2026 Henson Awards Showcase at the Clarice, Apr 13

2026 Henson Awards Showcase at the Clarice, Apr 13

Clarice presents:
The 2026 Henson Awards Showcase
The talented student recipients of the Jim Henson Fund for Puppetry will perform/present their funded projects.

Mon, Apr. 13, 2026 | 7:30 pm

Venue: Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center.

The talented student recipients of the Jim Henson Fund for Puppetry will present and perform their funded projects. There will also be a post-performance talkback with TDPS Puppetry Artist-in-Residence Betsy Rosen.

The Jim Henson Fund for Puppetry honors the memory of UMD alumni Jim Henson ’60, the creator of The Muppets.

Tickets: no tickets required. Click here.

Fearless New Works Festival at the Clarice, Apr 9-12

Fearless New Works Festival at the Clarice, Apr 9-12

Clarice presents:
UMD School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies
Fearless New Works Festival

Thur, Apr. 9, 2026 | 7:30 PM
Fri, Apr. 10, 2026 | 7:30 pm
Sat, Apr. 11, 2026 | 7:30 pm
Sun, Apr. 12, 2026 | 7:30 pm

Venue: Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center.

The Fearless New Works Festival is back for a three-day exploration of new dance and theatre performances and works in process from TDPS students.

Thur, Apr. 9, 2026 | 7:30 PM
Keynote and Reading of Best Available
Tony Award-winning playwright Jonathan Spector will be delivering a keynote speech to kick off the festival, followed by a reading of his brand new play-in-process, “Best Available” (directed by Assistant Professor Fatima Quander with TDPS student actors).

Fri, Apr. 10, 2026 | 7:30 PM
Student New Play Readings – Part 1
Come see the first half of the new student play readings written and performed by TDPS students and directed and dramaturged by TDPS alumni. The second half of the new student plays will be performed on Sunday, April 12 at 2:00PM.

Sat, Apr. 11, 2026 | 2:00PM & 7:30PM
Student New Dance Pieces
A performance of original dance works created by our undergraduate students for this festival. Both performances will feature the same dance works.

Sun, Apr. 12, 2026 | 2:00 PM
Student New Play Readings – Part 2
Come see the second half of the new student play readings written and performed by TDPS students and directed and dramaturged by TDPS alumni. The first half of the new student plays will be performed on Friday, April 10 at 7:30PM.

Tickets: $20, Students/Youth: $15, each performance. Click here.

Experimental Performance Series at the Clarice, Apr 4

Experimental Performance Series at the Clarice, Apr 4

UMD School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies presents:
Experimental Performance Series

#4:
Sat, Apr. 4, 2026 | 2:00 pm
Sat, Apr. 4, 2026 | 7:30 pm

#5:
Sat, May. 9, 2026 | 2:00 pm
Sat, May. 9, 2026 | 7:30 pm

Venue: Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center.

The Experimental Performance Series is a collection of self-produced works from undergraduate and graduate students in theatre and dance, ranging from established works to brand new plays and choreography.

This performance will feature three original works:

\\\r0ck///, choreographed by Connor Voss, is a dance work about rocks and how we can use rocks to improve mental health and wellbeing.

Front Porch Conversations, choreographed by Kaisha Snowden in collaboration with dancers.

Front Porch Conversations addresses the nuances of Black women. The many shapes, fonts, and pieces they come in and how they come in them. It addresses the fact that Black women are not a monolith and your stereotypes will not limit them to it. You are invited to listen to these conversations, not to form or to subject us to your own opinions, but to do nothing other than hear our various forms, regardless of their denigration or exalt, and acknowledge the role you play in perpetuating them.

Happy Daze: A Sorry Memoir, choreographed by Zoe Cushman Walders

Free, no tickets required. Click here.

Postcards from the Border at the Clarice, Mar 25-26

Postcards from the Border at the Clarice, Mar 25-26

Clarice presents:
Postcards from the Border
by Carrie Rodriguez, Oscar Cásares & Joel Salcido

Wed, Mar. 25, 2026 | 8:00 pm
Thu, Mar. 26, 2026 | 8:00 pm

Venue: Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center.

Postcards from the Border is an empathic, multimedia piece at the intersection of music, spoken word and film that offers an intellectual and uniquely Latin American perspective on the lines bisecting both our maps and our hearts.

Oscar Cásares, an acclaimed novelist from the Rio Grande Valley, wanted to share his experience of growing up on the border with his 10-year-old daughter, Elena. To tell this story, Cásares and photographer Joel Salcido traveled the length of the Rio Grande, from El Paso and Juarez to Brownsville and Matamoros to reveal his roots and the subtle and profound details of those who live there.

Originally appearing in Texas Monthly, those words and images are now brought to life in a new stage production with music by celebrated singer-songwriter Carrie Rodriguez and her five-piece band, narrated by Cásares alongside Salcido’s stirring images. This is a story steeped in the rich and inspiring history of America. Here, in this corner of the country, kids are raised to cross fluidly into both cultures and languages, to listen to pop music as easily as they do polkas and rancheras, to speak to their teachers in English and their grandparents in Spanish, and to everyone else in both languages, often simultaneously. Together, these artists will illuminate the often-overlooked stories of generations of families at the edge of our country. This is the story of the border you’ve never heard.

Don’t miss a post-show conversation and Q&A with the artist immediately following the Wed, Mar 25 performance!

Tickets: $35, Students/Youth: $15. Click here.

Macbeth at the Clarice, Mar 6-10

Macbeth at the Clarice, Mar 6-10

Clarice presents:
Macbeth
by William Shakespeare

Fri, Mar. 6, 2026 | 7:30 pm
Sat, Mar. 7, 2026 | 2:00 pm
Sat, Mar. 7, 2026 | 7:30 pm
Tue, Mar. 10, 2026 | 7:30 pm
Wed, Mar. 11, 2026 | 7:30 pm
Thu, Mar. 12, 2026 | 7:30 pm

Venue: Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center.

In this bold retelling of Shakespeare’s masterpiece, Lord Macbeth and his wife will stop at nothing to fulfill a prophecy and ascend to power but the consequences of their ambition threaten everything.

Tickets: $35, Students/Youth: $15. Click here.