Original five-minute plays—written, directed, and performed by Wheaton students—are showcased in our biannual festival.
A concert celebrating the rich and varied tapestry of American music, including classical, jazz, ragtime, hip-hop, and more. Featuring music by Charles Ives, Aaron Copland, Scott Joplin, Florence Price, George Gershwin, Lin-Manuel Miranda, a world-premiere by Kyle Ducharme ’28, and solo performances by Ben Lyon ’26, Zach Rakotomaniraka ’27, and Carolyn Stevenson ’28. The Great Woods Symphony Orchestra performs under the direction of Professor Delvyn Case.
Pay-what-you-can tickets are available via the Watson Box Office
The ensemble performs under the direction of Artistic Director Andrea Taylor-Blenis.
Pay-what-you-can tickets may be purchased via the Watson Box Office.
Seniors graduating with a major in Creative Writing and Literature read from their original work. Students will present readings over two evenings April 14 & 21, 2026.
written by Peter Shaffer
directed by John O’Meara
Amadeus, produced by the Kresge Theatre Company, tells a compelling story of intrigue, deceit, and obsession. Salieri, a successful composer in the court of the Austrian Emperor Joseph must reckon with his faith, passion, and personal identity when he is confronted by the young Wolfgang Mozart, a genius composer who puts his life’s work to shame with ease.
Tickets can be purchased via the Watson Box Office.
“Amadeus” is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. www.concordtheatricals.com
Kate Colby reads from her work including Paradoxx, her new collection of essays. “In Paradoxx, Colby applies her humor and exacting intelligence to teasing out tangles in relationships between memory, signification, and human perception. A one-hundred-day chronicle of a dark period in the author’s life, this tightly-wound lyric essay is also a memoir of growing up in the late 20th century and stumbling into the 21st.” (Essay Press) Colby was a founding board member of the Gloucester Writers Center in Massachusetts, where she now serves on the advisory board. She grew up in Massachusetts and currently lives in Providence, where she teaches at UPenn.
The Wheaton College Friends of Art proudly present the 18th Annual Mary L. Heuser Lecture in Art History featuring Camran Mani. Throughout his artistic career, Henri Matisse tried to be the teacher he had never had as an unhappy art student in late 19th-century Paris. In his talk, Camran Mani will explore the evolution of ideas about how to educate young people for careers in art by looking at a few of Matisse’s experimental teaching efforts from 1908-1948, including the art academy he briefly operated in Paris, his mural for an educational foundation in Pennsylvania, and the book Jazz.
Eleven longer form plays—written, directed and performed by Wheaton students—are showcased in our annual festival. The festival runs over two days with two seatings each day, each seating showcases a different set of plays.
Free or pay-what-you-can tickets are available through the Watson Box Office.
Schiff will read from her most recent book, Information Desk: An Epic (2023) which is situated at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where she worked at the information desk in her young adulthood. “Nearly 30 years later, Schiff transformed her experiences into an epic poem, expertly weaving its collections of visual art and connections to the world into her life’s journey, material world and imagination.” (Sara Patterson, UChicago News) Robyn’s previous books include A Woman of Property (2016), Revolver (2008) and Worth (2002). She is currently a professor in the Department of English Language and Literature and the Director of the Program in Creative Writing at the University of Chicago.
It’s part European holiday market, part arts exhibition and concert, and all fun.
Celebrate the winter season at the college’s annual Winterfest, featuring an indoor community craft fair, illuminated ice sculptures, food vendors; sweet treats, photo ops and more. (Note: The craft fair in Emerson Dining will open at 2 p.m.)
The event will culminate with the Holiday Vespers Concert in Cole Memorial Chapel at 7 p.m. Wheaton’s long-standing choral tradition for the holidays celebrates music of varied cultures and time periods, and features the Wheaton Chorale and Chamber Singers under the direction of Assistant Professor Alexandra Lutkevich.
As part of the celebration, the college will collect non-perishable food items, for the Wheaton Food Pantry. Each item will donated entitles the donor to 1 ticket for the craft fair giveaway featuring items donated by our vendors. Donated items will be accepted at the Craft Fair in Emerson Dining.
Non-perishable food items will also be collected at Vespers in support of the Norton Cupboard of Kindness.
This event is open to Wheaton students, faculty and staff and their families, and Norton residents. Parking for visitors will be available at Lot #2 on East Main Street (see campus map).
The celebration is sponsored by Arts at Wheaton and the Office of the President.