DUNMORE— A new partnership between the Scranton Shakespeare Festival and Marywood University will bring growth to both, university and festival leaders said at a signing ceremony Monday.
The festival will have a permanent home that is more than 10 times the size of its current theater at the Marketplace at Steamtown, plus access to an outdoor amphitheater.
Marywood University President Lisa Lori applauds at the podium as she announces a partenership with the Scranton Shakespeare Festival in the Marywood University School of Communication in Dunmore Monday, August 24, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
After 15 seasons, the professional theater troupe will no longer be a nomad, searching for other spaces in the community for shows that can draw a big crowd.
“This means a great deal to an organization like ours,” Dawn McGurl, chair of the Festival board of directors, said during the ceremony. “Having a permanent home at Marywood gives us the ability to dream for the future in a different way. We can grow our programming, bring more artists to the region, expand our educational work, reach new artists, and build stronger connections within our community.” The festival will be leaving its 100-seat space at the Marketplace over the next several weeks.
The festival also will benefit from working with students, McGurl said. The festival will mentor students, present guest speakers and provide other opportunities. Some of the festival’s shows are produced during the school year, although most are during the summer.
Scranton Shakespeare Festival Board of Directors Chairperson Dawn McGurl speaks in the Marywood University School of Communications on the Marywood University campus in Dunmore Monday, August 24, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Marywood University President Lisa Lori speaks at the Marywood University School of Communication on the Dunmore campus Monday, August 24, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Marywood University President Lisa Lori speaks at the Marywood University School of Communication on the Dunmore campus Monday, August 24, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
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Scranton Shakespeare Festival Board of Directors Chairperson Dawn McGurl speaks in the Marywood University School of Communications on the Marywood University campus in Dunmore Monday, August 24, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
University President Lisa A. Lori, J.D., said the arts have always been an important part of Marywood. “And as we look ahead, we want to build on that history with a larger vision. And that larger vision is to make Marywood University a cultural hub for the arts for Northeastern Pennsylvania.”
The event was a ceremonial start for a new School of Communications, which reorganized some programs. “We’re not cutting anything,” Lori said during the ceremony. “We are re-envisioning the arts.”
Marywood will renovate the 1,100-seat, mid-century-era Sette LaVerghetta Center for Performing Arts Theatre, with help from its interior architecture program. Work will begin in 2027.