Community Partners

Community Partners are essential to the development and growth of our programs. The Department of Theatre is committed to collaborating with and supporting regional arts organizations.

Theatre faculty and students work independently and collaboratively with other local arts organizations including the Fort Wayne Civic Theatre, Arena Dinner Theatre, First Presbyterian Theater, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic and the Fort Wayne Dance Collective and the Fort Wayne Youtheatre.

The Department of Theatre is also collaborates with a variety of non-arts related Community Partners to provide educational opportunities for our students while enhancing economic development and providing artistic services to the community.

• Sign language interpreted performances during each finial Sunday matinee performance in Williams Theatre.
• Theatre provides reduced price high school student matinee performances during the season for teachers and their students.
• Brush-up your Shakespeare is a traveling outreach program offered at no charge to regional high schools, making Shakespeare more accessible to young adults.
• IPFW Community Arts Academy year-round programming for at-risk students of partner organizations, including United Hispanic Americans, Boys & Girls Clubs, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Child Protective Services, and the League for the Blind and Disabled.
• Faculty outreach program to local high school teachers, conducting workshops and presentations for teachers and students of K-12 in the Fort Wayne Community Schools and East Allen County Schools.              
• Working on theatrical presentations in association with events like the 25^th Anniversary of the AIDS Task Force.

To find out more about how you can become a Community Partner of the Department of Theatre, contact:

John O'Connell, Department Chair and Professor
Office Williams Theatre, WT128A
Phone 260 481-6551
Email oconnelj@ipfw.edu