Writing about the Performing Arts at Ohio State

As the 2020–21 performing arts season at the Wex progresses, visit this page to read featured selections from Writing about the Performing Arts at Ohio State, an interdisciplinary, student-led project initially supported by the Ronald and Deborah Ratner Distinguished Teaching Award in 2019–20. This season marks the second iteration of the yearlong initiative.

With guidance from Department of Dance Professor Karen Eliot and the Wexner Center’s Alana Ryder (Manager, Public and University Programs) and Lane Czaplinski (Director of Performing Arts), students with backgrounds in dance, economics, math, microbiology, political science, psychology, statistics, and beyond will serve as ambassadors and advocates for the arts. They will experience the challenges of writing for the public about sometimes difficult topics in contemporary art and, in the process, develop observational, analytical, and critical-thinking skills.

Students will apply performing arts history, theory, and current discourse to guide the public through themes such as race, gender identity, cultural appropriation, and disability. Their writing will help steer audiences toward more illuminated and critical engagement with the art of our time.

If you have any questions about this collaboration, please contact us at education@wexarts.org.

• Read more about the people behind the 2020–21 program
• Explore the first year of this project here.
• Read the first year's publication, Risk is a Relative Term