The University of Central Arkansas Artists in Residence (AiR) program is a dynamic initiative that brings nationally and internationally recognized artists to campus each year. Funded by the Fine and Performing Arts Fee paid by all students, the program is rooted in a vision established by the UCA Board of Trustees on February 18, 2000: to “expand artistic opportunities and supplement and enhance university life and academic programs.”
Since its founding, the AiR program has hosted more than 750 artists—including actors, choreographers, composers, creative writers, dancers, designers, filmmakers, musicians, visual artists, and others. These residencies have provided thousands of enriching experiences, including art exhibits, master classes, performances, readings, film screenings, workshops, and other student-centered learning opportunities.
Artist residencies have become an essential and vibrant component of the curriculum at UCA, contributing meaningfully to both academic and cultural life on campus and to the Central Arkansas community.
The program is supported by the UCA Arts Fee, with additional sponsorship from Engage Management and Pyramid Art, Books, & Custom Framing. Unless otherwise noted, all events are free and take place on the UCA campus at 201 Donaghey Ave., Conway, AR 72035.
Tickets for Reynolds, Windgate, or Snow Events
SPRING 2027 BROCHURE COMING SOON
SPRING 2027 SCHEDULE
Cantus, an acclaimed eight-member low voice a cappella ensemble based in Minneapolis, ranks among the nation’s premier vocal groups, captivating audiences with its warmth, precision, and adventurous programming. Performing without a conductor, the eight singers shape every performance through collaboration creating a dynamic musical experience and a direct connection with audiences. From Renaissance masterpieces to contemporary commissions, Cantus explores a rich and varied repertoire. The ensemble crafts thoughtful programs that spark conversation, deepen empathy, and celebrate shared experience through song. Each year, Cantus reaches thousands of students through workshops, master classes, and educational residencies. The singers inspire participants of all backgrounds to build confidence, nurture curiosity, and pursue musical excellence. Cantus tours nationally and internationally, bringing its artistry to prestigious venues such as Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, and Tanglewood. Through exceptional musicianship, innovative storytelling, and a spirit of collaboration, Cantus invites audiences and students alike into transformative musical experiences.
For more information, contact Dr. Paul Mayhew, associate professor of choral music education, Department of Music, pmayhew@uca.edu.
Feb. 4
Time TBD | Student Event: Master Class with Cantus
Concert Hall, Windgate Center for Fine and Performing Arts
7 p.m. | Public Event: Cantus in Concert, “Land that I Love, Celebrating America’s Diverse Musical Identity”
Concert Hall, Windgate Center for Fine and Performing Arts.
For public tickets, visit the UCA Box Office, uca.edu/publicappearances/tickets/. UCA students can receive up to two free tickets by visiting the box office at Reynolds Performance Hall or the Windgate Center for Fine and Performing Arts. A UCA Bear Card
is required.
THIS EVENT IS A COLLABORATION WITH UCA PUBLIC APPEARANCES.
PHILIP KENNER | Poetry and Playwriting
Photo by Grace Barry
Philip Kenner is a New York City–based poet, playwright, essayist, educator, and performer whose work explores the possibilities of language and performance. In 2025, Glass Poetry Press published his debut chapbook BOYSTUFF. His writing appears in Swing, 3Elements Review, Fruitslice, Kitchen Table Quarterly, Milk Press, Cordite Poetry Review, poetry.onl, Colectivo Tabú, and other publications. Kenner’s plays include THE MALL THE MALL THE MALL, which The Tank will produce in 2026; Psychotropic, which Meisner Studio staged in Atlanta in 2022; and Snap Crackle Prop, which The Performance Interface Lab produced in 2020. With Michael Wilder, Kenner co-hosts The Chef’s Monologue, a podcast where writers create short monologues from surprise “recipes.” Kenner has taught at Northwestern University, NYU Tisch Scholl of the Arts, and Interlochen Center for the Arts. He holds an MFA from Northwestern and a BFA from NYU Tisch.
For more information, contact Dr. Thaïs Miller, assistant professor of creative writing, Department of Film, Theatre, and Creative Writing, tmiller34@uca.edu.
Feb. 24
Time TBD | Student Event: Craft Talk with undergraduate students in playwriting and poetry
Win Thompson Hall 331
7-8 p.m. | Public Event: Reading by Philip Kenner
Art Lecture Hall, McCastlain 143
Feb. 25
3:15-3:50 p.m. | Student Event: Interview with Arkana, UCA’s national literary magazine
Win Thompson Hall 331
4-5 p.m. | Student Event: Master Class with graduate students and advanced undergraduate students in poetry and playwriting
Win Thompson Hall 331
RICHARD THOMAS | Acting
Emmy Award-winning actor and 2025 Theater Hall of Fame inductee Richard Thomas brings Mark Twain Tonight! to campus in a celebrated one-man performance honoring America’s great comic voice. Written and originally performed by Hal Holbrook, this acclaimed production brings Twains wit to life through stories that blend uproarious humor with sharp social insight. The New York Times hailed Twain as “the nation’s one true comic genius.” Audiences know Thomas as John-Boy Walton and from acclaimed performances in Our Town, To Kill a Mockingbird, Ozark, The Americans, Billions, and Stephen King’s It. Thomas stands as the first and only actor authorized to perform Mark Twain Tonight! since Holbrook. The residency also features a public screening of September 30, 1955, James M. Bridges’s 1977 film shot in Conway and on the University of Central Arkansas campus. Thomas stars as Jimmy J., an Arkansas college student grappling with James Dean’s untimely death amid a nation undergoing profound change.
