Fairfield University and Fairfield Theatre Company Announce New Arts and Education Partnership

Fairfield University and Fairfield Theatre Company Announce New Arts and Education Partnership

The new collaboration builds upon a 25-year history of shared commitment to the arts, and lays the groundwork for innovative programming, student engagement, and expanded cultural experiences for the community.

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FAIRFIELD, Conn. (August 27, 2026)—Fairfield University and Fairfield Theatre Company (FTC) have announced a new partnership designed to strengthen Fairfield County's cultural ecosystem, connect students and arts patrons in new ways, and create a foundation for imaginative collaborations across education, performance, and the arts.

Fairfield University will serve as the exclusive Arts and Education Partner of FTC, formalizing a relationship between the two organizations with a history dating back over 25 years—in 2001, the fledgling FTC restaged and presented three off-Broadway productions for their first season, which the University hosted on campus at the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts.

This new arrangement brings together FTC's distinctive role as a nonprofit presenter and producer of live entertainment, theatre, film, educational, and cultural programming with Fairfield University's longstanding role as a hub for arts and culture in the region, while cultivating the creative intellectual potential of students. The partnership is intended to build upon the University's current robust arts and culture programming presented at the Quick Center, and the Fairfield University Art Museum, serving as a platform for future co-presentations, co-productions, educational opportunities, student involvement, and experiences that bring University communities and public audiences closer together.

For students, those possibilities could include expanded opportunities to engage with professional artists and arts organizations beyond the campus community; participation in the creation, presentation, and promotion of cultural programming in the community; and encounters with new models of arts leadership and nonprofit cultural production. For the public, the partnership promises greater access to a broader ecosystem of cultural experiences.

"This partnership is rooted in something Fairfield University has always believed: that education does not stop at the classroom door, and that the arts are among our most powerful ways of learning, imagining, questioning, connecting, and becoming more fully human," said Christine Siegel, PhD, University Provost. "We are thrilled to formalize our relationship with Fairfield Theatre Company in a way that creates new possibilities for our students, our faculty, our audiences, and our neighbors."

The new partnership advances the University's growing role as a regional hub for arts and culture and builds on the momentum of the Center for Arts & Minds, and the recent appointment of Matt Malone as Fairfield University's inaugural vice president for arts and culture, effective October 19, 2026. Malone will lead the newly formed Division of Arts and Culture, coordinating campus-wide artistic initiatives and public programming.

"This really is a full-circle moment for Fairfield Theatre Company," said Patsy Fox, executive director of FTC. "We remember the early days when a small group of people had a big idea: that Fairfield County deserved extraordinary theatre and that we could build something meaningful here. Fairfield University believed in that idea and gave us a place to begin. 25 years later, to formalize this relationship with the University in such a significant way, is incredibly exciting. It brings new visibility and prestige to FTC, but even more importantly, it creates opportunities to dream bigger about the productions, artists, educational experiences, and community connections we can create together."

"Fairfield is fortunate to have arts leaders that are willing to be ambitious about the role arts and cultural programming can play in a community," said Dr. Siegel. "This partnership is an invitation to imagine what becomes possible when we all start thinking about the cultural life we can build together."