Basement Arts Gives Students Room to Experiment—and Belong

Reese Leif, artistic director of Basement Arts, a student theatre group subsidized by the University of Michigan’s Department of Theatre and Drama, describes the organization as “the scrappiest student-led theatre on campus.”

Leif, who recently graduated from the School of Music, Theatre & Dance with a bachelor’s degree in performing arts management, became involved in theatre at a young age but quickly realized performing wasn’t the right fit. Instead, she found her place in directing and dramaturgy, which includes researching scripts, supporting community engagement, and collaborating with directors to shape a production’s message.

At U-M, where she also pursued double minors in writing and digital studies, Leif first discovered Basement Arts through Instagram.

“I was immediately intrigued,” she says.

Basement Arts performances are completely free and open to both the university community and the broader Ann Arbor public, something Leif believes makes the organization especially accessible.

“Accessibility is guiding my time here,” she says. “It’s also guiding what I want my future to look like.”

That mission is reflected in the structure of the organization itself. Basement Arts welcomes students from all majors, creating what Leif describes as “a creative playground for arts students and non-arts students alike.”

Rather than focusing narrowly on one discipline, students bring their own academic interests and lived experiences into productions. While roughly 60% of participants come from SMTD, the remaining 40% come from elsewhere across the university—including, recently, a computer science major who joined the group as an actor.

Basement Arts also hosts a late-night performance series at the Walgreen Drama Center, staging three to five events each semester. Leif says the series has fostered meaningful collaboration with students from a wide range of cultural backgrounds, including those who identify as BIPOC, Latinx, and LGBTQ+.

What makes Basement Arts distinct, Leif says, is its emphasis on process over polish.

“We’re not trying to be a professional theatre company,” she says—and she means it as a compliment.

In professional theatre, larger budgets can sometimes make productions feel “really product-oriented,” she says. Basement Arts, by contrast, “feels really people-oriented.”

That spirit extends beyond the student performers themselves. Audience members often return repeatedly, including retirees and former Basement Arts participants.

“It’s really nice that we have that buy-in from the Ann Arbor community,” Leif says.

If she could offer advice to other students, Leif says she would encourage them not to fear mistakes.

“Programs like Basement Arts really do exist as learning opportunities,” she says. “People feel like they have to be doing everything right from the second they get some sort of title or position.”

But nobody starts out knowing everything, she adds.

“Everyone you work with is still learning.”