For more information, contact Amanda Horton, executive director, UCA Public Appearances, ahorton@uca.edu.
Feb. (Date TBD)
7-9 p.m. | Student Event: Film Screening, Rebel Without a Cause (1955, Nicholas Ray, dir., 111 minutes, PG-13). A classic film starring James Dean, and an introductory lecture and discussion led by Dr. Keith Corson (Department of Film, Theatre, and Creative Writing)
Mar. 4
7 p.m. | Public Event: Mark Twain Tonight! starring Richard Thomas
Reynolds Performance Hall
For public tickets, visit the UCA Box Office, uca.edu/publicappearances/tickets/. UCA students can receive up to two free tickets by
visiting the box office at Reynolds Performance Hall or the Windgate Center for Fine and Performing Arts. A UCA Bear Card is required.
Mar. 5
Time TBD | Student Event: A Conversation with Richard Thomas
James Bridges Black Box Theatre, Windgate Center for Fine and Performing Arts
6-7 p.m. | Public Event: “Live from the Radio” Pre-Screening Event: An immersive event transporting attendees back to a 1955 sock hop with period-style DJ, celebrity photo op, iconic ‘50s refreshments, James M. Bridges Tribute Wall, and movie memorabilia display
Lobby, Reynolds Performance Hall.
This is a free event and open to the public. Visit When Hollywood Came to Conway for more information.
7-9 p.m. | Public Event: September 30, 1955 (1977, dir. James Bridges, 101 minutes, PG-13), Film Screening and Talk-back Featuring Richard Thomas
Reynolds Performance Hall
For public tickets, visit the UCA Box Office, uca.edu/publicappearances/tickets/. UCA students can receive up to two free tickets by visiting the box office at Reynolds Performance Hall or the Windgate Center for Fine and Performing Arts. A UCA Bear Card
is required.
THIS RESIDENCY IS A COLLABORATION WITH UCA PUBLIC APPEARANCES AND UCA ADVANCEMENT.
Additional support from the UCA Foundation, Inc. Faculty Grants Program
REGINALD MOBLEY | Opera
GRAMMY-nominated American countertenor Reginald Mobley brings Baroque, Classical, and contemporary repertoire to leading ensembles throughout North America and Europe. A passionate advocate for diversity in classical music, he serves as Programming Consultant for the Handel & Haydn Society, Visiting Artist for Diversity Outreach with Apollo’s Fire, and Artistic Advisor to the Portland Baroque Orchestra. He also directs a UK Arts and Humanities Research Council project exploring music by composers from historically underrepresented backgrounds. Recent and upcoming engagements include performances at Wigmore Hall, the Bayreuth Baroque Festival, and the BBC Proms, alongside performances with Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists, and Orchestre de Chambre de Paris. His debut solo album on Alpha Classics earned the Opus Klassik Award in the “Classics Without Limits” category. His discography also features collaborations with acclaimed Baroque ensembles in Europe, North America, and Australia.
For more information, contact Dr. Paul Mayhew, associate professor of choral music education, Department of Music, pmayhew@uca.edu.
Mar. 4
7:30 p.m. | Public Event: Reginald Mobley in Concert, Concert Hall
Windgate Center for Fine and Performing Arts
Mar. 5
12-1 p.m. | Student Event: Master Class with Reginald Mobley
Concert Hall, Windgate Center for Fine and Performing Arts
HOLLY PAYNE | Theatrical Costuming
Holly Payne earned an M.F.A in Costume Design and Technology from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and has designed costumes for theatres, opera companies, and universities across the country. Her design credits include Orlando Shakespeare Theater, Wildwood Park for the Arts, Utah Shakespeare Festival, Arkansas Shakespeare Theater, Skylight Opera, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, Renaissance Theaterworks, Milwaukee Shakespeare, Florentine Opera (Milwaukee, WI), Milwaukee Repertory Theater, First Stage Children’s Theater (Milwaukee, WI), University of Tulsa, University of North Carolina at Pembroke, Riverside Theater (Vero Beach, FL), Arkansas Repertory Theatre, Argenta Community Theatre, University of Central Arkansas, Hendrix College and TheatreSquared (Fayetteville, AR). She has led costume departments as Costume Director for the Milwaukee Repertory Theater and Arkansas Repertory Theatre. She also taught drama and design at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, University of Tulsa, Parkview Arts & Science Magnet School, and Hendrix College. A member of United Scenic Artists, Local USA 829, she also owns and operates Porch Swing Farms with her husband, Aaron.
