Theo Fest isn’t your average theatre festival—or class project.
Students from DRAM 439: Advanced Theatre and Performance Creation will transform Theological Hall from March 28 to 29 with Theo Fest, a student-led festival featuring 12 brand-new performances developed over the past academic year.
Under the guidance of Assistant Professor Kelsey Jacobson, the 12 students—Iulia Rus, ConEd ’26, Charlie Hensel, ArtSci ’25, Grace Delamere, ArtSci ’25, Jonas Jacobson, ArtSci ’25, Aiden Robert Bruce, ArtSci ’25, Skyler James, ArtSci ’25, Rachel Rusonik, ConEd ’26, Sam Firlotte, ArtSci ’25, Jake Henderson, ArtSci ’25, Kelvin Chun, ArtSci ’25, Victoria Marmulak, ArtSci ’25, and Avery Boucher, ConEd ’26 have produced, marketed, designed, written, and executed their own individual performances. Both individual show and full-festival tickets are available on the Queen’s Events website.
The festival features a rotating schedule of short plays and performances, allowing audiences to experience a diverse range of theatre. The performances take place in spaces across the Theological Hall building—a pillar of the DAN School—from professor’s offices to the accessible washroom.
Theo Fest has been in the works since the September of last semester. The first 12 weeks of the course were dedicated to “pure experimentation,” Henderson said in an interview with The Journal.
Henderson explained that the class worked on scratch performances—short solo performances with no guidelines—based on vague prompts, presenting various mini pieces of theatre to their classmates and receiving . The class embraced a philosophy of “successful failure”—the idea that performances shouldn’t be overthought but simply created.
Each play in the festival brings its own unique element. “Confessions 3:28-29,” performed by Boucher, takes place in the Theological Hall Chapel, while “Survival of the Fittest,” performed by Rus, accompanied by a rat puppet, critiques the ethics of pest control.
For those who have spent time in Theological Hall or attended any theatre performance on campus in the last couple of years, the 12 students involved in Theo Fest will be familiar faces. As integral parts of the DAN School community, they’ve dedicated much of their undergraduate years to honing their performance and production skills. For graduating students, Theo Fest serves as the culmination of their journey, showcasing their artistic growth.
“It’s a really neat way to say to the students, ‘you’ve been here for four years—show us what you’ve learned,’” Jacobson said in an interview with The Journal.
Theo Fest is a testament to the power of collaboration and the value of the DAN School. While speaking with The Journal, the 12 students emphasized how the course has provided them with professional development opportunities and artistic growth.
Reflecting on the classroom experience, Rus stressed the value of the dynamic course delivery: “the form of [continuous] that we were trained to use with each other was really helpful […] I’ve been using it as a TA for DRAM 100,” Rus said.
Beyond performance, Theo Fest honours the impact of the Theological Hall building itself, which features many classroom spaces, offices of DAN School professors, and a few theatre spaces—like the beloved Rotunda Theatre classroom and Convocation Hall. The building has housed years of classes, productions, and learning for DAN School students.
“It’s a meaningful space, I think, to a lot of the students. This is where so much of drama happens,” Jacobson said.
For audiences, Theo Fest is an invitation to experience theatre in its most raw and imaginative form. Whether you’re a longtime er of student theatre or simply curious about what’s going on in that building tucked between Clark Hall and Nixon Field, this festival promises bold storytelling, daring performances, and an unfiltered look at the next generation of theatre-makers.
Don’t miss your chance to witness the energy and innovation of Theo Fest—mark your calendars and see the magic unfold.
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