Department of Theatre and Dance

University Theatre

2026-2027 Mainstage Season

Welcome to Fresno State University Theatre’s 2026–2027 Mainstage Season, where urgent contemporary stories, imaginative journeys, and enduring themes of hope and resilience come together to celebrate the transformative power of live performance. This season invites audiences into stories that challenge, inspire, and connect us across generations and experiences. We begin with Tina Satter’s gripping verbatim drama “Is This a Room,” based on the real FBI interrogation of Reality Winner, unfolding as a tense, deeply human exploration of truth, patriotism, and personal consequences in modern America. Next, “The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane,” adapted from Kate DiCamillo’s beloved novel, offers a moving theatrical fable about love, loss, and the courage it takes to open one’s heart again. The spring semester opens with the annual “Contemporary Dance Ensemble,” celebrating bold choreography, artistic collaboration, and the innovative creative voices of Fresno State’s students and faculty. We then present the staged reading of “Yo Te Esperaba: An Abolition Story,” a powerful new work developed in partnership with an ICE detainee survivor, centering the lived realities of immigration detention, family separation, and resistance with compassion and urgency. Finally, we close the season with “The Shawshank Redemption,” adapted from Stephen King’s acclaimed novella, a stirring story of friendship, perseverance, and hope against impossible odds. Join us as we journey through stories that illuminate the resilience of the human spirit and the profound connections that theatre can create.

TICKETS:

University Theatre Mainstage season subscriptions go on sale Monday, July 13, 2026.

Individual performance tickets go on sale September 1, 2026.

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blurred light bulb with black background, text reads "Is This A Room"

Is This a Room

concept and original direction by Tina Satter
directed by Michelle Bellaver

October 2 - 10, 2026

A true story, still unfolding. June 3, 2017. A 25-year-old former Air Force linguist named Reality Winner is surprised at her home by the FBI, interrogated, and charged. The verbatim FBI transcript of her interrogation is the heart of “Is This a Room,” conceived as a play by Obie Award-winner Tina Satter, in which an extraordinary human drama unfolds between the complex and witty Reality, and the agents who question her. As Reality’s autonomy shrinks before her eyes, a simmering real-life thriller emerges, asking what it is to have honor in this American moment, and how the personal can reverberate globally.

A Fresno Premiere!

black background with china rabbit, text reads "The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane"

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

adapted by Dwayne Hartford
from the book by Kate DiCamillo
directed by J. Daniel Herring

November 13 - 21, 2026

Edward Tulane is an expensive toy rabbit made of china. He is loved by a little girl named Abilene, but Edward doesn’t care. He is vain and self-centered. He has no interest in anyone other than himself. On an ocean voyage, Edward is accidentally thrown overboard and sinks to the bottom of the sea. So begins his journey—a journey over which he has no control, for he is a toy rabbit. He can neither move nor speak. As years pass by, Edward meets many different people in many different situations: an older grieving couple who find comfort in Edward’s presence, a hobo and his dog who introduce Edward to a whole community of homeless wanderers, a farmer in need of a scarecrow, a sad little boy and his very ill sister, and finally a doll mender and an old doll who teach Edward an invaluable lesson. Through this miraculous journey, Edward learns what it is to love, what it is to lose that love, and how to find the courage to love again.

A Fresno Premiere!

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The Contemporary Dance Ensemble

artistic director, Kenneth Balint

Feb. 12 - 20, 2027

This annual contemporary dance concert highlights contemporary classics, creative innovation, and collaborations between students and faculty.

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Yo Te Esperaba:
An Abolition Story

developed by Donkeysaddle Projects
in partnership with "A," an ICE detainee survivor
directed by Gina Sandí-Díaz

March 11 - 14, 2027

Donkeysaddle Projects, in partnership with “A,” an ICE detainee survivor, has developed a script telling A's story of fighting deportation for twelve years, providing a window into thousands of similar stories of community members impacted by this manifestation of state violence. Two of those years, she was caged in ICE detention in Eloy, AZ. The piece invites audiences into A's family's fight to stay together and their journey in confronting the shame and fear inflicted by the system.

A Staged-Reading of a New Play in Development

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The Shawshank Redemption

adapted for the stage by Owen O'Neil and Dave Johns
based on the novella by Stephen King
directed by Thomas-Whit Ellis

April 30 - May 8, 2027

When Andy Dufresne is convicted of murder and sentenced to life in the notorious Shawshank prison, he must find a way to keep himself and his hope alive by using his wits and forging friendships. Based on the novella by Stephen King, “The Shawshank Redemption” brings the story of resilience made famous by the acclaimed film to the stage.