UCM Theatre and Dance Announces Inaugural Fringe Festival

 

The University of Central Missouri (UCM) Division of Theatre and Dance will premiere the inaugural UCM Fringe Festival on Oct. 30-Nov. 2 at various locations across campus. 

Tickets are free for UCM students, military members, veterans and military families with a valid ID at the door. All other tickets are $5. Each day, there will be a variety of shows, including original plays, dance, film, stand-up comedy, improv, aerial arts and more. Each performance is different from the last, so audiences are encouraged to return and attend multiple performances.

As a special highlight, the UCM Fringe Festival will feature guest alumni. Callie Ott, ‘11, and Alex McCale, ‘12, will travel from Los Angeles to perform one-woman shows, and additional alumni will perform in an Alumni Cabaret, reprising songs from past UCM theatre productions and featuring new songs. A social for alumni and Theatre and Dance Foundation members will be at 5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 1, at Heroes Restaurant and Pub. 

The Fringe Festival kicks off at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 30, with a night of original dance and film choreographed, directed and performed by UCM faculty and students in the Highlander Theatre. 

The Fringe continues on Friday, Oct. 31, with an aerial arts performance and Shenanigans Improv & Sketch Comedy Team show at 5 p.m. at the UCM Ampitheater. At 7:30 p.m., Central Missouri Playwrights will host a night of staged readings written and performed by UCM students in the Nickerson Black Box Theater.

On Saturday, Nov. 1, Ott’s one-woman musical, “Dear Jeff,” will be performed at 2 p.m., followed by an audience talkback with her at 3 p.m. in the Nickerson Black Box. Alumni performances continue into the evening with McCale’s stand-up comedy routine, “Trust No One,” at 7 p.m., followed by the Alumni Cabaret at 8 p.m., both in the Highlander Theatre. 

Wrapping up the Fringe Festival on Sunday, Nov. 2, at 2 p.m. in the UCM Alumni Chapel is a newly devised work, “Conference,” written by Jake Collins and student actors, followed by “The Confessions,” written by Roger Coleman. Sunday performances continue with “Pitch Please: Duets, Divas, and Showstoppers” Cabaret and The Moon Men: Live in Concert at 5 p.m. in the Elliott Student Union Auditorium. The final performances of the Fringe Festival will be “The Nomads” by Daniel Aubun and “Lovers and Lies” by Blake Jaycox at 7:30 p.m. in the Nickerson Black Box. 

 

“It is so exciting to be able to share and celebrate original creative work by our students and faculty in so many varied artistic mediums in our first-ever Fringe Festival,” said Artistic Director Ashley Miller-Scully, chair of the Division of Theatre and Dance. “There is something for everyone, and we hope audiences will return for each show, as all of them are unique, special, and completely different from one another. We are particularly excited to welcome back so many of our talented alumni on Nov. 1 for their featured performances and for our current students to be inspired to follow in their footsteps while also discovering how they will forge their own path in the arts.”

The production and creative team for the Fringe Festival includes Artistic Director Ashley Miller-Scully; Production Manager Kaia Trujillo; production assistants Caleb D’Amico, Alex DeMint, Chase Dernier and Reagan Medlock; Faculty Design and Technical Advisors Aleksandra Combs, Cassie Kay Hoppas and Spencer Musser; choreographers Maggie Gagnon, Abi Hubbard, Reagan Medlock, Raegan Weber and Allison Whitbey; film producers Spencer Musser, Mark von Schlemmer and Wyatt Zirkle; composer Aleksandra Combs; musicians The Moon Men Band; directors Daniel Aubun, Dawson Black, Jake Collins, Claire Groos, Blake Jaycox, Madison Keep, Jesse Moore, Audrey Shepard, Trae Selemaea, Kaia Trujillo and Cami Wieberg; and playwrights Daniel Aubun, Roger Coleman, Jake Collins, Blake Jaycox, Payton Lawrence, Spencer Musser, John Plasencio, Raegan Weber and Cami Wieberg. 

Student and faculty performers include Kelley Akers, Dawson Black, Taleah Brown, Ayden Christensen, Casey Clark, Jake Collins, Aleksandra Combs, Bobby Covington, Nathalia Cordero, Mason Enright, Anna Fletcher, Maggie Gagnon, Claire Groos, Abi Hubbard, Blake Jaycox, Finn Juliano, Cal Klaus, Lily Lauritson, Reagan Medlock, Lizzy Molina, Jesse Moore, Frankie Nelson, John Plasencio, Mayeli Rodriguez, Damian Schaffnit, Delaney Schinzel, Ty Schroeder, Audrey Shepard, Lola Simmons, Emma Stevens, Trae Selemaea, Rylin Tolle, Kaia Trujillo, Hannah Vath, Alea Ware, Raegan Weber, Allie Whitbey, Ary Vogeler and Jadan Zelch. 

Alumni Cabaret performers include Ashton Bennett, Pancha Brown, Holden Childress, Arthur Clifford, Emily Coffin, Bobby Covington, Taylor Jennings, Bryson Kenworthy, Elise Marshall, Alex McCale, Nellie Maple, Brooke Myers, Dalton Pittenger, Jessica Schnake and Alannah Trigg. 

UCM Theatre and Dance has three productions remaining in the 2025-26 Make ‘em Laugh season: “The Importance of Being Earnest” on Nov. 19-22, “Bus Stop” on Feb. 26-March 1 and “9 to 5” on April 17-19 and April 23-25. 

Tickets are available at the door or at the UCM Theatre and Dance Office in Martin 113 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, by calling 660-543-4020 or at ucmboxoffice.universitytickets.com. For questions about the production or tickets after business hours, call 660-543-8811 or email boxoffice@ucmo.edu.

For more information, contact Miller-Scully at almiller@ucmo.edu or find UCM Theatre and Dance on Facebook and Instagram.