Like many successful partnerships, the new working relationship between the University of Michigan-Flint Department of Fine and Performing Arts and Flint Repertory Theatre initially came together for a pragmatic reason: mutual need.
Shelby Newport, chair of the Department of Fine and Performing Arts and coordinator of the theatre and dance program at UM-Flint, and Nicole Samsel, interim artistic director and managing director of the Flint Rep, initially began speaking about a partnership in January of this year.
The Rep, simply, needed space. Bower Theatre is undergoing renovations to repair damage from a flood in 2022 and also modernize the space.
“My first season at the Rep, actually the second show I did there, the water main broke in winter, and it was a day that there was no rehearsal, so we had no office staff in and it just ran and ran and really destroyed the floor,” Samsel said.
At the time, a stopgap repair was made to allow the theatre to continue to be used, but they’ve been planning a longer-term fix for that 1950s-era space. In the current renovation plan, they are converting their proscenium stage and auditorium into a multipurpose space capable of hosting more types of performances and to make it more audience-friendly and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)-compliant.
Because of the complexity of that renovation, neighboring Elgood Theatre also was not a viable space for its 2025-26 season.
“The two buildings sort of meet at the stages,” Samsel said. “So there is no way to do this type of major construction and then also work around a production schedule. We can’t be in tech for 12 hours and then they just have to take a full day off (from construction) in the middle of a nine-month project.”
UM-Flint’s need was a bit more abstract. Newport wanted to differentiate, especially in an era when arts and theatre programs nationwide have had enrollment and funding struggles after the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We need visibility, and connection, and to do things a little bit differently,” Newport said. “I’ve been using the phrase, ‘visibility is viability.’ You can’t make programs disappear if you know that they’re actively engaged in the community and making connections.”
Now, Flint Rep has a consistent space for its 2025-26 season, which opens tonight (September 19) with a performance of A Streetcar Named Desire that runs through October 5. And UM-Flint has a flurry of activity from professional actors, costume and set designers, technical personnel, and others who have made careers for themselves in the arts for students to observe and learn from, and professional shows on campus that can perhaps attract new audience members from students, faculty, or staff intrigued by a professional production right on their campus.
First Opening in the New Space
For longtime patrons of the Flint Rep, they will see a vastly different looking production with Streetcar simply because of the larger space.
“It’s an epic stage,” Samsel said. “We could fit maybe a third of that into our space. And we’ve really embraced being here and hope that people who watch do as well. I’m really excited for the audience to experience it.”
A Streetcar Named Desire is an iconic, Pulitzer Prize-winning play written by Tennesee Williams. It made its Broadway debut in 1947. The play chronicles the life of Blanche DuBois, a southern belle who flees her family estate to live with her sister and her husband in New Orleans, starting a power struggle between herself and her sister’s husband Stanley. The play is full of tension, desire, tragedy, and is a portrayal of being an outsider in a society where we’re all desperate to belong.
The Rep’s version is directed by Joshua Morgan and stars Sarab Kamoo, Kevin O’Callaghan, June Schreiner, Mike Labbadia, Nate Becker, Emir Garcia, Matthew Van Gessel, Leslie Hull, Ash Moran, Bello Paolo Pizzimenti, Madelyn Porter, and Toni Rae Salmi.
Performances are at 7:30 p.m. on September 19, 20, 26, and 27 and October 3 and 4. There are 2 p.m. performances on September 21, 28, and October 5, and 10 a.m. performances on September 25 and October 2. The September 28 performance will be an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreted performance and September 26 is college night. Tickets start at $26 (or $19 for Genesee County residents) and can be purchased online.
“I think it’s super exciting for us, for them (UM-Flint), for the audience,” Samsel said. “I think the audiences are really going to enjoy it, and because of the nature of this, it’s not just a one-off where we do one show here, it’s a long period of time we’ll be here.”
Creating Meaningful Student Experiences
Although the relationship is still new, A Streetcar Named Desire already includes contributions from UM-Flint students.
There are students in work-study roles who have assisted the technical crew as they load in the set and manage the space. There are also students who are helping the lighting designers with lighting equipment in the theatre. One student is also serving as an assistant lighting designer for the professional who was brought in for Streetcar.
Nathan Carpenter, a junior at UM-Flint and a Carman-Ainsworth graduate, was originally a computer science major but recently switched to the theatre design program. He’s interested in becoming a professional technical director down the road, and during this show has been able to work alongside the Flint Rep’s technical director Mike Salmi on Streetcar. Technical directors in theatre are responsible for aspects of a production like set production and lighting, sound, and stage rigging.
“I’ve just been working with our technical director, helping keep everything running, building sets, hanging lights, doing sound, that sort of thing,” Carpenter said.
Carpenter had actually worked for the UM-Flint Theatre for two years before switching majors. His experience there helped show him career paths within the arts, and that there are unique opportunities within UM-Flint’s theatre program, especially for a student like him who’s interested in technical direction.
“We have one of the larger theatre spaces around downtown Flint,” Carpenter said. “So being able to fill up that space and make it a place that is inviting to a wide range of audience members is really exciting.”
