black Theatre.
Gladys Mullenix Black Theatre 
The award-winning Gladys Mullenix Black Theatre, featuring a 40-foot Proscenium stage with technical systems and architectural features designed to support professional-level learning, both on-stage and backstage.
The horseshoe shape of the theatre’s seating, along with its balcony, creates a closeness and synergy between audience and actor. And the technical aspects of the theatre (including the catwalk, lighting grids, and pipe grids) are innovatively exposed, providing a unique behind-the-scenes perspective to teachers, learners , and spectators alike.
The Gladys Mullenix Black Theatre on campus is named in the honor of Gladys Black, ‘54, a trustee of Allegheny College. In 2015 she received the Alumni Medal, the college’s oldest and most prestigious alumni award. Her generous financial support of the College directly touches the lives of countless students. She has been a generous supporter of the College’s general endowment fund. She funded the Gladys Mullenix Black Theatre in the Vukovich Center for Communication Arts in 2006. Earlier, she replaced seats in the Playshop Theatre in Alden Hall in 2001, donated a gift for renovating dormitories in 2000, and supports the Annual Fund every year. Gladys was a member of the President’s Society, Timothy Alden Council, and William Bentley Legacy Society.
Major or Minor in Theatre
Your love of theatre doesn’t have to end when the curtain lowers. Allegheny College offers a theatre major and minor.
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Year in Photos 2024
The 2024 year brought so many exciting and historic events to campus. We’re happy to share these visual highlights of the life and times at Allegheny College.
