Welcome to the vibrant world of student performing arts at Penn! Our campus is home to more than 80 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 and Iron Gate Theatre, 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!

Our students recognize the responsibility of being part of an institution that exists in a wider community. To that end, several students and student groups participate in civic engagement and community service opportunities. On Wednesdays throughout the academic year, Platt House is home to our Jonathan Z. Cohen & Julia Bennett Pershan After School Arts at Penn Program. Children aged 10-14 from the greater Philadelphia area visit our space, and Penn students mentor them in singing, dancing, theatre, musical instruments, creative writing, and crafts. These lessons culminate in a showcase in April where the children can proudly display all they have learned. Some of our groups also take their lessons into local schools, playing theatre games, teaching music, and more. And other groups bring the talents of their voices to medical centers or organize letter writing campaigns or fundraisers for causes they support. Their engagement inspires us. 

And this outreach flows into their performances! Any student group that produces a show is welcome to participate in the Platt House Community Ticketing Program. Student groups donate free tickets to their performances, and these tickets are shared with community partner organizations around the city as well as first-generation and lower-income students, and any student who finds it difficult to afford tickets to the amazing shows put on by their peers. 

Check out the upcoming performances below:

Week of October 13

• The Mask and Wig Club: Iron Gate Theatre; Oct 16 @ 7:30 PM, Oct 17 @ 6 PM and 8:30 PM, Oct 18 @ 6 PM and 8:30 PM, and Oct 19 @ 2 PM and 6:30 PM
• Bloomers Comedy: Annenberg Center, Prince Theatre; Oct 17 @ 8 PM, Oct 18 @ 6 PM and 9 PM, and Oct 19 @ 6 PM and 9 PM

Week of October 20

• Counterparts: Iron Gate Theatre; Oct 25 @ 8:30 PM, Oct 26 @ 6 PM
• Family Performing Arts Night: Irvine Auditorium; Oct 26 @ 6:30 PM

Be sure to check out the image at the top of this post for the full schedule of student performing arts shows this semester. You can find additional information about each upcoming performance on the University Life calendar. This calendar is updated weekly as the dates and times of student performances are finalized. 

This article was written by a team of guest contributors from Penn’s Platt Student Performing Arts House: Laurie McCall, Director; Megan Edelman, Associate Director; and Sara Outing, Program Coordinator. Learn more about Platt House.