Stilt walkers. Aerial dance. Acrobatics. Juggling.

East Tennessee State University’s upcoming production of “Pippin” is bringing much more than music and comedy to the stage.

Presented by ETSU’s Department of Theatre and Dance, the Stephen Schwartz musical is being reimagined through a circus-inspired approach that draws on nearly every area of the department — from acting and musical theatre to physical theatre, design and technical production.

The ETSU Department of Theatre and Dance is part of ETSU’s Phil and Martha Bachman College of Arts and Sciences.  

“It takes a village to put on a show,” said Director Melissa Shafer, professor emerita of theatre in the college. “With this show in particular, I think it’s more like a city. You’ll see stilt walkers and acrobats, aerial dance, all sorts of really kind of fun stuff in this production.”  

The show has appeared on Broadway twice, including a 2013 revival known for incorporating circus arts and acrobatics. ETSU’s production takes inspiration from that approach while building a version around the talents of its own students.

That includes aerial dance, such as lyra and trapeze and other physical theatre elements requiring considerable coordination both onstage and behind the scenes.

Shafer said the complexity is part of what makes the production particularly well suited to the department.

For senior Alice Beattie, a design and production theatre major and the production’s stage manager, watching those pieces come together has been one of the most rewarding parts of the process.

“Coming into the Bach and seeing all the silks and the lyra and everything start to piece together, it’s just so beautiful seeing all my talented friends and peers doing amazing things that we haven’t showcased before,” Beattie said.

As stage manager, Beattie has been involved from the earliest design conversations through rehearsals and technical preparation, helping coordinate communication among the cast, director and production team.

The production has also created new opportunities for students to work across disciplines.

Taten Osborne, a junior musical theatre major with a minor in dance, is serving as assistant music director after having worked on productions from the performance side.

He said working behind the scenes has given him a new appreciation for the number of people and moving parts required to build a musical.

“It’s so fun to be able to be a part of the same thing and have students be collaborative creators,” Osborne said. “It really evolves and kind of just becomes this melting pot of a bunch of different talents that all come together to make this beautiful thing.”

That collaboration is particularly visible in a production where performers may be singing difficult music one moment and performing aerial dance or physical theatre the next.

But beneath the spectacle is a story Osborne believes will resonate strongly with anyone.

“It’s about a kid finding himself,” he said. “And we’re in college. We’re meant to be here finding ourselves and finding what we want to do in life. I feel like it’s a story that a lot of people can easily connect to.”

The production is also continuing efforts to make theatre more accessible at ETSU. Beattie, who minors in American Sign Language (ASL), has helped coordinate ASL interpreters for the Friday, Nov. 20, performance.  

“I think art should be shared with everybody,” Beattie said.

“Pippin” will run Nov. 19-22 in the Bert C. Bach Theatre at the ETSU Martin Center for the Arts. Tickets are available online at etsumartincenter.evenue.net/events/DEPTTD. Tickets are also available at the Box Office, open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.