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A student gestures and speaks on stage during a storytelling event at Scooter's on the St. Thomas campus

Theater & Storytelling at the University of St. Thomas

Scene Setters

Launched by the College of Arts and Sciences in 2024, Scene Setters is a new interdisciplinary initiative designed to elevate the art of storytelling on the St. Thomas campus.

Scene Setters is a hub, a connecting energy, for theater and storytelling—both telling and listening to stories, both making and attending theater. It is for people who believe that story is how we get to know one another, that theater is a place where we build community. Scene Setters creates spaces for human connection; it embraces human imperfection and honors the courage to share bravely and listen deeply.

Through campus events and student clubs and academic courses, we are focused on creating opportunities for students to make and do and to connect and collaborate with others. To celebrate the diverse stories, engage in meaningful dialogue, and deepen encounters among everyone in the St. Thomas community and with our local arts communities, which happen to be among the liveliest in the US.

Show up. Set the scene. See what happens.

Masks that students created for a performance

What We're All About

  • Taking risks through play
  • Exploring big questions
  • Awakening imagination
  • Finding your people

Hear from the cast and crew of our recent production of The Crucible at St. Thomas!

Advertisement for a past StorySlam event with the theme "Love Hurts." A large, wide-open eyeball is featured on a black background.

Listen. Share. Connect

Tommie StorySlams

At Tommie StorySlams, students put their names in a hat at the beginning of the evening for a chance to be randomly selected to tell a 5-minute story related to the evening's theme on stage. The rules are simple: 5-minute stories. Stories must be true. No rants. No notes or props on stage. Students have presented on many themes, including:

  • Love Hurts
  • Madness
  • The Fool
  • The Ugly Truth

Faculty and Staff Leaders

Amy Muse

Dr. Amy Muse

Professor, English

For Amy Muse, this is a communion project. What draws her to theater and storytelling is getting people in the same room to think and feel from within dilemmas together. She is passionate about arts-based pedagogies that engage students in embodied creative practices to "do through," not just think through, issues.

More about Dr. Muse
Kristina Wenzel Egan

Dr. Kristina Wenzel Egan

Associate Professor, Communication Studies

For Kristi Wenzel Egan, this project is about human connection. She is amazed by the power stories have to ground us in the human experience, connect across difference, and make sense of the messy parts of life. Knowing everyone has stories, she is passionate about teaching students the skills to create stories from their life experiences and share their stories in brave and authentic ways.

More about Dr. Egan
Abigail Elfner

Abigail Elfner

Coordinator

For Abigail Elfner, this project is the vessel that has breathed new life into her love of theater and stories. An avid conversationalist, she philosophizes that storytelling should be held in the utmost respect as the paramount action of the human condition. While pursuing her B.A. in Philosophy at St. Thomas, she led the revival of student-run theater on campus, and is now serving as Scene Setters Coordinator and leading the student advisory board.

Featured Courses, Spring 2026

St. Thomas offers courses across a broad range of disciplines that feature a component of storytelling or theater.

Upcoming Events