Skip to main content

Performing Arts

Each season, Cardinal Stritch University presents an eclectic mix of theater and music events featuring the inspired work of its talented students and faculty.

Resources

For additional ticket information or questions, please call (414) 410-4171 or email boxoffice@stritch.edu

Resources

For additional ticket information or questions, please call (414) 410-4171 or email boxoffice@stritch.edu

2022-2023 Season

2021-2022 Season

Build your passion for the performing arts

At Stritch all students can participate in the Performing Arts. Whether or not you choose one of our accessible Majors or Minors to study, you can showcase your talents in theater productions and music performances held year round on campus. You can even fill elective credits and receive scholarship money for your participation. So go ahead and picture yourself on stage, behind the scenes, singing, dancing, designing, playing and flexing your creative muscles.

Attend a Performance

More about the Performing Arts

Buy tickets

Stritch Performing Arts is located in the northwest quadrant of the Cardinal Stritch University campus in the Joan Steele Stein Center for Communication Studies/Fine Arts. Discounts are available for students/seniors and alumni. Call (414) 410-4171 or email the Box Office for more information.
 


Purchase tickets 

*Stritch students can receive free admission to most shows with a valid Stritch ID. There are no pre-sales of free student tickets. To receive your free student ticket, you must pick your ticket up IN PERSON on the day of the performance you wish to attend. Tickets are subject to availability so students are encouraged to arrive early.  Box office is open 1 hour prior to each performance. 
 

Location

Cardinal Stritch University
Joan Steele Stein Center for Communication Studies/Fine Arts
6801 N. Yates Road • Milwaukee WI 53217
Campus Map  |  Driving Directions  

B.A. in Theater

Continue your craft as you prepare for your career. The Theater program at Stritch is specifically designed to be a double major or minor.

The Theater program at Stritch introduces students to the origins and major developments in theater history, dramatic literature, and criticism and theory. Training includes hands-on involvement in a four-show professional-style production season in which students are afforded the opportunity to work in all areas of theater including acting, directing, stage management, dance, voice, stagecraft, costuming, lighting and properties. 
 

"Once Upon a Time" school performances

Our school performances are a great way to introduce children to the magic of theater right in your neighborhood. To book your school for one of our performances, email Jennifer Cespedes at jmcespedes@stritch.edu or call (414) 410-4843.

Productions are geared for students from 5K to 4th grade but contain elements to delight students of any age. Performances range from 50-60 minutes.

 


Tickets

  • Tickets are $6 for students
  • Teachers are free!
  • 1 chaperone ticket for each 15 students is also complimentary
  • ​Additional chaperone tickets can be purchased for $6  
Our tickets are priced as affordably as possible to make theater as accessible as possible to a wide range of audiences while still supporting our programming.  If your school has special financial needs that may require a special arrangement, please contact boxoffice@stritch.edu or call (414) 410-4169 to discuss some of our donor-supported programming.
 
ASL interpreted performances are available for most productions. Check schedule to find out which performance(s) will be supported.
 
All productions take place on the campus of Cardinal Stritch University in Fox Point, WI.


Preparing for your visit

Schools are responsible for securing their own bus transportation on the day of the performance.  Please plan on arriving between 10-15 minutes prior to the performance for entry. Schools that arrive earlier than 15 minutes prior to the performance may not be able to enter the theater immediately, but can line up in our theater lobby.

Buses should plan on entering the Cardinal Stritch University campus on the northeast entrance to campus on Yates Rd. and traveling directly to the front of the Nancy Kendall Theater located in the Joan Steele Stein Center for Communication Studies and Fine Arts.  The northeast entrance is located just north of the 6801 Yates. Rd main entrance to the University (see map).  Busses will be greeted by a “Once Upon a Time” staff member and students will be ushered into the lobby for seating.  School groups will be seated together.
 
After drop off, buses may stage themselves in the back of Parking lot 5 for the short duration of the performance.  Buses should be instructed to line up to pick up students from the front of the Nancy Kendall Theater at 50 minutes past curtain time. 
 
At the end of the performance, students and chaperones should remain seated in the theater.  Schools will be called one by one by the House Manager to exit the theater and be loaded onto their respective buses to return to school.

Any questions? Please email Jennifer Cespedes at jmcespedes@stritch.edu or call (414) 410-4843

Get involved with Stritch theater

Theater at Stritch is available to all students of the University with different levels of commitment.


