Transforming MSU Playwriting Fellowship
Transforming Theatre Ensemble, or TTE, is partnering with the Department of Theatre to develop and present a series of student-written and student-performed short plays that will be presented in showcase performances for members of the MSU community as a part of the Department of Theatre’s offerings.
These short plays will have a continued life as part of the Transforming Theatre Ensemble's repertoire and may be performed in the context of hybrid performance workshops offered by the Office for Inclusive Excellence and Impact for students, staff, faculty and administrators at MSU.
2025-26 Playwriting Fellows
Esther Bienek
Esther Bienek (she/her) is an undergraduate student at Michigan State University studying filmmaking, media production, and creative writing. She loves being involved in large, complex film projects that require technical creativity and organized collaboration. As a writer, Esther is most drawn to writing screenplays, but she also enjoys writing fiction and poetry. She currently serves as the co-president of Michigan State University’s Poetry Club (formerly known as Slam Club) where she manages its social media presence and organizes meetings.
Juno Bursch
Juno Bursch (they/them) is a rising sophomore with a double major in Arts and Humanities as well as English Secondary Education with a minor in Religious Studies. From an early age, they have been writing creative pieces, ranging from poems to short stories to plays, many of which address social issues such as family, class inequities and the monsters we use to represent the taboo, often through the lens of the past and historical events. Beginning in high school and continuing through their undergraduate studies, Juno has written two plays—a one-act and a full-length—and has directed three. Plays are a uniquely immersive experience which benefits from their locality; they offer experiences which are difficult to replicate anywhere else. They hope to provide one such experience within MSU’s Transforming Playwriting Fellowship Cohort.
Carole Opie
Carol Opie (she/her) completed her Master's in Teaching at Seattle University and her Bachelor's of Arts in English Language and Literature at MSU. Currently a Ph.D. student in the Curriculum, Instruction, and Teacher Education program in the MSU College of Education, she is in her fourth year of doctoral studies, specializing in literacy education. She taught elementary school in the Seattle area for seven years, including primary, intermediate and multi-lingual learners, as well as highly capable (gifted and talented) students.
She is an instructor in the Teacher Preparation program and has been a field instructor, taught children’s literature and taught several courses in literacy methods. She has taught higher education from first-year students through the master's level. From kindergarten through graduate level, her aim is to teach for social justice.
Her research interests are in culturally relevant and sustaining elementary literacy instruction, particularly read-alouds and decentering whiteness in education. Her research is empirical and/or arts-based, encompassing poetic inquiry and other forms of creative writing. She has presented at the MSU Council of Graduate Students Graduate Academic Conference, AERA, ICQI, NCTE and NCTM Joint Elementary Conference and ISAN.
In Seattle, she was part of a vibrant queer writing and performance scene. She was an arts organizer for several years, providing performance space for queer poets and spoken word artists, who performed pieces with social justice themes. She studied acting at Freehold Studio and Theatre, including the Meisner technique series, Shakespeare, personal clown and improv.
Nick Torres
Nick Torres is a second-year MFA Acting Candidate at MSU's Department of Theatre. Recent credits include Henry Drummond (Inherit the Wind), Franklin Hart Jr. (9 to 5 The Musical), and Mark (Thinner Than Water). Writing was his introduction into theatre, and he has always used his writer's brain throughout his acting career. Throughout his career, he has written short scenes, plays, and short stories, and he is very excited to put that brainpower towards new work with the Transforming Theatre Ensemble.