Minicourse Summer 2026 Registration Open-2 Five-week Courses-Friends of the Madison Library

Students can enroll for the two in-person summer minicourses at friendsmadisonnjlibrary.org/minicourses. Tuition for each course is $95. Classes are held in the Chase Room of the Madison Public Library.

“Comedy and Drama on Stage” by Stacie Lents, Professor of Theater and Communication, Arts, Communication, and Media Department, Fairleigh Dickinson University

5 Wednesday afternoons, 1:30-3:30 pm (2 hours), May 27, June 3, 10, 17, and 24, 2026.

This minicourse will explore theatrical scripts in a variety of periods and genres with a focus on the making of strong dialogue and character. The course will take participants on a journey through theatrical innovation, interpreting plays from a range of playwrights and time periods. We will have an opportunity to examine playwrights such as Moliere, Shakespeare, Eugene O’Neill, August Wilson, Rebecca Gilman, and Anna Ziegler, among others. We will explore these writers’ unique approaches to character and language as well as their outsized impact on television, film, and culture. Prof. Lents will also discuss her own published and produced work as well as elements of performance.

The course will be entertaining as well as informative and will also give participants opportunities in class discussion to try their hand at the techniques playwrights use to build a scene. Reading of the plays covered is recommended but not required. Prof. Lents, a trained actor and member of both SAG-AFTRA and Actors’ Equity Association, will read excerpts in class for those who are less familiar with the texts. All are welcome. No theater experience or background required.

"Bach, Handel, Vivaldi: Masters of the Baroque" by Dr Robert Butts, conductor, composer, educator, and lecturer.

5 Tuesday afternoons, 1:30 to 3:00 pm (1 ½ hours), June 9, 16, 23, 30, and July 7, 2026.

Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frideric Handel, and Antonio Vivaldi – three of the most familiar names in the history of music and three of the most important composers of the Baroque period (1700-1750). Although they were contemporaries, their lives were quite different. Bach never strayed far, working for many years in Leipzig in his job at the Thomaskirche. Vivaldi traveled, but for a long time worked at the Ospedale della pieta in Venice. Handel was one of history’s most cosmopolitan composers, traveling across Europe many times. Bach was most famous for his keyboard and sacred choral music. Handel was most famous for his operas and oratorios. Vivaldi was most famous for his instrumental music. For over 250 years, audiences have been thrilled by the music of all three masters of The Baroque.

Stacie Lents received her MFA from Rutgers, Mason Gross School of the Arts, and her BA from Yale University. She has been recognized with the Becton College of Arts and Sciences Outstanding Teacher of the Year award (2014), the University Distinguished Faculty Award for Teaching (2020), the Maddy Award for Outstanding Teaching (2021), the University Distinguished Faculty Award for Student Success and Belonging (2024), and the EOF Champion Award (2025).

Lents is also a professional playwright and actor. Theatrical Rights published her play College Colors, and Worldwide, and Playscripts, Inc. published her plays Henry’s Law, Laugh out Loud (cry quietly), and Fire Exit. Prison Performing Arts commissioned her to write the stage adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s novel Hag-Seed as part of their New Plays Initiative. A previous PPA commission, Run-On Sentence, was nominated for a St. Louis Theatre Circle Award for Outstanding New Play.

Excerpts from her plays have been anthologized in Contemporary Scenes for Twentysomethings and In Performance: Contemporary Monologues for Men and Women (Teens), published by Applause. Henry’s Law, a play about bullying, was included in Backstage.com’s list of 15 Must-Read Plays for Tweens and Teens.

As an actor, Stacie has performed regionally and in New York, including originating the one-woman play Six Hands by the late Eric H. Weinberger and the role of Bessie in Eugene O’Neil’s play Bread and Butter at New York’s Provincetown Playhouse. She is a member of the Dramatists Guild of America, Actors’ Equity Association, and SAG-AFTRA.

Dr Robert Butts has won acclaim as conductor, composer, and educator. He is the founder and director of the Baroque Orchestra of NJ, now in its 30^th season. He teaches at Montclair State University, the Caspersen School of Graduate Studies at Drew University, NJ Council for the Humanities and Saint Elizabeth University. He has conducted major orchestra and opera performances throughout NJ and the US, as well as guest appearances in Romania, the Czech Republic, Russia, Italy, and England. Dr. Butts received his M.A. in Musicology from the University of Iowa with a specialty in 17th and 18th century music and a D.M.A. in conducting from the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago. He also studied conducting at Julliard with Maestro La Selva.
The Friends honored Dr Butts on March 21 for teaching 30 years in our minicourse program. His awards include the 2019 Artist of the Year Award by the New York Classical Music Society; the 2019 Exemplary Leader Award from the Morris County Chamber of Commerce, the 2016 Tourism Award from the Morris County Tourism Bureau, the 2015 Comcast Newsmaker Award from Comcast, and the 2015 Honored Artist Award.

The non-credit Minicourses are open to the public with no prerequisites or examinations. The minicourses are organized by the all-volunteer Friends of the Madison Public Library, a non-profit 501©(3) organization. All proceeds benefit the Madison Public Library.