For more information, contact Professor Shauna Meador, chair, Department of Film, Theatre, and Creative Writing, smeador@uca.edu.
April 6
9:25-10:40 a.m. | Student Event: Fundamentals of Theatrical Design guest lecture
Snow Fine Arts 217
Apr. 13
9:25-10:40 a.m. | Student Event: Professional Issues in Theatre guest lecture
Snow Fine Arts 215
1:40-2:30 p.m. | Master Class: Contemporary Costume Rendering Techniques| Snow
Fine Arts 217
6 p.m. | Public Event: “Fabric & Field, Life in the Theatre and on the Farm” by Holly Payne
James Bridges Black Box Theatre | Windgate Center for Fine and Performing Arts
AMY JACOBS | Experimental Papermaking
Amy Jacobs (she/her) is a New York-based artist and papermaker. She earned her MFA in
Interdisciplinary Book and Paper Arts from Columbia College Chicago and completed the Core
Fellowship Program at Penland School of Craft. Jacobs has taught and led papermaking
workshops at Yale University, the Museum of Modern Art, the New York Public Library, the
School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, University of the Arts in Philadelphia, and
University of Georgia Studies Abroad Program in Cortona, Italy. Since 2010, she has worked
with the studio team at Dieu Donné in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, a nonprofit dedicated to
contemporary art in hand papermaking. As Senior Director of Artistic Projects and Master
Collaborator, she works with renowned artists, including Ann Hamilton, Do Ho Suh, Howardena
Pindell, Ursula von Rydingsvard, Melvin Edwards and Lynda Benglis.
For more information, contact Professor Leslie Macklin, associate professor, Department of Art and Design, lmacklin@uca.edu.
Mar. 29
9 a.m.-4 p.m. | Student Event: Master Class with Amy Jacobs
3D Building 105, Windgate Center for Fine and Performing Arts
Mar. 30
9 a.m.-4 p.m. | Student Event: Master Class with Amy Jacobs,
3D Building 105, Windgate Center for Fine and Performing Arts
6-7 p.m. | Public Event: Artist Talk by Amy Jacobs
Art Lecture Hall, McCastlain 143
Mar. 31
9 a.m.-4 p.m. | Student Event: Master Class with Amy Jacobs
3D Building 105, Windgate Center for Fine and Performing Arts
Apr. 1
9 a.m.-4 p.m. | Student Event: Master Class with Amy Jacobs
3D Building 105, Windgate Center for Fine and Performing Arts
Apr. 2
9 a.m.-4 p.m. | Student Event: Master Class with Amy Jacobs
3D Building 105, Windgate Center for Fine and Performing Arts
BENNY TSENG | Violin
Violinist Benny Tseng has earned international acclaim as one of today’s most compelling young concert artists, with critics praising his “grace, poise, and blistering virtuosity.” Since winning the XV International Tchaikovsky Violin Competition in 2015, he has performed with leading orchestras, including the London Philharmonic, Munich Philharmonic, Czech Philharmonic, Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, and Tokyo Philharmonic. Tseng graduated from the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where he studied with Aaron Rosand and Ida Kavafian. He also earned top prizes at the Singapore, Sarasate, and Isang Yun International Violin Competitions. After signing with Deutsche Grammophon in 2016, he released several acclaimed recordings, including Reverie and a collaboration with Mikhail Pletnev and the Russian National Orchestra featuring Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto. Born in Taipei, Taiwan, Tseng performs on the celebrated 1735 Nicolò Gagliano violin, formerly owned by Jules Massenet, which a private collector generously loans him.
For more information, contact Izzy Getzov, professor of music education and CSO conductor, Department of Music, israelg@uca.edu.
April 21
4-6 p.m. | Student Event: Violin Masterclass
Snow Fine Arts Recital Hall
6:15-7:15 p.m. | Student Event: Dinner with Students
Elizabeth Christian Cafeteria
7:30-9:30 p.m. | Student Event: Chamber Music Masterclass
Snow Fine Arts Recital Hall
April 22
1:40-2:30 p.m. | Student Event: Lecture by Benny Tseng
Snow Fine Arts Recital Hall
7:30 p.m. | Public Event: Violin Recital with Pianist Orion Weiss
Little Rock venue TBD
Sponsored by Chamber Music Society of Little Rock. Tickets are $25 for the public at http://chambermusiclr.com/tickets. Free with UCA Student ID.
April 23
7 p.m. | Rehearsal with CSO
Concert Hall, Windgate Center for Fine and Performing Arts
April 24
2:30 p.m. | Rehearsal with CSO
Concert Hall, Windgate Center for Fine and Performing Arts
7:30 p.m. | Public Event: Conway Symphony Orchestra featuring guest artist Benny Tseng
Concert Hall, Windgate Center for Fine and Performing Arts.
For public tickets, visit the UCA Box Office, uca.edu/publicappearances/tickets/. UCA students can receive up to two free tickets by visiting the box office at Reynolds Performance Hall or the Windgate Center for Fine and Performing Arts. A UCA Bear Card is required.
THIS EVENT IS A COLLABORATION WITH THE CONWAY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA.
