Student Blog: 2026-2027 Performing Arts Events at Catawba College

Things have already kicked off in the 2026-2027 school year, bringing the return of performing arts events on campus! From musicals, plays, concerts, and more, there are so many things to enjoy as an audience member. At Catawba College, we’ve already come back swinging with the events put on so far, and there will be so much more to come as the school year continues.

The season for theatre includes: No Man’s (play by Adison Schwab), September 25–27, 2026; Sweet Charity (musical by Neil Simon and Cy Coleman), October 31–November 1 and November 6–7, 2026; I’m Gonna Marry You, Tobey Maguire (play by Samantha Hurley), January 22–24, 2027; Smash (play by Jeffery Hatcher), February 12–14, 2027; Hurricane Diane (play by Madeleine George), March 19–21, 2027; and The Velveteen Rabbit (musical by James Still and Jimmy Roberts), April 2–4 and April 9–10. There will also be a dance concert April 16–17.

Our first production, No Man’s, was written by alum Adison Schwab, who graduated this past school year. Her play was taken to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland this summer before coming back to campus for a one-weekend run. Going into next semester, two of our three plays are Blue Masque productions. This means they will be directed by students. I’m Gonna Marry You, Tobey Maguire, will be directed by Jovey McFarland, and Hurricane Diane will be directed by Madison Alwran. These theatre arts seniors both presented one-acts last semester for the Directing II course and now have the chance to put on a full production. You should also note that our dance concert is something that has not been done in recent seasons. This opportunity to focus more on the dance of the theatre arts program is really worth celebrating.

We also have an improv troupe that you can support! The “Where Are The Diamonds?” team currently consists of 12 members who all come together to improve our improv skills while having fun. At the start of the semester, we held auditions and gained five new members. Outside of the team’s rehearsals, we also have open rehearsals, pizza and improv, and performances. At open rehearsals, anyone on campus can attend! It’s a great event to come see what we do and have a laugh. For pizza and improv, anyone can attend to eat pizza and watch funny improv videos with us. These two events are more low-key and occur more frequently than performances. You’ll be able to watch clips of us rehearsing and performing on our Instagram and TikTok.

Improv is continuing to collaborate with Senior Company like we did last year at our Halloween performance. Senior Company is a theatrical company on campus run by theatre arts seniors without assistance from faculty or staff. In place of a thesis or internship for graduation requirements, this group of three students are putting on a production of Nunsense by Dan Goggin in partnership with Piedmont Players Theatre. They've been fundraising by selling baked goods. You can support these graduating students by directly donating to help them put on the show. There will be performances November 20–22, 2026.

There are also many music ensembles to support! The Catawba Singers recently performed at St. John's Lutheran Church, and I got to attend this concert. They are currently amping up for the very popular event Lessons & Carols. Each year, there is a service held for the holidays with plenty of festive music to listen to. You can also support all of the instrumentalists by going to football games or ensemble concerts. The wind ensemble recently had a concert on September 18th titled Searching for Nostalgia. On top of that, the popular music program also has different events to check out. Through the artist development programs, you can listen to students perform their songs in concert. There is also Vernaculars, where you can watch different music groups of multiple genres perform what they’ve been working on at the end of each semester.

You can keep up with the events to attend both on Catawba’s website and through different social media pages. These include the theatre arts department, blue masque, improv, senior company, music department, and bands. I can't wait to participate in or watch all there is to come!