May 11, 2026

Theatre Arts and Dance professor Austin Eyer guest-directed a staged reading of a musical at the Fringe Festival in collaboration with Ohio University this spring. Our Lives in Pink is a new queer musical that follows nine friends, fresh out of college, as their lives turn upside down one night at a concert. Professor Eyer was brought on as director of this staged reading because of his research into positive queer representation in musical theatre. In the style of a professional 29-hour reading, the production featured a rock band and a dance chorus, fostering collaboration between Ohio University's musical theatre and dance majors. During his week-long residency, Eyer also taught a workshop on audition technique, drawing on his experience as a Broadway actor before becoming head of UTA's musical theatre program in 2020.