October
Visiting Artists Series: Dominic Terlizzi
October 9, 6 p.m. | Katzen 201
RSVP for Dominic Terlizzi
Dominic Terlizzi is a Brooklyn based artist whose studio work includes drawing, painting, sculpture, and installation utilizing objects and textures to build imagery. Dominic recently exhibited at Craig Krull Gallery and Helen J Gallery in Los Angeles, and Tappeto Volante, Field of Play, The Front, Good Naked, Underdonk, and Headstone Gallery in New York. International exhibitions include McBride Contemporian in Montreal, Canada and NEVVEN Gallery in Gothenburg, Sweden. Dominic founded and directed St. Charles Projects in Baltimore city from 2015-2023 and is currently a co-director of Tiger Strikes Asteroid New York. He has been awarded the Triangle Workshop, PNC Transformative Art Prize, Belle Foundation Grant, and completed three public sculptures in Baltimore City. He earned a BFA from the Cooper Union, New York City (2003) and an MFA from the Hoffberger School of Painting MICA, Baltimore (2008). More about the Visiting Artists Series
Studio Art MFA Fall Rotunda Show
Katzen Arts Center Rotunda
On view October 10–November 6
Reception: October 18, 4–7 p.m. Meet the artists and learn more about the program. Light refreshments will be served.
American University’s Studio Art MFA Program is pleased to present a collection of artworks from current MFA students. This diverse cohort of interdisciplinary artists creates works in painting, drawing, sculpture, collage, fiber arts, and printmaking, exploring vast themes of community, landscape, identity, and injustice. Learn more about the exhibition.
Right: Michael Dodson, Untitled, 2025. Screenprint on cotton, 29 x 11.5 in.
Visiting Writers Series: Tania James
October 15, 7:00, SIS Founders Room
Tania James is the author of the novels The Tusk That Did the Damage and Atlas of Unknowns and the short story collection Aerogrammes. Her most recent novel Loot was longlisted for the 2023 National Book Award and the Carol Shields Prize. She is a 2025 Guggenheim Fellow in fiction and an associate professor of English at George Mason University. See more about the Visiting Writers Series from the Department of Literature.
Disarming Girls
By Sarah Caroline Billings and Kallen Prosterman
October 16-26
Harold and Sylvia Greenberg Theatre
Directed by Jenna Place
Tickets: Free for AU students with ID, $10 for alumni, staff, faculty, children (under 18), and senior citizens (55 and older), $15 general public
Disarming Girls tickets
Disarming Girls tells the extraordinary true story of Hannie Schaft, Truus Oversteegen, and Freddie Oversteegen—three young women who became unexpected heroes of the Dutch resistance in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands. As they navigate the harsh realities of 1941, their conviction and cunning challenge traditional roles and redefine what it means to fight for justice. With a powerful ensemble cast bringing wartime Europe to life, Disarming Girls is a gripping exploration of sisterhood and the quiet strength that changes history.
Content: Violence, guns.
AU Theatre/Musical Theatre Conversation and Q&A: Caroline Aaron
Thursday October 23, 1-2 p.m.
Katzen Arts Center, Studio Theatre
Open to all, no RSVP required
Caroline Aaron (CAS/BA ’74), actor, playwright, and published author, received her BA from AU’s Department of Performing Arts. She is well known for her role as Shirley Maisel on the television series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Ms. Aaron has been in over 100 films, working with top directors such as Nora Ephron and Mike Nichols. For example, she starred in 21 & 22 Jump Street, Just Like Heaven, Nancy Drew, Edward Scissorhands, Anywhere But Here, and most recently Between The Temples. Television audiences are also familiar with her work as her appearances have included Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice, all the CSI’s, all the Law & Orders, Sex And The City, and Curb Your Enthusiasm. She is a recurring character on Episodes, Transparent, and Ghosts. Aaron is a member of the CAS Advisory Board.
Visiting Artists Series: Hong Hong
October 30, 6 p.m. | Katzen 201
RSVP for Hong Hong
Each summer and fall, Hong Hong (b. 1989, Hefei, Anhui, China) travels to faraway and distinct locations to make paper. The environmental, site-specific investigations map interstitial relationships between landscape, time, and the body through cartographic, symbolic, and material languages. During the winter and spring, she forms paintings directly on the floor of her studio. These schematics combine intergenerational storytelling, collaborative texts, and image-making to document states of interiority and subjectivity.
This talk is presented in conjunction with Tephra ICA. Hong Hong’s exhibition with Kimberly M. Becoat A Land and 河/River is on view now through December 20 at Tephra ICA.
Zoey’s Perfect Wedding
By Matthew López
October 30-November 1
Katzen Arts Center, Studio Theatre
Directed by Carl Menninger
Tickets: Free for AU students with ID, $10 for alumni, staff, faculty, children (under 18), and senior citizens (55 and older), $15 general public
Zoey's Perfect Wedding tickets
“Love is complicated. So is the seating chart.”
