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Carnegie Mellon University Presents the 10th Annual 'Playground: A Festival of Independent Student Work, 3/28-3/30

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Entering its tenth year, this annual School of Drama performance festival showcases independent, student-produced work across all disciplines.

Playground provides a unique opportunity for School of Drama students to innovate, collaborate, and produce original new work. Actors, directors, designers, technicians, managers, dramaturges and playwrights interact over the course of one week to produce original works varying in length from 15 to 45 minutes. Students are encouraged to extend their creative horizons by interacting with peers from other disciplines within the School of Drama as well as with students from other units within the University.

Devised works include theatre, dance, and musical performances, as well as mixed media projects, films, installations, puppetry, murals, song cycles, and light shows. The festival's performance schedule encourages audiences to attend multiple shows over the three-day festival.

A number of pieces performed at Playground have gone on to be produced throughout the United States. The PigPen Theater Company (formed by students during their freshmen year) won "Best of the Fest" for the past two consecutive years at the New York International Fringe Festival. PigPen has released their first CD, "Bremen," and will be performing their first off-Broadway run from September 26 through November 25.

For more information visit http://www.drama.cmu.edu/156

Theater Fans' Choice Awards
2026 Theater Fans' Choice Awards - Live Stats
Best Lead Performer in a Musical - Top 3
1. LJ Benet - The Lost Boys, A New Musical
25.4% of votes
2. Joshua Henry - Ragtime
13.9% of votes
3. Sam Tutty - Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)
11.9% of votes

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