All the Flowers Festival
The All the Flowers Festival is a celebration of original work from queer and female artists taking place on North Campus from February 4 — 7, 2026. Produced by the multidisciplinary team Naming All the Flowers I Could, the festival features all-new musicals, plays, and dance performances created by University of Michigan students and alumni along with performances and workshops by special guests that include renowned performance artist Tim Miller and New York-based actor and composer Thani Brant.
Founded in 2023, Naming All the Flowers I Could (NAF) was created to support original narrative work being created on the University of Michigan campus. NAF founders Maddie Vassalo (BFA Interarts Performance’25) and Miles Hionis (BFA Interarts Performance’26) first developed the idea for the festival in the winter of 2025, when they took part in the U‑M School of Music, Theatre, and Dance’s Performing Arts EXCELerator entrepreneurial fellowship program. Later that semester, their initial plan was further refined into the winning proposal for the U‑M Stamps School of Art & Design’s $25,000 2025 Big Idea Award. Their goal? To cultivate a community of like-minded artists and collaborators, forging new avenues for queer and female artists to tell their authentic stories and create work outside of traditional theater and film industry pathways. This plan included the idea for a festival as a showcase for queer and female theater makers, filmmakers, and performers to bring their work to the public, and to strengthen connections between University of Michigan programs. As Maddie Vassalo notes, “It’s exciting to be able to unite the arts on campus. As an Interarts student I was always walking the line between Stamps and SMTD, and it’s amazing to be able to bring students from across North Campus together for this event.”
Since the group’s initial start, they’ve grown into a multimedia arts collective. With the addition of Associate Producers Sari Bovitz (BTA ‘27) and Catherine Miller (BM Harp Performance ‘16) and Marketing Director Eliza Vassalo (BTA ‘27), the team was able to develop relationships with collaborators across campus, find additional support from the Arts Initiative, book venues, and lock in plans for the festival’s debut. Maddie Vassalo was also excited for the chance to bring prominent performance artist Tim Miller to campus: “When Miles and I were developing plans for the festival, we kept bringing up Tim Miller as our dream person to work with. It’s such a full-circle moment to be producing an event featuring Tim — someone I’ve admired since learning about him during my first year at college.”
The festival will take place in two venues, the Duderstadt Video Studio and Arthur Miller Theater, on U‑M’s North Campus from Wednesday, February 4 through Saturday, February 7. With a diverse lineup and accessible ticket prices, the inaugural festival delivers on the team’s plan to bring original and exciting work by queer and female artists to the public.
The Midnight Hour
Wednesday, February 4, 2026 6:00PM
Duderstadt Video Studio
Tommy Donovan’s Midnight Hour, which airs every Thursday night just past prime time, has found its place amongst second-rate television programs. Exiled to the shadows of industry giants the likes of Milton Berle and Johnny Carson, Tommy Donovan is no “Mr. Television”. In fact, he is barely “Mr. Midnight.” Desperate to up viewership, Donovan and his producer, Sam Alden, decide to invite a number of controversial figures onto the show. This show uses the occult panic of the mid seventies to turn a mirror to our own current media environment of headlines and spectacle.
Written by Lana Smith (BFA Interarts ‘28)
Bitter Party
Wednesday, February 4, 2026 8:00PM
Arthur Miller Theater
The fact checking department at The Washington Times has just gotten in some breaking news. The world is ending that day at 5:00 pm. The writers can go home and say bye to their families, but only once they get the article out. This new comedy explores what happens when everything is falling apart around you but you can’t do anything to stop it.
Written and directed by Kate Goldman (BFA Interarts ‘28), Miles Hionis (BFA Interarts ‘26), and Maddie Vassalo (BFA Interarts ‘25)
Cast
Maya: Kate Goldman (BFA Interarts ‘28)
Drew: Matt Zide (BFA Interarts ‘26)
June: Megan Jones (BFA Interarts ‘27
NeuroArts X FLYDLPHN X Alana Michelle
Thursday, February 5, 2026 6:00PM
Duderstadt Video Studio
NeuroArts Productions, a collective of arts and health practitioners, music therapists, and multidisciplinary artists that reimagines person-centered care through arts based advocacy teams up with chamber ensemble FLYDLPHN and dancer Alana Michelle for this one night only performance that looks to what the future could be for mental health treatment.
