The Krannert Dress Rehearsal (KDR) programs provide an opportunity to hear context about a performance from a director or other expert, and then to experience the production. The Krannert Center for the Performing Arts is an educational and performing arts complex located at 500 South Goodwin Street in Urbana. Students may register for Krannert Dress Rehearsal (KDR) events on the events calendar.
The following Fall 2026 Krannert Dress Rehearsals are available for registration on our calendar. You must attend the talk and the performance to receive credit for the KDR. If the program is full when you go to register, please email chp@illinois.edu to be placed on a waitlist, and if there is a spot open, you will be notified by the day of the events.
“October Dance” (dance performances)
Presenter and Dance Department Head Sara Hook
Date: Wednesday, October 14, 2026
Presentation: 6:45 – 7:15 p.m., Location TBA
Performance: begins at 7:30 p.m., Colwell Playhouse
Description:
In this year of the 250th anniversary of our nation, Dance at Illinois celebrates collaboration as the key concept of democracy. Associate Professor Paige Cunningham Caldarella creates a new work assisted by senior BFA student Cheyenne Smith and in partnership with the mighty first-year undergraduate students of Dance at Illinois. Second-year MFA student Hollis Bartlett reconstructs a work by his mentor, contemporary choreographer Doug Varone, and two groups of dance faculty combine forces and methodologies to unleash powerful premieres with designs by Illinois Theatre students.
“Fairview” (play)
By Jackie Sibblies Drury
Director Geovonday Jones
Lead Dramaturg Foss Baldwin
Assistant Dramaturg Julia Stern
Date: Wednesday, November 4, 2026
Presentation: 6:30 – 7:15 p.m. Location TBA
Performance: begins at 7:30 p.m., Studio Theatre
Description:
Fairview is a searing examination of families, drama, family dramas, and the insidiousness of white supremacy. Winner of the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Jackie Sibblies Drury’s groundbreaking, experimental masterpiece leaves a searing imprint.
“Sense and Sensibility” (based on the novel)
By Jane Austen
Adapted by Jessica Swale
Director Nisi Sturgis
Lead Dramaturg Felix Crim
Assistant Dramaturg Zhi Li
Date: Thursday, November 5, 2026
Presentation: 6:30 – 7:15 p.m., Location TBA
Performance: begins at 7:30 p.m., Colwell Playhouse
Description:
When their wealthy half-brother cheats them of their fortune, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood are left penniless. They are forced to leave the comforts of Norland Park and relocate to chilly Barton Cottage in Devonshire, but when John Willoughby, a handsome stranger, arrives one day with a rain-drenched Marianne in his arms, the sisters are convinced that their fortunes are changed forever.
“Singin’ In the Rain” (Broadway adaptation)
Stage Director and Choreographer Jeremy Benton
Music Director Michael Tilley
Presenter and Professor of Voice Sarah Wigley
Date: Saturday, November 7, 2026
Presentation: 1:00 – 1:45 p.m., Location TBA
Performance: begins at 2:00 p.m., Tyron Festival Theatre
Description:
The “Greatest Movie Musical of All Time” is faithfully and lovingly adapted by Broadway legends Betty Comden and Adolph Green, from their original award-winning screenplay in Singin’ in the Rain. Each unforgettable scene, song, and dance is accounted for, including the show-stopping title number, complete with an onstage rainstorm! Hilarious situations, snappy dialogue and a hit-parade score of Hollywood standards make Singin’ in the Rain the perfect entertainment for any fan of the golden age of movie musicals.
Please note that the following items are not allowed in the theatre: backpacks, large bags, strollers, instrument cases, food, beverages other than bottled water, tripods, signs, balloons, skateboards, bicycles, scooters, and any other items deemed to be dangerous or to pose an obstruction. Thank you for your cooperation with these guidelines.