There are many ways to get involved in theater at Stritch regardless of your experience level or major.
  • The Theater major and minor are custom made to fit in nicely with other degree programs. You can continue your training in theater while pursuing another course of study (or two!).  The sky’s the limit.
  • Course credit is available for involvement in productions and can fulfill some of your general course requirements.
  • THR 208 (Introduction to Acting) and THR160 (Introduction to Backstage) are introductory-level courses designed for students of any major that also count towards the undergraduate core “Aesthetic Values” requirement.
  • Auditions are open to all students of any major. Some shows are competitive while other shows have roles for students who just want to try something new.
  • Crew positions are available for each show. Work backstage and help us bring our productions to life!
  • Apply to work in our Scene Shop, Costume Shop or Box Office. Work-study positions are available if you qualify making this the perfect on-campus job.
For more information on how to get involved in theater at Stritch email us at theater@stritch.edu.

Past productions

The Theater Program at Cardinal Stritch University produces an eclectic season of theatrical productions in our state-of-the art professional style theater complex housed in the Joan Steele Stein Center for Communications and Fine Arts.

Each season consists of a variety of productions including Classics, Contemporary Works and Musicals as well as Theater for Young Audiences offerings. Productions are mounted in the beautiful 400-seat proscenium-style Nancy Kendall MainStage Theater as well as our black box style intimate studio theater. 

Students at Stritch can be involved in all areas of the production process both on stage and behind the scenes. Course credit in Theater Labs is offered for various positions depending on involvement. In addition, Stritch Performing Arts operates a full scale-scene shop and costume shop where students can earn work-study opportunities while assisting in mounting our full-scale season of productions. 


2017 - 2018

Theater Productions for 2017 - 2018:
  • "The Burials" by Caitlin Parrish
  • "Holiday Musical Spectacular" directed by Jeremy Nickolai
  • "The Sleeping Beauty" by Mark Boergers and Dianne Sposito
  • "Tartuffe" by  Molière

2016 - 2017

Theater Productions for 2016 - 2017:
  • "9 Circles" by Bill Cain
  • "Godspell" by Stephen Schwartz and John Michael
  • "Jack and the Beanstalk" directed by Niffer Clarke
  • "The Mousetrap" by Agatha Christie

2015 - 2016

Theater Productions for 2015 - 2016:
  • "A Midsummer Night's Dream" by William Shakespeare
  • "Stop Kiss" by Diana Son
  • "Cinderella" Adaption by Mark Boergers and Dianne Sposito
  • "Little Shop of Horrors" Book and Lyrics by Howard Ashman, Music by Alan Menken

2014 - 2015

Theater Productions for 2014 - 2015:
  • "Steel Magnolias" by Robert Harling
  • "Kindertransport" by Diane Samuels
  • "Toy Camp" by Paul Collette and Gary Fritzen
  • "Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?" by John R. Powers

2011- 2012

Theater Productions for 2014 - 2015:
  • "Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure"
  • "Quiet in the Land"
  • "Charlotte's Web"
  • "Into the Woods"
  • "The Drowsy Chaperone"
  • "Rumpelstiltskin (a musical)"

2009 - 2010

Theater Productions for 2009 - 2010:
  • "The Comedy of Errors"
  • "Magician's Nephew"
  • "Coyote on a Fence"
  • "Urinetown"

2008 - 2009

Theater Productions for 2009 - 2010:
  • "Zombies from the Beyond"
  • "King Arthur's Calamity"
  • "Doubt"
  • "Moliere in Short"

Arts@Stritch

Arts@Stritch is a new performing arts series hosted by Cardinal Stritch University that presents exciting professional performances on the beautiful main campus in Glendale, WI.  Inspired by the University’s rich Liberal Arts tradition, Arts@Stritch provides an opportunity to expand the landscape of exciting performing arts experiences for both the Stritch community, and the greater Milwaukee area as a whole.

Theater Rental

A variety of spaces are available to rent in the Nancy Kendall Theater and its associated spaces to accommodate renters' needs. 

Cardinal Stritch University requires that all events utilizing rented technology and fixtures have qualified staff members at the event to interact with those elements.

Rental packages include...

  • Basic technical support
  • Technical add-on's for an additional charge. 
Renting Kendall Theater

Explore the Campus

View Campus Map