NeuroArts Productions: Grace Frielink, Sasha Gusikhin (BM Vocal Performance ‘25), and Anika Love
FLYDLPHN: flutist Lexi Eubanks (MM Flute Performance ‘24), clarinetist Oliver Bishop (BM Clarinet Performance, Music Theory ’23; MM Improvisation, Chamber Music ’26), bassoonist Bryce Richardson (MM Bassoon Performance, Chamber Music ‘22), bassist Emani Barber (MM Chamber Music ’23; SM Double Bass Performance ’23), and percussionists Olivia Cirisan (MM Percussion ‘23) and Ancel Fitzgerald Neeley (BM Percussion ‘22, MM Composition ‘24)
Alana Michelle (MFA Dance ‘26)
The Laugh of the Medusa
Thursday, February 5, 2026 8:00PM
Arthur Miller Theater
The Laugh of The Medusa is a trans coming of age story about a mythological figure and a young writer who meet through the pages of a feminist essay. With the power of writing, they change each other’s lives and stories forever.
Book, Music, and Lyrics by Thani Brant (BFA Musical Theatre ‘21)
Directed by Megumi Nakamura (BFA Musical Theatre ‘19)
Music directed by Brendan Lockhart (BM Vocal Performance ‘27)
Cast
Writer: Thani Brant (BFA Musical Theatre ‘21)
Medusa: Déa Thatcher
Ensemble: AJ Dagenais (BTA ‘26), Alexi Gardella (BFA Acting ‘28), Lyd Herrera (BFA Musical Theatre ‘26)
Lauren Blair Smith Dance Company
Friday, February 6, 2026 6:00PM
Duderstadt Video Studio
Lauren Blair Smith Dance Company is a multidisciplinary, coming-of-age contemporary dance company established in Singapore in 2020. Our performances inspire and motivate audiences to spring up and take bold steps towards embracing one’s full potential in the arts and in life. Our motto, “let’s break standards” epitomizes our goal to revolutionize and destabilize typical approaches towards the conventional modern dance industry, both on stage and in the studios.
Founder and Artistic Director: Lauren Blair Smith (MFA Dance ‘27)
Tim Miller, A Body in the O
Friday, February 6, 2026 8:00PM
Arthur Miller Theater
Climb along with performer Tim Miller inside the giant O of the Hollywood sign — or as Shakespeare conjured it “the wooden O” of all theatre and performance — where we try to take on the big themes of our time. Miller performs a new work created from his brand new book of performances and stories A BODY IN THE O.
Tim Miller is an internationally acclaimed performance artist. Miller’s creative work as a performer and writer explores the artistic, spiritual and political topography of his identity as a gay man. Miller’s performances have been presented all over North America, Australia, and Europe in such prestigious venues as Yale Repertory Theatre, the Institute of Contemporary Art (London), the Walker Art Center (Minneapolis), and the Brooklyn Academy of Music.
Walk You Back to Your Car
A new musical by Anderson Zoll and Maggie Brown
Saturday, February 7, 2026 6:00PM
Arthur Miller Theater
Walk You Back To Your Car is a one-act musical that follows three couples as they walk back from a party to their cars. Instead of focusing on what happens inside, the show captures the fleeting, often overlooked moments of connection between the front door and the car. The couples’ stories weave in and out of each other, showing the different ways a relationship can shift in a single, brief walk. Some changes are subtle, some enormous, but all leave a lasting mark. It’s a reflection on holding onto a moment as long as we can, until we must inevitably say goodbye. Through laughter, longing, and unexpected honesty, the musical reminds us that often it’s the smallest encounters that shape the course of our lives.
Directed by Gonzalo Delgado (BFA Directing ‘27)
Written by Anderson Zoll (BFA Musical Theatre ‘27) and Maggie Brown
Lighting Design by Tate Zeleznik (BFA Theatre Design & Production ‘27)
Cast
Ty lam (BFA Musical Theatre ‘27)
Avery Ramsey (BFA Musical Theatre ‘28)
Bella Denissen (BFA Musical Theatre ‘27)
Faith Dolan (BFA Musical Theatre ‘28)
Emmet Victorson (BFA Musical Theatre ‘28)
Sage Taylor (BFA Musical Theatre ‘27)
NAF At Night, Hosted by Karmen Khameleon
Saturday, February 7, 2026 8:30PM
Duderstadt Video Studio
Join Karmen Khameleon for a one-night-only drag show at the Duderstadt Video Studio!
Featuring
Karmen Khameleon (Emilio Rodriguez, BFA Art & Design ‘26) @karmenkdrag
Portia Lynn @the.portia.lynn
SirGin @thesirgin
Niko Sanrio @niko.sanrio
Sweettee Shee @sweettee_the_icon