Latest / The UNWavering Podcast / 2026-27 UNW Theatre Season Preview | Jennifer Hunter

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2026-27 UNW Theatre Season Preview | Jennifer Hunter · The UNWavering Podcast

0:00
SPEAKER_00: Join as we highlight the people, the purpose, and the pulse of Northwestern.
0:06
SPEAKER_00: This is the Unwavering Podcast.
0:22
SPEAKER_03: Hey everybody, this is Monty and Cassie.
0:25
SPEAKER_03: And welcome to a pulse episode of the Unwavering Podcast.
0:29
SPEAKER_03: Today we get to welcome Jennifer Hunter back to the Unwavering Podcast.
0:34
SPEAKER_03: Jennifer has served as professor and director of theater here at the University of Northwestern since 2014.
0:40
SPEAKER_03: And if you want to hear more about her story, listen back a couple of seasons ago and listen to her episode.
0:45
SPEAKER_03: She won't say it, but we will.
0:47
SPEAKER_03: Jennifer is awesome and kind of a big deal.
0:51
SPEAKER_03: Beloved in the theater department at Northwestern, Jennifer has earned multiple regional and national awards for multiple productions.
0:58
SPEAKER_03: She has worked alongside acclaimed directors and Broadway casting professionals.
1:02
SPEAKER_03: In 2023, she was awarded Northwestern's Faculty Award for Excellence in Scholarship.
1:07
SPEAKER_03: Last season, she directed the best-selling show in UNW history, The Prince of Egypt.
1:12
SPEAKER_03: And today, we get to have her on our podcast.
1:15
SPEAKER_03: Welcome, Jennifer.
1:16
SPEAKER_02: Thank you.
1:17
SPEAKER_02: That was an amazing introduction.
1:19
SPEAKER_01: Well, yeah.
1:20
SPEAKER_01: Hard to live up to.
1:21
SPEAKER_01: I don't know who that person is.
1:23
SPEAKER_01: It's great.
1:23
SPEAKER_01: No, you deserve it.
1:24
SPEAKER_01: It's awesome.
1:25
SPEAKER_01: You're great to have.
1:26
SPEAKER_01: You're delight.
1:26
SPEAKER_03: 100%.
1:28
SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much.
1:29
SPEAKER_01: Well, I think it was Shakespeare that said all the world is a stage.
1:32
SPEAKER_01: Maybe.
1:32
SPEAKER_01: I think I got that right.
1:33
SPEAKER_01: But if your life were a stage production, would it be a comedy, drama, musical mystery or something else?
1:41
SPEAKER_02: I think it would be a comedic mystery because I think we have to have laughter in our lives and we just have to laugh at everything, even the hardships that come our way.
1:50
SPEAKER_02: But but a mystery because there's there just were a lot of things that were happening this year that we were asking questions about and and we're hoping God would answer.
1:58
SPEAKER_02: And so, you know, it it was definitely a mystery year.
2:01
SPEAKER_01: That's awesome.
2:02
SPEAKER_01: Love that.
2:03
SPEAKER_01: Well, speaking of seeing God work and wondering what he's up to, how have you seen God working through through the arts this season?
2:11
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so we have 53 theater majors now, which is a pretty large program for a small liberal arts, you know, university like Northwestern.
2:20
SPEAKER_02: And we were missing our second faculty member.
2:23
SPEAKER_02: We went a whole year without that person.
2:25
SPEAKER_02: And so um, you know, there was a lot of prayer involved and a lot of questions, and we muddled through, which is very interesting because you mentioned that uh it was the best-selling show in UNW history, and people would not have known that we had some empty spaces in our theater program that we needed to fill.
2:45
SPEAKER_02: Wow.
2:45
SPEAKER_02: So um it was really amazing to see God work in in our program.
2:49
SPEAKER_02: And that was an amazing show.
2:51
SPEAKER_02: Thank you.
2:51
SPEAKER_02: My family loved it.
2:52
SPEAKER_02: It was unbelievable talent, and yeah, a great show.
2:56
SPEAKER_02: So they do know the students say it's it's one of their favorite experiences.
3:00
SPEAKER_02: So oh, that's awesome.
3:01
SPEAKER_03: Oh, it was fantastic.
3:02
SPEAKER_03: People are still talking about it.
3:03
SPEAKER_03: And it was not just that show, but an incredible 2025-26 theater season as a whole, right?
