News & stories across the arts

Organized by USM’s Department of Political Science, the 2025 session of the Maine Model United Nations Conference drew 435 students from 26 high schools.

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The first public performance of the alma mater is scheduled to take place at USM’s 145th Commencement on May 10 in Portland.

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Three years after her arrival on campus from her hometown of Bradley, Weston, now 21, is graduating with majors in both Political Science and Economics. And she plans to attend law school in the fall.

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On Saturday, May 10, she’ll graduate from the University of Southern Maine with a bachelor’s degree in Social and Behavioral Sciences, a GPA that hovers between 3.8 and 4.0, and plans to start her master’s degree in Social Work.

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The cast was serious about the music in ‘Die Fledermaus’ while also leaving room in their performances for comic improvisation.

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The relationship between aspiring writer Jo March and her sisters is the emotional crux of both the play and the book upon which it was based.

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Terrance Hayes is the author of several poetry collections including “Lighthead,” which won the 2010 National Book Award.

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Now that Frances Perkins’ home is a national monument, the people who made it happen spoke to the campus community about their ongoing efforts to build awareness of Perkins’ legacy.

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Both the play and the famous Hitchcock movie draw from a common source, but each adaptation takes the story in a very different direction.

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The third meeting of USM Reads focused on Percival Everett’s novel “James,” which recontextualizes “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain.

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“Life Forms: Grow” is on display at the USM Art Gallery until February 15.

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Tina Davis is playing pianos from the time of Mozart and Beethoven to better understand the how the instrument and music evolved together.

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Biology professor Christine Maher arranged for her colleagues in BirdSafe Maine to tour the new center for the arts.

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Performers in a new campus production of Puccini’s classic comic opera sang their roles in Italian while a screen above the stage provided the audience with English surtitles.

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The Theatre Department’s latest production uses ‘The Crucible’ as a springboard for discussion about the intersection of such issues as sex, power, control, and consent.

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The cast of “The Wizard of Oz” radio play dressed up as their characters to entertain guests at a listening party for the premiere broadcast.

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As the latest speaker in the Louden Family Lecture Series, Dr. William Paris from the University of Toronto delivered a presentation titled “The Antinomies of Self-Emancipation.”

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The cast will host an in-person listening party in tandem with the show’s debut on campus radio station WMPG.

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About 150 guests settled into the grass in front of Corthell Hall to hear the Osher Wind Ensemble play a selection of nostalgic favorites.

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The Portland Players stoked excitement for its upcoming production of “Legally Blonde: The Musical” with a promotional photo shoot at Glickman Library.

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Nineteenth century students may have looked more serious in their waistcoats and bodices, but their private notes prove them to be just as silly and mischievous as their modern counterparts.

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“The Prom,” “Funny Girl,” and “Aida” were just a few of the many theatrical offerings that featured USM students during their summer break from classes.

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Made from salvaged fishing rope and netting, the sculpture TANGLE celebrates environmentalism and Maine’s maritime history.

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Can’t decide on a book to bring to the beach? The faculty and staff at the University of Southern Maine have some ideas for you.

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The same equipment once used by a famous voice actor is now helping students learn how to create podcasts, audio books, and more.

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Students observed Ryan Adams for months as he planned and painted a mural in Westbrook.

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The University of Southern Maine would like to congratulate the astonishing number of students named to the Fall 2024 Dean’s List.

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Opening night of “The Prom” at USM marked the first time the show had ever been staged in Maine.

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A composer’s connection to Lewiston gave the audience at the Franco Center an added investment in the music that Malinda Haslett sang for them.

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The Theatre Department chose “The War of the Worlds” as its first radio play to be produced at the University’s new recording studio.

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University leaders, arts faculty and students, and founding donors were joined by Consigli Construction Co., Inc. and other members of the project design/build team to mark a major milestone in the evolution of a building project when the last structural beam is put in place.

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“I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change” finds humor in dating jitters, marriage doldrums, and everything in between.

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The Osher School of Music brought its annual scholarship gala back to campus after three years at venues outside the University of Southern Maine.

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“Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind” challenges its cast of first-year students to perform scenes from 30 plays in 60 minutes.

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As the inaugural presenter in the Louden Family Lecture Series, Dr. Martin Hägglund explained what it means for humans to be “rational animals” and the responsibilities inherent to that status.

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Shakespeare’s famous stage direction “Exit, pursued by a bear” gets a fresh interpretation in a new production of “The Winter’s Tale.”

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Themes of history, community, and family feature prominently in the writing of the 22nd O’Brien Poetry Event Honoree, Maurice Manning.

