Seven BYU playwrights worked tirelessly for weeks to create a performance that included seven, 7 minute plays in what came to be known as the Microburst Theatre Festival. Under the direction of George Nelson, an associate professor in the Department of Theatre and Media Arts (TMA), the group acquired five actors to play all the roles. The show went on to receive three prestigious awards at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF). Student playwriting achievements have been celebrated at KCACTF throughout the nation for over 40 years. These BYU playwrights put in weeks of work, and the stories they told have been received with near universal acclaim. According to Nelson, these playwrights all have one thing in common. “This is the writing of my very beginning playwriting students,” Nelson said in regard to the KCACTF awards. “I’m really kind of flabbergasted.” The plays, written by Taryn Politis, Amy McGreeby, Katie Jarvis, Amberly Lourde, Amanda Welch, Chelsea Hickman and Chauntel Lopez, tackle the topic of love in comical and touching ways, exploring its unpredictable and sometimes awkward development. Students won the Distinguished Production of New Work Award and a Performance Award for Distinguished Achievement. Nelson was recognized at KTCACTF as well, receiving the Distinguished Direction of a New Work Award. Wade Hollingshaus, a fellow TMA faculty member, received the Excellence in Theatre Education Award at the festival as well. Hollingshaus mentioned that his coworkers help make these recognitions possible. “I love working in TMA. The TMA faculty–we have great relationships, we have great respect for each other,” Hollinghaus said. “I want to continue to work in this environment, and to make sure to do my part so the environment stays the way that it is.” Nelson said that playwriting is most rewarding when writers get an opportunity to see their work performed, receive feedback on it and rewrite the script. This pattern has proven to be successful with BYU’s popular sketch comedy group, Divine Comedy, which Nelson advises. He decided to try this rigorous system with these new playwrights. “This was our first attempt to do that, and to get this kind of a reaction–it’s remarkable,” Nelson said happily. “If BYU is to distinguish itself from other universities that exist in the world, the greatest opportunity we have to do that is in writing. If we get good at it, then we can change the landscape of the theatrical world.” Nelson noted that while modern views of love take on a variety of perspectives, the Microburst Theatre Festival attempts to show the truth about love without being crude or vulgar. “We don’t have to reflect the voice of the world,” he said.

In 1928, two-dozen women attending BYU stood on the banks of the Provo River. Together, they carefully choreographed for their interpretive dance class as the photographer, William Done, scrupulously captured their movements.

The BYU Museum of Art (MOA) recently released the video presentations of the March symposium, Sacred Gifts: The Religious Art of Carl Bloch, Heinrich Hofmann and Frans Schwartz. The daylong conference presented prominent speakers such as Rasmus Nojgaard, Associate Professor of the Seminary of Pastoral Theology and Inge-Lise Sigsgard, deputy chairman of the Church Council in Europe. “This exhibition represents many sacred gifts shared for our enlightenment, our enjoyment, our edification,” said Dawn Physey, head curator at the BYU Museum of Art. Marcus Smith, anchor for Thinking Aloud on Classical 89 also interviewed a few speakers of the symposium including Karin Kristensen, pastor of the Norresundby Kirke Church; SÁ¸ren Mentz from the Frederiksborg National History Museum in Denmark and Angela Swanson Jones of the Courtauld Institute of Art in London. To listen to the interviews, click here.

BYU art education students, advised by faculty mentors, enter the classrooms of elementary teachers across Utah to better integrate arts with public schools’ core curriculum.

Museum of Art director Mark Magleby speaks about exhibit at devotional

The BRAVO! series’ upcoming season will feature a Tony Award-nominated actress, a world-renowned English a capella group, two dancing jugglers from France, and the Royal Ballet of Cambodia. These world-class artists will sing, dance, perform and instruct students and attendees.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recently announced the 2014 list of Student Academy Award finalists, and on that list is BYU animation project “Owned.”

Come support Art History and Curatorial Studies professor and Museum director Mark Magleby tomorrow during his BYU devotional address!

Brigham Young University's Ballroom Dance Company has dazzled Beijing with their latest showcase 'Capture the Magic'. Champions of the prestigious Blackpool Dance Festival, the team has astounded audiences worldwide with their precision, beauty and skill. During last year's Meet in Beijing arts festival, the Tsinghua University embraced Brigham Young University's Young Ambassadors and their energetic musical. Now at this very same place, another star of the BYU, the Ballroom Dance Company is ready to kick off its world champion showcase 'Capture the Magic'. Championship formation, breath-taking lifts and spins, no one does it better than the Ballroom Dance Company. The troupe has been touring and performing in China since the 1980s, but for most audiences here, the troupe's most recognizable moment came ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. The troupe will continue touring in various locations, including Jinan, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hong Kong. So make sure to plan ahead to capture the magic. Read more at CCTV >>>>

Having already amazed thousands of concertgoers, Rebecca Pedersen impressed judges in this weekend’s win at the Licia-Albanese Puccini Vocal Competition in New York City.

Taking the world by storm, the Ballroom Dance Company, Young Ambassadors and BYU Singers kicked off their respective tours this week. Read on for updates on their progress:

The leader in off-campus partnerships at BYU, the Laycock Center for Creative Collaboration has recently united with the Utah Highway Safety (UHS) office and Megaplex Theatres to inform the public of the dangers of drunk driving.