3:09
SPEAKER_03: Like we we talked about Prince of Egypt being the best shelling selling, shelling, best selling show in Northwestern history, but also 12 Angry Men and 12 Angry Women were both hits.
3:19
SPEAKER_03: What were some highlights for you as you reflect back on the last season?
3:23
SPEAKER_02: Oh, we had so many wonderful things happen.
3:25
SPEAKER_02: And and um our students are just they're just they're so ready to share the gifts that God has given to them.
3:32
SPEAKER_02: And every opportunity that they have, whether it's on stage or backstage, it's just so inspiring to me to see their drive and their passion to share their gifts that God has given to them.
3:43
SPEAKER_02: Um so it was it honestly, it was a wonderful, wonderful season.
3:49
SPEAKER_03: Are there any memories that especially stand out as you look back?
3:53
SPEAKER_03: I mean, I'm not sure if there's any moments where like a boat is gonna go into the pit or anything.
3:58
SPEAKER_02: But um, I so you know, I wrote an adaptation of Midsummer Night's Dream and we set it in some eras that I really love.
4:06
SPEAKER_02: We did a little bit of steampunk and a little bit of the gilded age, and we had a really amazing young lady play puck, and one of the nights she was very, very sick.
4:18
SPEAKER_02: So she was running off stage quite a bit, and some of the people were helping catch what she was being sick with.
4:25
SPEAKER_02: So but you know what?
4:26
SPEAKER_02: The audience had no idea that that was happening, so you you just never know.
4:31
SPEAKER_02: The show must go on.
4:32
SPEAKER_02: That's right, but in a wonderful world.
4:34
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
4:34
SPEAKER_03: It's incredible.
4:36
SPEAKER_03: Uh stories that nobody else knows happen, but but the theater team bonded over that experience, probably.
4:42
SPEAKER_02: That is right.
4:42
SPEAKER_02: That is right.
4:43
SPEAKER_02: We made it through.
4:45
SPEAKER_03: Before every show, what is something that your cast can always count on you saying?
4:50
SPEAKER_02: Well, we do circle up together and we pray together, and we always remind ourselves that we are not there to perform for ourselves, that we are there to um share what God has given to us.
5:01
SPEAKER_02: And so it's really important before we start that production that we're starting with the right mindset.
5:08
SPEAKER_02: No one's a star on our stage.
5:10
SPEAKER_02: We're a team and we're there to honor Christ.
5:13
SPEAKER_03: That's awesome.
5:14
SPEAKER_01: Well, and you have ingrained it well in your students.
5:15
SPEAKER_01: I took the backstage tour after Prince of Egypt, which you can do after some shows, and the students reflected on that, just talking about how they are performing for the Lord.
5:24
SPEAKER_01: And yeah, that's wonderful.
5:26
SPEAKER_01: So good job.
5:28
SPEAKER_01: I am thrilled about the 2026-27 season.
5:32
SPEAKER_01: Can't wait to see the shows.
5:34
SPEAKER_01: Um, you just finished up a Nancy Drew Mystery.
5:36
SPEAKER_01: So, what is next for the rest of the season?
5:38
SPEAKER_02: Well, you know, it's really hard to follow up after Prince of Egypt.
5:41
SPEAKER_02: So, what I mean, it was such a blockbuster, right?
5:44
SPEAKER_02: Right.
5:45
SPEAKER_02: But we're hoping we are starting with something that people would really love, which is the Disney musical Frozen.
5:53
SPEAKER_02: And one thing that I'm excited about is sometimes when you have shows like that, you see families and they bring young girls and they might dress up like Anna or Elsa.
6:02
SPEAKER_02: And I'm like, I want to see that, I want to be there, I want to experience that.
6:06
SPEAKER_02: But it's gonna be a quite a spectacle on our stage.
6:09
SPEAKER_02: So we're like super, super excited about that one.
6:13
SPEAKER_03: Then for Christmas, is there gonna be a wall of little Elsa's that if you come and you get your portrait photo dressed in it?
6:22
SPEAKER_03: Just for you.
6:24
SPEAKER_01: We will do that.
6:24
SPEAKER_01: We will dress up, Monty.
6:26
SPEAKER_03: Well, I'm not gonna dress up as Elsa.
6:28
SPEAKER_03: My girls will though.
6:29
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
6:30
SPEAKER_02: No, we usually do have a photo booth in the lobby, and yeah, we definitely have a place for people to take pictures and and keep those memories forever.
6:38
SPEAKER_01: And I was just thinking about how for so many young kiddos, this will be their first theater experience.