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The new building on USM’s Portland campus will be named The Crewe Center for the Arts

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The mural painted by Marissa Joly occupies a prominent wall in the new McGoldrick Center for Career and Student Success.

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Megan Marino’s visit to the University of Southern Maine was big in the operatic sense with big spectacle, big emotions, and of course, big voices.

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As part of the team that shepherded a revival of an opera about Malcolm X, USM’s Alexandra Dietrich earned an invitation to the Grammy Awards.

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Veronica Perez made sculptures from braided hair that she gathered at campus events over the course of a months-long residency.

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The University of Southern Maine will celebrate its 143rd Commencement on Saturday, May 6th with nearly 1,000 graduates scheduled to participate. The event, scheduled for 9 a.m. at the Cross Insurance Arena in Portland, will feature comments from University President Jacqueline Edmondson, student speaker Nadine Bravo, and featured speaker Neil Genzlinger ‘77, a New York Times journalist and USM alumnus.

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An ancient Greek myth is reimagined for a modern audience by giving equal attention to Eurydice’s emotional journey as Orpheus’ more traditional heroics.

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Sold-out shows deliver a storybook ending for “Into the Woods,” a joint production of the Theatre Department and the Osher School of Music.

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The Osher School of Music at the University of Southern Maine, in collaboration with the Portland Symphony Orchestra, will present a master class with PSO Music Director Eckart Preu, featuring graduate students in choral, wind, and orchestral conducting. 

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Associate Professor of Art, Hannah Barnes, in 2-person exhibition at USC’s McMaster Gallery, Columbia, South Carolina.

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The University of Southern Maine (USM) Foundation announced that actor and USM alum Tony Shalhoub ’77, has been named honorary chair of the USM Center for the Arts campaign.

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Osher School of Music student Mesa Schubeck, from Blue Hill, Maine, will perform the Piano Concerto in A Minor by Edvard Grieg with the Midcoast Symphony Orchestra on Jan. 14 and 15 at the Franco Center in Lewiston and at the Orion Performing Arts Center in Topsham.

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Newsweek Magazine recently interviewed Communications Professor Leonard Shedletsky about his decades-long effort to better understand that voice in your head.

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The Osher School of Music’s annual scholarship gala signaled its emotional return from a years-long hiatus by starting the show with the operatic intensity of “Don Giovanni.”

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A nuclear disaster plays out on the Russell Hall stage and survivors try to laugh their way out of despair by quoting “The Simpsons.”

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Before you bust a gut on your turkey dinner, the Theatre Department wants you to bust a gut at its Thanksgiving-themed first show of the season.

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To the University of Southern Maine’s choral students, the real gift of performing on one of the world’s storied stages, Carnegie Hall, is perspective.

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USM’s Ed Reichert was 20 years ahead of the Tony Awards in recognizing Robyn Hurder’s star quality.

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You’ve played the game, you’ve seen the movie, and now the Theatre Department invites you to experience “Clue: On Stage.”

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Neither a pandemic nor a broken wrist could stop violist Kimberly Lehmann from delivering her salute to women composers.

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“Urinetown” mixes social commentary with potty humor in the first musical to hit the stage at USM in two years.

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For anyone who’s ever dreamed of following Dorothy over the rainbow or flying to Never Never Land with Peter Pan, an exhibition at the Osher Map Library points the way.

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Dragons, ogres and a gelatinous blob named Miles come to life on stage in a grieving teenager’s quest to face her inner demons in the play “She Kills Monsters.”

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Rather than trying to explain all that a Dance minor has to offer, instructors led prospective students to the dance floor for a demonstration as part of an open house event.

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The joy of being accepted into a community with a shared history was a common theme in the music performed at a concert showcasing LGBTQIA+ voices.

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After going more than a year without live performance due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Theatre Department begins the 2021-2022 season with a traveling show to reconnect with the community.

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The program for Celebrating Diversity: Hispanic Heritage Month featured 10 pieces, each chosen by the performers as a personal expression of their cultural identity.

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On August 13, 2021, John Muthyala, Professor of English, gave a lecture on “Digital Humanities: Writing and Designing Across the Curriculum” for the online Refresher Program organized by the Department of English Language Studies, University of Hyderabad (UoH), India.

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Vice Admiral Michael Dumont and Rear Admiral Margaret Deluca Klein are two examples of the many USM graduates who went on to successful careers in military leadership.

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After three-and-a-half years of working in the frozen and remote wilderness of Alaska — operating a camera for the BBC TV show “Life Below Zero” — USM alumnus David Lovejoy ’10 is enjoying some career heat.

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