Zoey’s Perfect Wedding is a fast-paced, sharply funny comedy about what happens when a dream wedding turns into a full-blown disaster. Set entirely during the reception—from awkward toasts to drunken confessions—this riotous play explores friendship, expectations, and the chaos beneath the surface of “happily ever after.” As Zoey’s big day unravels in real time, secrets spill and relationships are tested, turning her perfect wedding into a perfectly unforgettable night.
Content: Strong, graphic sexual language. Drug and alcohol use.
Originally developed and produced at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts Theatre Company.
Zoey’s Perfect Wedding is presented through special arrangement with TRW PLAYS 1180 Avenue of the Americas, Suite 640, New York, NY 10036. www.trwplays.com
November
American University Symphony Orchestra Classics from the Romantic Era
November 1, 7:30 p.m.; November 2, 3 p.m.
Katzen Arts Center, Abramson Family Recital Hall
Matthew Brown, conductor
Tickets: Free for AU students with ID, $10 for alumni, staff, faculty, children (under 18), and senior citizens (55 and older), $15 general public
Romantic Era tickets
The American University Symphony Orchestra will play a variety of well-known classics from the Romantic era. The program will begin with Hector Berlioz' Hungarian March from "The Damnation of Faust," followed by Suite no. 1 excerpted from Georges Bizet's opera "Carmen." Audiences will experience the mysterious and contemplative beauty of the two movements of Franz Schubert's Symphony no. 8, the so called "Unfinished" Symphony, and "finish" (pun intended) with Finlandia by the great Finnish composer Jean Sibelius.
Visiting Artists Series: Hedieh Ilchi
November 6, 6 p.m. | Katzen 201
RSVP for Hedieh Ilchi
Hedieh Javanshir Ilchi was born in Tehran, Iran and currently lives and works in the Washington, DC area. Ilchi received an MFA in studio art from American University and a BFA from the Corcoran College of Art and Design. She is the recipient of the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation Creative Fellowship, Charm City Fellowship, Zeta Orionis Painting Fellowship, Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Award in Painting, and Bethesda Painting Award. Ilchi has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions nationally. Her work has been featured in many publications including The Washington Post, Hyperallergic, Art Papers, the Washington City Paper, and New American Paintings. Ilchi has attended residencies at the Ucross Foundation, Millay Arts, Vermont Studio Center, Jentel Foundation, Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts, Playa Summer Lake, Monson Arts and Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. Her work is in private and public collections including The Phillips Collection, The Federal Reserve Board, The Microsoft Art Collection, and the Carl M. Freeman Foundation. Ilchi served as one of the 2023-2024 McMillan Stewart Endowed Chairs in Painting at Maryland Institute College of Art. More about the Visiting Artists Series
Katzen Soundbites: Katzen’s 20th Birthday Party
November 6, 12:35-12:55 p.m.
Katzen Arts Center Rotunda
Join us for a special edition of Katzen Soundbites to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the Katzen Arts Center! Stop by for live music by the AU Jazz Combo, cake, activities from the AU Library Makerspace, and a special appearance by Clawed Z. Eagle.
Katzen Soundbites is the Music Library's series of lunchtime concerts in the Katzen Rotunda (lobby) featuring students and faculty from the Department of Performing Arts. Tickets are not required to attend this performance. See our full schedule of fall Soundbites performances.
American University Symphonic Band
November 8, 3 p.m.
Katzen Arts Center, Abramson Family Recital Hall
Matthew Brown, conductor
Tickets: Free for AU students with ID, $10 for alumni, staff, faculty, children (under 18), and senior citizens (55 and older), $15 general public
Band tickets
The American University Symphonic Band embarks on an exciting new chapter this season, exploring a vibrant range of vintage concert band works for the first time. In the decades following World War II, the repertoire for symphonic band expanded dramatically as composers embraced the medium and audiences grew.
This semester, the ensemble breathes new life into often-overlooked gems from the 1950s to the 1980s, presenting music that deserves a fresh hearing alongside beloved pre-war classics and bold contemporary works. Thanks to a major investment in newly acquired sheet music, the AU Symphonic Band is proud to launch a series of AU premieres highlighting mid-20th-century treasures that will enrich our programming now and in the semesters ahead.
American University Chamber SingersUnderstanding a cappella
November 8, 7:30 p.m.; November 9, 3 p.m.
Katzen Arts Center, Abramson Family Recital Hall
Daniel Abraham, director
Tickets: Free for AU students with ID, $10 for alumni, staff, faculty, children (under 18), and senior citizens (55 and older), $15 general public
Chamber Singers tickets
The meaning of a cappella has changed greatly throughout the history of Western music. Literally translated from Italian as “in the style of the chapel [church],” its meaning has blossomed to include layers of music that span Renaissance polyphony, unaccompanied music of the nineteenth century, barber shop style, and contemporary a cappella harmony groups that often add vocal percussion or beatboxing in a style that intersects pop, rock, and gospel sounds. Join us for this broad exploration of a cappella in a program that will feature not only AU Chamber Singers but AU’s a cappella groups.
Fall Dance Concert 2025
November 14, 7:30 p.m., November 15, 2 p.m.