6:43
SPEAKER_01: Oh, it'll be at Northwestern with Frozen.
6:46
SPEAKER_03: That's gonna be Is there uh if if you're listening to this and they have little girls or little kids or whatever, is there an age at which, like, you know, you're too young for Frozen to really enjoy what the experience is, or what age would you recommend?
7:01
SPEAKER_02: Um, this one we we went pretty young because um we think that a lot of these young folks have already watched the movie and so they're familiar.
7:10
SPEAKER_02: And so they're not gonna be so wiggly in the seats.
7:13
SPEAKER_02: I think they'll be totally captivated by what they're seeing on the stage.
7:17
SPEAKER_02: So so yeah, bring, bring the whole family.
7:20
SPEAKER_02: We welcome everyone.
7:21
SPEAKER_03: Awesome.
7:21
SPEAKER_01: That's gonna be great.
7:22
SPEAKER_01: And if you're wondering about ages for plays, they're always on the UNW ticket site.
7:27
SPEAKER_01: You can see what age they recommend the shows for.
7:29
SPEAKER_01: So that's great, very helpful.
7:30
SPEAKER_03: And if you're listening to this and you saw Cassie's eyes, if you could see them, it's like she's looking at me like, how do you not know this?
7:37
SPEAKER_03: Is it so if you're like me, I guess we can go read about it when we go buy tickets.
7:44
SPEAKER_01: No judgment, no judgment.
7:45
SPEAKER_01: We're all learning.
7:46
SPEAKER_03: So what happens after Frozen?
7:48
SPEAKER_02: Oh, so then we have um It's a Wonderful Life.
7:52
SPEAKER_02: So I don't know if you're familiar with that movie, but that is a tradition for a lot of families to watch around Christmas time.
7:58
SPEAKER_02: And so our particular version is really a lovely twist because it's the radio play version of it.
8:05
SPEAKER_02: So the whole stage will be set like a 1940s sound stage, and so you'd see like an applause sign and you'd see like an on-air sign, and so the audience gets to feel like they're part of this recording this evening.
8:18
SPEAKER_02: Um, and you have like a Foley Man, which is a soundscape engineer, and so like if someone's walking through the snow, he's got a box of corn fakes cornflakes and he's pressing on it.
8:28
SPEAKER_02: And so, and they'll be caroling, it's just gonna be an amazing Christmas experience.
8:33
SPEAKER_03: So you said radio play adaptation.
8:36
SPEAKER_03: That's cool.
8:37
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
8:37
SPEAKER_03: So not what you're used to expecting, but imagine somebody's gonna ring a bell, right?
8:41
SPEAKER_02: Yes, that has to happen.
8:43
SPEAKER_02: No spoilers.
8:44
SPEAKER_02: So and then what comes next?
8:46
SPEAKER_02: Oklahoma.
8:48
SPEAKER_02: So we're so excited to bring a classic musical back to the stage for Night Hall.
8:54
SPEAKER_02: Um, and that's a Roger in Hammerstein's, just it's it's everybody talks about how it's Americana and how it was one of the first ones of the golden musical era.
9:05
SPEAKER_02: And so um I think a lot of people have memories with this particular musical, and so there'll be some nostalgia there.
9:13
SPEAKER_02: And of course, we have amazing talent from our students that that they're gonna share on stage.
9:18
SPEAKER_02: So we're excited about that one.
9:19
SPEAKER_02: And then how does the season wrap up?
9:21
SPEAKER_02: We are ending with a Chekhov play, and you might say, Okay, Chekhov.
9:27
SPEAKER_02: Um the name of the play is Uncle Vanya.
9:30
SPEAKER_02: It is a classic Russian play, and uh, so we always try and mix a little bit of have a good mix in our season of different styles and genres.
9:41
SPEAKER_02: And this is the one that we watched as a theater group in at the Lincoln Center in New York, and I wasn't sure how the students would react to it, and they watched it, and it was Steve Carroll was Uncle Vanya.
9:55
SPEAKER_02: Um, and so afterwards they were all running up to me at intermission and afterwards, can we do this one?
10:00
SPEAKER_02: Can let's do this one?
10:01
SPEAKER_02: And so in my head, I was like, already there, guys, already there.
10:05
SPEAKER_02: So um it'll be a wonderful, wonderful experience for them.
10:09
SPEAKER_01: That's so fun.
10:10
SPEAKER_01: Well, you have great taste in shows, and I'm excited every season, but there's thousands of shows to choose from.
