Student Stories

Guest choreographer Katy Pyle brings a fresh and positive approach to ballet to Springdances 2025

Springdances: Revel & Reckon opens on Thursday, April 24, and features work from NYC-based artist and choreographer Katy Pyle alongside UWM Dance faculty. Pyle is an accomplished dancer and the founder of Ballez, a New York City ballet company that restages classical dances to promote LGBTQ+ narratives. Pyle visited UWM in the spring semester to work with our dance students ahead of Springdances. Springdances proved to be a perfect opportunity for Pyle to reset a work they created during the pandemic, which was previously only presented via livestream from an empty theater.

docUWM documentary among the many PSOA connections to Milwaukee Film Festival lineup

Several alums and faculty are screening films this spring as part of the 2025 edition of the Milwaukee Film Festival. The Peck School of the Arts is excited to highlight the incredible work that our filmmakers and artists are bringing to the Milwaukee community. We’ve rounded up some PSOA connections among the festival selections.

Student-run MUFF gives film students experience in the business of the arts

The UWM Department of Film, Video, Animation & New Genres will present the Milwaukee Underground Film Festival (MUFF) this week. One of PSOA’s most popular courses in the film program, MUFF is a student-run film festival devoted to screening independent, artist-driven films. Not only does MUFF provide an opportunity for filmmakers to gain exposure in the Milwaukee film community, but it also offers students experience in the business side of the arts.

Theatre student Josh Thone competes as top ten finalist in national vocal competition in New York City

Theater student and PSOA Arts Ambassador Josh Thone took to the Lincoln Center in New York City to compete in the American Pops Orchestra (APO) NextGen National Vocal Competition Finals. His performance was the culmination of a successful competition period with APO. Out of 250 applicants, Thone was among only ten students selected to perform in the competition in January 2025. The performance took place at the Lincoln Center and was livestreamed to thousands watching online.

Three music students share what excites them most about performing in Mozart opera 

This weekend, the UWM Music Department will present Mozart’s Le Nozze Di Figaro (edited by Ludwig Finscher) at the Zelazo Center’s Bader Hall. With a wide array of student performers and live accompaniment by UWM’s Symphony Orchestra, there is a lot for audiences to be excited about. We caught up with three members of the cast to learn more about what excites them most about performing in this production.

Behind the scenes with assistant directors of “The Ballad of Maria Marten”

The UWM Department of Theatre’s next production, “The Ballad of Maria Marten,” opens this week and was directed by Robin Mello (Professor, Theatre). Elizabeth Riley and Ambrose Schulte, both juniors, served as Assistant Directors. This experience included Mello connecting her student directors with Beth Flintoff, the playwright. Riley and Schulte are aspiring directors who came to PSOA with a love for theatre.

Master’s clarinet student performs Bitsch selection with UWM Symphony

Last month, the UWM Symphony Orchestra performed in the Zelazo Center featuring clarinetist and first year master’s student Mauricio Franco. This concert served as the culmination of Franco’s achievement in the 2024-25 Concerto Competition held at the Peck School. Concerto …

What it takes to create a ‘cavalcade’ of quick changes in “Dames at Sea”

Peck School of the Arts’ next theater production “Dames at Sea,” a pastiche on 1930s musicals, opens this Wednesday. The show is notable for its slew of quick changes that give students an experience that reflects professional theater. Throughout the process of preparing costumes for the show, Jason Orlenko and his long-time collaborator Dana Rochester (Teaching Faculty II & Area Head, Costumes & Stage Makeup), alongside their team of student costumers, have experimented with a variety of quick-change materials, including snaps, zippers, and magnets.

Theatre student takes neurodiversity research to national conference

Elizabeth Lappano, a junior studying Theatre Production, has taken her ongoing research project on equity and inclusion in the arts to great heights. She will present her findings at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) 2025 in Pittsburgh this April. This is the second consecutive year that Lappano’s research was accepted for the conference. Lappano’s project includes research on famous artists detailing their struggles and triumphs with their neurodivergence diagnosis. The project also interviews current students at PSOA who are living with neurodivergence including actors in the upcoming “Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” production, which Lappano’s research is focusing on.

Students take fiber art’s resurgence into a fine art context in current exhibition

The Department of Art & Design is currently hosting Fiber//Form, a two-week-long exhibition of artwork that students have made in fiber courses at PSOA. Fiber art, such as knitting and crocheting, has become increasingly popular recently. However, many are unaware of how fiber art fits into the professional art world. Fiber//Form is a prime example of how PSOA is trying to promote professionally made fiber art.

Art & Design seniors reflect on their work in end of semester exhibitions 

With the Fall semester nearing a close, Art & Design students took one last chance to showcase their most recent work to the campus community. Senior students got to display said work at the DVC Showcase and BA/BFA Exhibition with both events offering a wide array of work born out of thoughtful and diverse creative research.

Music Education student Bridget Koser recognized with Richard G. Gaarder Award

Music Education student, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist Bridget Koser was awarded the Richard G. Gaarder Award at the 2024 Wisconsin Music Educators Association conference in Madison. The achievement recognizes excellence in leadership, musicianship, and service to the music education community. 

New showcase celebrates interactive electronic music 

Students enrolled in Interactive Electronic Music classes will perform their final projects live at the third UW-MESS Interactive Electronic Music Showcase. In its early stages at PSOA, the UW-MESS program helps students fulfill an education focused on their passion for electronic music.