Faculty and arts leaders from across campus reflect on systems, collaboration, and how theatrical thinking lives beyond traditional disciplinary boundaries.
On November 12, the UW School of Drama hosted a dynamic panel discussion exploring collaborative creation across disciplines, presented in conjunction with the School’s season opener and world premiere production, OMNIA BREAK ROOM. Held in the Glen Hughes Penthouse Theatre, the event brought together faculty and arts leaders from across the University of Washington and the professional theatre field for a rich exchange on process, systems, and human-centered collaboration.
The discussion featured:
Adrienne Mackey, Head of Directing and Playwriting, UW School of Drama
Jodi Sandfort, Dean, Evans School of Public Policy
Jessica Werk, Chair, Department of Astronomy
Rosa Joshi, Founder of Upstart Crow Collective and Associate Artistic Director, Oregon Shakespeare Festival
The conversation was facilitated by Gabriel Solis, Divisional Dean of the Arts for the College of Arts and Sciences.
Although the performance of OMNIA BREAK ROOM has now concluded, the significance of this conversation continues to resonate. Panelists reflected on the power of cross-departmental collaboration and illuminated how the arts, and theatrical thinking in particular, are deeply embedded within disciplines not traditionally associated with performance. It was fascinating to hear how each field represented, public policy, astronomy, and professional theatre, identified and interpreted the play’s underlying systems, structures, and human dynamics, and how those elements directly parallel the ways their own disciplines function.
Through this shared inquiry, the panel revealed how devised and collaborative works come to full realization not only onstage, but across fields of study, through collective problem-solving, interdisciplinary dialogue, and a deep understanding of how humans operate within complex systems. The conversation affirmed that theatre doesn’t sit apart from other disciplines—it helps us understand how systems work, how humans move within them, and how collective creation leads to meaningful resolution.
OMNIA BREAK ROOM itself was an original work created collaboratively by sixteen students and one faculty member, making the panel a fitting extension of the production’s ensemble-driven ethos and the School of Drama’s commitment to interdisciplinary engagement.
Earlier that day, theatre artist Rosa Joshi also worked directly with students in the School of Drama’s MFA Professional Actor Training Program, leading an Upstart Crow Collective Antigone workshop focused on ensemble-based, devised practice.
→ Read more: Rosa Joshi Leads Antigone Workshop with UW Drama’s MFA PATP Cohort