10:17
SPEAKER_01: So how do you go about picking the lineup for the season?
10:20
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, we just we really want a good balance.
10:23
SPEAKER_02: Um, so we don't want two comedies in a row, or um, and it's always nice to have a mystery in there too.
10:28
SPEAKER_02: And, you know, we need to make sure that the audience members and our patrons will be engaged, but we do also we're a university and we're educational, and we want to make sure that our students are really getting experience in all different kinds of plays.
10:45
SPEAKER_02: And so that that and the talent that we have that year and the abilities that we have that year, those are things that we build our season around.
10:53
SPEAKER_03: Do you take requests?
10:55
SPEAKER_02: Um, yes, all the time.
10:57
SPEAKER_02: Whether I want to or not, people come and tell me all the time what we should do next.
11:01
SPEAKER_02: And I love to hear it.
11:02
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
11:03
SPEAKER_02: Do you have one that comes up the most?
11:05
SPEAKER_02: Guys and Dolls.
11:06
SPEAKER_02: Oh, yeah.
11:07
SPEAKER_02: A classic.
11:07
SPEAKER_02: Filler on the Roof.
11:08
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
11:09
SPEAKER_02: Music Man.
11:10
SPEAKER_03: I was gonna say, that's on my list.
11:12
SPEAKER_03: Music Man.
11:12
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yep.
11:13
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, that's a good one.
11:14
SPEAKER_01: Monty and I were talking off air.
11:16
SPEAKER_01: We were both in the Music Man and Oklahoma at our respective high schools.
11:21
SPEAKER_03: Mm-hmm.
11:21
SPEAKER_01: Mm-hmm.
11:22
SPEAKER_01: Different eras.
11:23
SPEAKER_01: So if you need anybody for the chorus in Oklahoma, just call us up.
11:26
SPEAKER_01: We're ready.
11:27
SPEAKER_03: Yep, I will sing and Cassie will do the chip poopy.
11:31
SPEAKER_01: The music man.
11:32
SPEAKER_02: That'd be amazing.
11:34
SPEAKER_03: I was gonna say, Jennifer, something you said back earlier in this conversation, you said a couple times actually, of writing an adaptation.
11:42
SPEAKER_03: So what goes that that doesn't seem like a simple process from what I know.
11:47
SPEAKER_03: So what goes into it for you to write an adaptation for Northwestern and what is your heart in that?
11:52
SPEAKER_03: What's the thought in it?
11:53
SPEAKER_03: How does it work?
11:54
SPEAKER_02: Mm-hmm.
11:55
SPEAKER_02: And and that's such a great question.
11:57
SPEAKER_02: The thought is does this play work for our season and how can we how can we make it work for our university and our students?
12:05
SPEAKER_02: And so when we're doing something like an adaptation for Midsummer Night's Dream or for Nancy Drew, we're making sure that we're telling the story well.
12:13
SPEAKER_02: And we want to highlight uh the abilities that we have, whether it's in the Patsy Miller studio theater or whether we're on the night hall stage.
12:21
SPEAKER_02: And it's it's a process, but it's a very rewarding process.
12:25
SPEAKER_02: And then the students get to be um involved in that world premiere of that particular production.
12:31
SPEAKER_02: So it's a unique experience for them.
12:33
SPEAKER_03: Is it common for theater performances to be adapted depending on where their performance is happening?
12:39
SPEAKER_02: It is common.
12:40
SPEAKER_02: There there are theaters that are known for doing new work.
12:44
SPEAKER_02: And we want to foster the playwrights students in our program.
12:49
SPEAKER_02: And so just being able to work with new playwrights and have a new work every now and then is really important for our students.
12:56
SPEAKER_02: It's it's good modeling for them.
12:58
SPEAKER_03: Aaron Powell That's really cool that they get to work on that process.
13:01
SPEAKER_03: Bouncing back to other ways that students are growing at Northwestern, um they they do grow in their profession and in theater and these different experiences.
13:08
SPEAKER_03: They also get a chance to grow in their faith.
13:10
SPEAKER_03: What do you hope your theater students understand about what it means to be unwavering?
13:16
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
13:16
SPEAKER_02: So, you know, this year they had to ask why and be patient a lot.
13:22
SPEAKER_02: And, you know, I I know that I personally, when hardships come our way, I I know that we have a good father and I know that he wants good for us.
13:33
SPEAKER_02: And when things don't go the way we think, I always think there's something better that he has planned that I can't see yet.