Harold and Sylvia Greenberg Theatre
Gabriel Mata, Guest Choreographer
Sarah Beth Oppenheim, Artistic Advisor, Choreographic Laboratory
Tickets: Free for AU students with ID, $10 for alumni, staff, faculty, children (under 18), and senior citizens (55 and older), $15 general public
Fall Dance Concert tickets
A concert of new choreographic works by guest artist Gabriel Mata and selected student choreographers from the AU choreographic laboratory. Gabriel Mata is a Mexican American movement artist, choreographer, and educator and is the founder and director of the Latinx Movement Festival DC. He will craft a new work for the AU Dance Program, including some of the newest dancers on campus. The student choreographers are experienced student artists, mentored by AU faculty, who will create their first major works for the Greenberg Theatre stage. Join us as we welcome fresh choreographic voices and new student performers.
American University Jazz Orchestra and Jazz CombosFall for Jazz
November 14, 7:30 p.m.
Katzen Arts Center, Abramson Family Recital Hall
Joshua Bayer, conductor
Tickets: Free for AU students with ID, $10 for alumni, staff, faculty, children (under 18), and senior citizens (55 and older), $15 general public
Jazz tickets
Join the AU Jazz Orchestra and AU Jazz Combos for an unforgettable evening of big band classics, swing, funk, bossa nova, and straight-ahead jazz! From the timeless grooves of Ellington and Basie to the bold sounds of Mingus and Goodwin, AU Jazz brings the rich traditions of jazz to life.
Visiting Writers Series: Emily Bazelon
November 12, 7:00, SIS Founders Room
Emily Bazelon is a staff writer at the New York Times Magazine and the Truman Capote Fellow for Creative Writing at Yale Law School. The author of two nonfiction books, Charged and Sticks & Stones, Bazelon’s work explores all facets of the criminal justice system, from perpetrator to victim, prosecutor to public defender; she is also co-host of the long-running Political Gabfest podcast on Slate. See moreabout the Visiting Writers Series from the Department of Literature.
Senior Dance Capstone 2025
November 15, 7:30 p.m.
Harold and Sylvia Greenberg Theatre
Erin Foreman-Murray, Artistic Director
Tickets: Free for AU students with ID, $10 for alumni, staff, faculty, children (under 18), and senior citizens (55 and older), $15 general public
Capstone tickets
Join us for capstone project performances and presentations by four graduating senior dance majors: Maddie Bussolari, Ella Forsyth, William Rokicki, and Gemma Sommer. Supported by a cast of experienced AU Dance Program dancers, each graduating senior will present the culmination of their embodied capstone research. Experience exciting new ideas, beautiful dancing, and new choreographic ideas crafted through the brave and accomplished work of these young researchers.
American University Chorus
An Echo in my Soul
November 15, 7:30 p.m., November 16, 3 p.m.
Katzen Arts Center, Abramson Family Recital Hall
Casey Cook, conductor
Barbara Wilkinson, pianist
Katzen Arts Center, Abramson Family Recital Hall
Tickets: Free for AU students with ID, $10 for alumni, staff, faculty, children (under 18), and senior citizens (55 and older), $15 general public
Chorus tickets
"An Echo in My Soul" draws its title from the beloved Quaker anthem "How Can I Keep from Singing?" and celebrates music's power to unite us during challenging times. Through diverse musical traditions and uplifting harmonies, the performance aims to create a space where community members can come together, find solace, and rediscover hope through the transformative experience of choral music. The concert embodies the belief that music serves as a bridge connecting hearts and souls across all divides.
Godspell
Conceived and originally directed by John-Michael Tebelak
Music and new lyrics by Stephen Schwartz
Originally produced on the New York Stage by Edgar Lansbury / Stuart Duncan / Joseph Beruh
November 19-22
Katzen Arts Center, Studio Theatre
Directed by Kathryn Chase Bryer
Choreography by Robert Bowen Smith
Music Direction by Deborah Jacobson
Tickets: Free for AU students with ID, $10 for alumni, staff, faculty, children (under 18), and senior citizens (55 and older), $15 general public
Godspell tickets
Godspell is a rock musical retelling of the Gospel according to Matthew. First produced on Broadway in 1976, it was conceived and written by college students who had grown up during the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. Presenting Jesus as a radical figure who challenged authority with love and kindness, Godspell is a timeless story that reminds us of the power of community and the importance of love and kindness. The world belongs to the young and together, they can be the change that they seek.
Godspell – 2012 Revised Version is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. www.mtishows.com
December
Visiting Writers Series: David Means
December 5, 7:00, SIS Founders Room
David Means is the author of six short-story collections, including Two Nurses, Smoking; Instructions for a Funeral; The Spot—a New York Times Notable Book of the Year; Assorted Fire Events—winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Fiction; and The Secret Goldfish. His novel Hystopia was long-listed for the Man Booker Prize. A Guggenheim Fellow and three-time winner of the O. Henry Prize, he is a professor at Vassar College. See more about the Visiting Writers Series from the Department of Literature.