A Seat for Bob: Honoring the Legacy of Robert “Bob” Blake, C’72
The performing arts are about more than what happens on stage. They are about the communities that form around creativity, collaboration and shared experience. Recently, that spirit has been reflected in a special tribute campaign honoring Robert “Bob” Blake, C’72.
The tribute began with a heartfelt idea from Bob’s friends — Doris Cochran-Fikes, CW’72, and Denis Elton Cochran-Fikes, C’74, WG’79 — who wanted to find a meaningful way to celebrate his life and the impact he had on so many people. Read more...
Summer Internships in Philadelphia
Our
Arts & Entertainment Career Connections program and
CURF’s Summer Humanities Internship Program are two campus resources that provide paid summer internship opportunities in the arts, culture and entertainment fields to Penn students. Many internships are in Los Angeles, New York or other entertainment meccas, but some students chose to stay local in Philadelphia. I talked over Zoom with four students who received support from these programs to learn more about their experiences.
Read more...The Evocative Compagnie Virginie Brunelle Makes its Philadelphia Debut with Fables
Dance Penn Live Arts Debuts Philadelphia Debuts U.S. Premiere
Our dance audiences have often been wowed by the passionate, ingenious performances by some of Montréal’s most celebrated companies such as Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, Ballets Jazz Montréal, Compagnie Marie Chouinard and RUBBERBAND. Compagnie Virginie Brunelle, founded in 2009, is also part of Montréal’s rich dance legacy known worldwide for producing original and innovative artists.
Read more...Happy holidays
Holiday
Happy holidays from all of us at Penn Live Arts. Wishing you peace and joy this holiday season and throughout the New Year.
Fall 2025 Highlights
Accelerator Program America Unfinished Dance Jazz ListenHear Music Penn Live Arts Commission Philadelphia Premieres Theatre World Premieres
Thank you for joining us for a wonderful start to our 25/26 season: America Unfinished. As we head into the new year, we’d like to take a moment to reflect on some of the highlights from the past few months. Between outstanding artists making their Philadelphia debut, new works taking the stage, impactful engagement with audiences and construction progress on our new venues, it’s already been such a rewarding season. Read more...
The New Platt Student Performing Arts Center: Meeting the Demand for Creativity and Community
The opening of our
Platt Student Performing Arts Center represents a significant advancement for the University of Pennsylvania and the cultural landscape of Philadelphia. As one of the first theatres constructed in the city in more than a decade, and the first new venue at Penn in over fifty years, the Platt Center is a direct response to the university’s longstanding need for dedicated performing arts spaces. For years, the demand for performance and rehearsal venues has far exceeded available resources, reflecting the remarkable growth and passion within Penn’s student arts community.
Read more...MOMIX returns with Alice, a feast for the eyes and ears
Dance
Expect the unexpected when MOMIX returns to Penn Live Arts with its triumphant touring production
Alice, Dec 12-14. Adored by millions across 55 countries and a Philadelphia favorite, MOMIX enchants us with its magical performances filled with stunning imagery, eye-popping visuals, outrageous props and costumes, riveting music and over-the-top content performed by Olympian-caliber dancer-illusionists.
Read more...Announcing the Platt Student Performing Arts Center
A landmark gift from Julie Beren Platt and Marc E. Platt will name our Platt Student Performing Arts Center. Both graduates of Penn, Julie serves on our Board of Advisors while Marc is a member of our Director’s Advisory Council. Thanks to the Platts’ generous support, the Center will meet a critical need in performance and rehearsal space for students on campus and offer us additional venues to present more of the music, theatre and dance artists you love. We can’t wait to welcome you into these new spaces.
Read more...Trust, Care, Creativity, and Confidence: Takeaways from Summer 2025 Internships
Most Penn students eye summer internships from the moment they step on campus. These early professional experiences can help students enter a specific industry, get to know a new city, find out what people
really do all day and make essential connections for after graduation.
But internships also play a pivotal role in students’ education. Five interns supported this past summer by our Arts & Entertainment Career Connections program found that their internships introduced them to new applications of their studies, spurred them to deepen creative practices, taught them new skills and sharpened their focus and confidence as they imagined their futures. Read more...
Don’t Be Afraid to Pivot: An Interview with Evan Golinsky
Evan Golinsky (SAS ’24) doesn’t see a contradiction between having a detailed plan and being ready to make enormous changes at the drop of a hat. That’s just the entertainment business, as he’s learned between courses at Penn and a junior year internship at the Creative Artists Agency (CAA), supported by Penn Live Arts and Platt Student Performing Arts House. Golinsky’s drive to succeed in an unpredictable, energetic industry is matched by his passion for helping clear a path for other students excited about storytelling and making big projects come to life.
Read more...