13:40
SPEAKER_02: And I think so that some of those, you know, many of our students saw that this year.
13:44
SPEAKER_02: And the facade was that we had this award-winning year, but we didn't have a tech director.
13:49
SPEAKER_02: We didn't have, we had to hire someone to help build the sets.
13:52
SPEAKER_02: Um, we, you know, we we didn't have a scenes shop supervisor, and but yet we did one of the largest shows we've ever done.
13:59
SPEAKER_02: And so to see them waiting patiently to see what God had in store for us.
14:05
SPEAKER_02: And then um at the end of the year, when they were wondering if we were going to get that second hire, we had the most amazing gentleman apply, and we have a brand new associate professor of theater coming um starting in July.
14:21
SPEAKER_02: So we're so excited to have that person.
14:24
SPEAKER_02: He started in July.
14:25
SPEAKER_02: That's awesome.
14:26
SPEAKER_03: Well, that's awesome.
14:27
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
14:28
SPEAKER_03: Uh lots of good lessons there and how the Lord is faithful.
14:31
SPEAKER_02: And unwavering.
14:32
SPEAKER_02: And unwavering.
14:33
SPEAKER_03: He is unwavering.
14:34
SPEAKER_03: And we get to sometimes uh be the ones to look at him being unwavering and apply that to our faith to trust in him.
14:41
SPEAKER_03: Um well, last question for you, and feel free to just make this as gushy or advertising or promo as possible because we love theater and we want to know.
14:50
SPEAKER_03: How can the Northwestern community support the theater program this year?
14:54
SPEAKER_03: Like, how can we do it?
14:55
SPEAKER_02: Come see the shows.
14:56
SPEAKER_02: Come and see the shows, buy tickets to see the shows, do season tickets.
15:00
SPEAKER_02: You know, we are doing some new season ticket perks this year.
15:03
SPEAKER_02: We're giving parking involved with season tickets so that you know, if they show up closer to the opening of the show, they're not parking so far away.
15:11
SPEAKER_02: They they've got a spot that's designated.
15:13
SPEAKER_02: Also some free concessions for our season ticket holders.
15:17
SPEAKER_02: So we're trying to figure out how can we, you know, make them feel special, like they're VIPs.
15:22
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, coming to the show is just a really big thing.
15:25
SPEAKER_02: Other areas, you know, we're we always accept uh donations and you know, we have we have mics that need to be replaced, and we want our we want our talent to be sounding good on the stage, and people expect a professional experience.
15:40
SPEAKER_02: And so, you know, we have needs like that that that's always interesting.
15:44
SPEAKER_02: We're, you know, we have you can be a sponsor, be a sponsor of a show, or you can buy a playbill ad, or you can simply pray, pray for the students as they're in this journey of figuring out who they are and what their calling is, and we want to support them alongside that journey.
16:02
SPEAKER_03: That's awesome.
16:03
SPEAKER_03: So if you're you love theater and you want to come watch a good show or good shows, please come out, buy tickets, come to a show, or buy season tickets for the whole thing.
16:11
SPEAKER_03: Um, if you're passionate about what theater is and you're looking for a place that you can get involved with and make a meaningful impact in real ways, you can do that here at Northwestern in a lot of different ways.
16:23
SPEAKER_03: Um and you've gotten to know Jennifer a little bit through this episode.
16:27
SPEAKER_03: Um, she's the real deal.
16:28
SPEAKER_03: She's loved here at Northwestern.
16:30
SPEAKER_03: She's got a vision for what's going on with at not just in the theater program, but in the lives and callings of the students that are a part of it.
16:36
SPEAKER_03: And uh, Jennifer, thanks for taking some time out of your schedule.
16:39
SPEAKER_03: Um, we are excited to come watch Frozen and the rest of the plays.
16:43
SPEAKER_03: Wow, we're your big fans.
16:44
SPEAKER_03: We're big fans.
16:45
SPEAKER_02: Thank you so much for having me.
16:46
SPEAKER_04: Holding on to your promises.
16:49
SPEAKER_04: Hold it on to your promises.
16:52
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for listening.
16:53
SPEAKER_00: To hear more, subscribe and leave a rating wherever you listen.
16:56
SPEAKER_00: And if you know an alum, faculty member, staff, or student of Northwestern doing amazing things out in the world, let us know at alumni at unwsp.edu.
17:09
SPEAKER_00: The unwavering podcast, highlighting the people, the purpose, and the pulse of Northwestern.