Arts & Culture

Kent State Today
"Black Is" banner project.

Black United Students invited students to express their thoughts on "What is Black to You?" by adding their words and a handprint to a banner.

School of Theatre and Dance 2024 "Rent"

“525,600 minutes - how do you measure, measure a year?” These lyrics will fill the E. Turner Stump Theatre this weekend as the run of “Rent” finishes up on Sun, Feb. 25.  Amy Fritsche, associate professor of acting and musical theater and director of “Rent” for Kent State, walked alongside students performing in the show from start to finish to ensure their first performance of the Spring semester was a hit.  

Technical rehearsal of "Rent."

An associate professor working on the School of Theatre and Dance provided a behind-the-scenes look at the school's current production of "Rent."

Banner for Oscar Ritchie Story

A key figure in Kent State's Black History, Oscar Ritchie continues to inspire generations of students and educators.

student film posters

Short films from two Kent State digital media production students and three alumni will be shown this year at the 13th annual Short. Sweet. Film Fest., which takes place Feb. 28-March 3 at Atlas Cinemas Shaker in Cleveland, Ohio. Digital Media Production Associate Professor Scott Hallgren also will moderate a panel discussion at the event.

Alumni panelists speak at Leveraging Second Language Skills in the Professional World

The “Leveraging Second Language Skills in the Professional World" panel discussion during I Heart Travel Week reinforced how students can use a second language to propel themselves into and throughout the professional world.  

Gina DeSantis in her Lakewood Studio

DeSantis, a 2006 graduate of Kent State University, and her team work out of an old automobile factory in Lakewood, Ohio. As lead designer, all work is designed and thrown by DeSantis herself. No small feat when you consider that her work has been featured in Uncommon Goods, Anthropologie, McGee & Co. and the Sundance catalog, in addition to 400 retailers across the country. So, when Medium reached out as part of their series “Five Things You Need To Be a Highly Effective Leader During Turbulent Times,” DeSantis had plenty to share.

Kent State Today
Rent

Kent State University’s School of Theatre and Dance is continuing its 2023-2024 season with "Rent" which started its run February 16 and goes through Feb. 25 in E. Turner Stump Theatre, located in the Center for Performing Arts.

A scene from "Rent" at the E. Turner Stump Theatre

Kent State's production of "Rent" runs from Feb. 16-25 at the E. Turner Stump Theatre.

Students and faculty putting together photo exhibit

Two Media and Journalism students and Associate Professor David Foster are bringing a fresh perspective to a late 1960s photo collection focused on Black student life at Kent State University.  Lafayette Tolliver, a 1971 alumnus who pursued a degree in photojournalism, was an active photographer for Black student organizations during his university years. In 2014, he generously donated more than a thousand photographs to Kent State.