Penn Live Arts Blog / October 2021

West Philly (is very) Welcome

Posted October 26, 2021

Founded over a decade ago in 2010, our West Philly Rush program has reached so many of our neighbors, offering steeply discounted tickets to enjoy amazing live performance experiences. We’ve truly loved making these connections, especially seeing some of the same beautiful faces returning time and again.

Originally a day-of rush with limited ticket availability, the program has evolved over the years but this summer, we were excited to reimagine this outreach and our approach. We wanted to create broader and easier access, ensuring everyone is able to attend and feels welcome in our theatres. So, West Philly Rush was renamed and restructured into our new West Philly Welcome program. Read more...

Student Performing Arts Groups Take Center Stage


Welcome to the vibrant world of student performing arts at Penn! Our campus is home to more than 60 extracurricular student performing arts groups, practicing disciplines from a cappella to dance, theatre to spoken word, music to comedy, and stage tech to design. Platt Student Performing Arts House is the advisory hub for extracurricular student performing arts on campus, providing students with the resources to train, collaborate, rehearse, fundraise and realize their artistic values on stage. These student performances come to life across campus, many within the Annenberg Center walls, supported by Penn Live Arts at the box office, in the tech booth, and throughout the performance process. We are grateful to Penn Live Arts for this partnership! Read more...

5 Questions with Christopher Gruits

Posted October 12, 2021

Our 5 Questions series takes us behind the scenes with artists and other personalities in the Penn Live Arts space. You may already know our Executive & Artistic Director Christopher Gruits, who appears onstage in person or virtually before shows, welcoming you and giving some insights into what you'll be seeing. Now, we turn the lens around and share about what Chris is thinking as we begin our 50th anniversary celebration. Plus, learn about some intriguing aspects of his life that you might not have guessed.

1. What does the new identity, Penn Live Arts, signify, both now and for the future?
Penn Live Arts really reflects where we are at this point in time. It honors our roots as a Penn institution, connecting us more closely to the University community. At the same time, it symbolizes our increasingly expanded programming outside the walls of the Annenberg Center. And, at its most basic, it reflects our commitment to live performance. Read more...