Registration Form
Please fill out the form below to register and secure your spot at Bluestem U! A registration form is required for each class you plan to attend.
Prefer a print registration form? Click here.
Life Upon the Wicked Stage: Classics of the Western Theatre
Lauren Friesen
Thursdays, Jan 8, 15, 22, 29 and Feb 5,12
9:30 to 11 a.m.
Kaye Penner Education Center, Classroom A
Kidron Bethel Village
3001 Ivy Drive
North Newton, KS 67117
Course Cost: $50
The course will focus on key playwrights, scripts, and technical developments through 2,400 years of Western theatre. Beginning with the ancient Greeks through the 20th Century, the course will present an analysis of theatre’s function in society, its connections with religion, the variety of styles, and its endearing and enduring qualities. The course will examine the social, political, economic, and religious contexts of each age. Lauren Friesen is the editor of the new six-volume series on recent Mennonite plays, titled Acting Up: Anthology of Mennonite Playwrights (1970-2025). He is the David M. French Professor Emeritus of Theatre at the University of Michigan, and received the Kennedy Center Gold Medallion for Excellence in University Theatre and the Distinguished Alumni Award from Pacific School of Religion. Friesen’s recent publications include the translation of Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s The Anabaptists(Pandora Press, 2025), Theatre and Aesthetics (Pickwick Publications, 2025), and Theatre, Peace, Justice (Pandora, 2023.) Wipf and Stock Publications will soon issue his play Erasmus Among the Luminaries: A Fantasy in Two Parts.