The experience he’s gained working alongside Salmi and with UM-Flint’s technical manager David Thompson has also helped Carpenter get a clearer idea of work he’d like to do in his career.
“I’ve had a lot of new experiences,” Carpenter said. “I really appreciate the time with professionals. Loading in someone else’s equipment or working with designers who have graduated school before I even started attending is very, very exciting. I feel grateful as a student to work with professionals in our field and see how things scale up from the university level to the professional level.”
Providing one-of-a-kind opportunities for students is exactly what Newport was hoping for with this partnership. The ability for any theatre students at the undergraduate level to get these types of experiences in professional productions is rare.
“There are many MFA (master’s of fine arts) programs in the United States that operate with a residence component or have a professional company on campus, but not many undergrads do,” Newport said. “We think this is pretty special.”
Student involvement in the production of Streetcar is just the beginning, though. The March production in Flint Rep’s season, Lucky Stiff, will be co-produced between Flint Rep and the UM-Flint Department of Theatre and Dance. There will be a mix of professional and student actors in the production and both UM-Flint and Flint Rep technical personnel will work together on the show. Depending on which professional actors audition for Lucky Stiff, Newport is also hoping the pool includes some UM-Flint alumni who are working actors now.
“I feel like for me as a theater artist who is really wanting to encourage the next generation, one of the best ways to do that is career prep,” Samsel said. “Just being able to be around working in a professional environment can be really encouraging and exciting for students. And we work with artists who, one way or another they made it here (to a career in theatre). They know what it’s like to be in school and figuring it out or in school and really hungry to get out there (in the professional world). We’ve all been on these journeys. And if we’re talking about great opportunities for students to get involved, we’re doing the co-production in March, where it’s literally going to be half students, half professionals. Students who come through this program are going to be so much better off for it, and it is going to be great for places like us, because we’re going to have young professionals (who come out of college) really ready.”
Those student experiences go beyond just those majoring in arts or theatre-related programs, too. Having professional shows on campus creates opportunities to teach new audiences about live theatre. Newport’s department and UM-Flint Student Affairs have teamed up to create a program called ‘Arts Access,’ which is designed to make it easier and more affordable to go to concerts, performances, art exhibits, and other events both on campus and at organizations in the Flint community. Students receive free or discounted tickets to various performances or exhibits, and can earn rewards and incentives based on how many they attend.
“We’ve kind of crafted this idea that it’s our job to cultivate patrons of the arts,” Newport said. “How do you learn how to be an audience member? And college should be an opportunity for you to explore and dabble and say, ‘I’ve never gone to a jazz concert before. I’m going to try it because it’s free.’”
A Bright – And Growing – Future
Enrollment declined at colleges nationwide during and immediately after the COVID-19 pandemic. That gave the Department of Fine and Performing Arts some opportunities for re-invention. Part of the focus has been on what the arts do well, especially in terms of teaching creativity and adaptability, and how those skills are vital and transferrable no matter what career or life goal a student pursues.
The arts also teach and build community, though, and Newport has focused on embedding that concept throughout campus.
“The arts have always been a community, especially at a college,” Newport said. “One of the things that is a goal for me is to make the arts a part of the fabric and culture of UM-Flint. So, for example, not just a reason why a theatre major would choose UM-Flint, but the theatre program could also be a reason a nursing student chooses it. Because they can pursue their education in the College of Health Sciences, but they can also get the experience of having an art opening on a Friday night, or a theatre production, and build friends and be a part of an audience.”
Auditions for UM-Flint performances are also open to students from all majors, so a student passionate about theatre or who acted in high school productions would still have the opportunity to enhance that creative outlet even while pursuing a degree in a different type of program.
Those focuses, along with a number of scholarships available to students in the Department of Fine and Performing Arts, have led to a healthy growth in enrollment and potentially more opportunities down the road through the collaboration with Flint Rep.
“Students who participate in professional productions with the Rep, we could come up with a program (in the future) where they end up getting their Actor’s Equity (union membership) Card by the end of their undergraduate education,” Newport said. “That would be really beneficial to them professionally and could be a really special thing about our program.”
Samsel also envisions a scenario where, even when Flint Rep moves back into its renovated space, the organizations continue to collaborate on productions.
“We don’t have a space like this (even after the renovation),” Samsel said. “But we have really great intimate spaces (at Flint Rep). Those could be really good for students to learn how to perform in. So maybe the relationship can look like, as we’re planning our season and they’re planning their season, that we trade venues sometimes when it makes sense, if we need access to a bigger space for a show, or they have a show that would benefit from being in a smaller space.”
Both Samsel and Newport also hope to continue doing a co-production that provides students with the opportunity to audition during future seasons.
Carpenter is excited for the potential the collaboration has for current and future students.
“I’m really excited to see where this partnership with Flint Rep goes,” he said. “Giving more and more students the opportunity to get hands-on experience with professionals and see what the next step in development past the university level looks like is always a good thing. I’m looking forward to seeing what’s on the horizon.”
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