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!

After over a year of alternative activities including virtual shows, remote recording projects, parking garage rehearsals and outdoor concerts at the Annenberg Center Plaza, it is so gratifying to welcome students back to Platt House to practice their arts at safe, in-person gatherings. At the end of August, we hosted over 40 incoming students at Platt House for our annual Pre-Orientation Program, introducing students to the arts at Penn and in Philadelphia. At the end of September, we hosted our four-day long PAC Con (Performing Arts Council Conference), filled with workshops and trainings preparing our students to place health, equity and wellness at the forefront of their plans. We are gearing up to launch After School Arts at Penn, a weekly series through which Penn students mentor local middle schoolers in voice, dance, acting, musical instruments and digital music production. Coming up, we also look forward to each installment of our Career Mentorship talks, as well as a new series in partnership with the Office of Social Equity & Community, devoted to social equity and the arts.

And of course, we cannot wait to snag a seat in the audience and watch our students perform! Per current University guidance, there will be additional safety measures in place, including vaccination, PennOpen Pass screening, masking and contact tracing requirements. We would love to see you there. Check out the upcoming performances:

Week of October 17

• The Mask and Wig Club: Iron Gate Theatre; Oct 20 @ 7 PM, Oct 21 @ 6:30 PM and 8:30 PM, Oct 22 @ 6:30 PM and 8:30 PM and Oct 23 @ 2 PM, 6:30 PM and 8:30 PM
• Without a Net: Houston Hall, Class of 1949 Auditorium; Oct 21, 22 and 23 at 8 PM

Week of October 24

• Bloomers Comedy: Annenberg Center, Harold Prince Theatre; Oct 28 @ 8 PM, Oct 29 @ 6 PM and 9 PM, Oct 30 @ 7:30 PM
• Quadramics Theatre Co. Presents The Haunting of Hill House: Houston Hall, Class of 1949 Auditorium; Oct 28 and 29 @ 8 PM, Oct 30 @ 2 PM
• Onda Latina: Iron Gate Theatre, Oct 29 @ 7 PM, Oct 30 @ 2 PM and 8 PM

Week of October 31

• The Pennsylvania Players Present American Idiot: Annenberg Center, Harold Prince Theatre; Nov 4 @ 7 PM, Nov 5 @ 5 PM, Nov 6 @ 2 PM and 9 PM
• Front Row Theatre Company Presents Lobby Hero: Houston Hall, Class of 1949 Auditorium; Nov 4 and 5 @ 8 PM, Nov 6 @ 6 PM
• The Inspiration: Annenberg Center, Harold Prince Theatre; Nov 5 @ 8 PM, Nov 6 @ 6 PM
• Full Measure: Meyerson B1
• The Penn Glee Club & Penn Dance: Iron Gate Theatre

Be sure to check out the image at the top of this post for the full schedule of Performing Arts Council shows this semester. You can find additional information about each upcoming performance on the University Life calendar.

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.