Dr. Melissa Friesen, associate professor of theatre and communication at Bluffton University, will discuss "Mennonites Take Manhattan: Reflections on the Broadway Teachers Workshop" at 4 p.m. Friday, Jan. 28, in Stutzman Lecture Hall in Centennial Hall. The colloquium is free and open to the public.

The presentation will focus on Friesen's involvement last summer in the Broadway Teachers Workshop, which included presentations by professional theatre artists such as director Michael Mayer and playwright Tina Howe. Friesen, also the Mary Nord Ignat and Joseph Ignat Chair in Theatre at Bluffton, will share insights gained at the workshop that now inform her teaching.

"I hope the audience will learn more about the contemporary Broadway scene and about what makes musicals powerful," said Friesen, who also saw six musicals, including "Everyday Rapture" and "Memphis," while at the workshop.