APSU to screen ‘Get to Eleven’ with director Q&A on April 22

By: Dr. Andrea Spofford April 20, 2026

Padraic Lillis, the award-winning director and playwright behind ‘Get to Eleven’ and the founding artistic director of The Farm Theater in New York. | Contributed photo

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Austin Peay State University’s Department of Theatre & Dance, with support from the Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts, is screening director Padraic Lillis’ film Get to Eleven at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 22, in the Sara and Mike Gotcher Theatre. A question-and-answer session with Lillis will follow immediately after the screening.

Based on Lillis’ award-winning one-man show, the film blends live performance elements with narrative cinematic storytelling in an intimate conversation about suicide, addiction, and the importance of sharing stories in our darkest moments. On stage in performance, among friends in conversation, and in the streets and subways of New York City, Lillis offers his own story and empowers his audience to deepen their own relationship with life, mental health, and mortality.

About the Director

Padraic Lillis is the founding artistic director of The Farm Theater and an award-winning director and playwright who has worked at all levels of the industry. He has dedicated the last 20 years to the development of new work, premiering plays off-Broadway, regionally, and at the Library of Congress.

Lillis writes theater, film, and audio scripts, and his work has been produced internationally. He is published with Dramatists Play Services.

As an educator, he co-designed Labyrinth Theater Company's education program, taught with NYU's Department of Dramatic Writing, was the Humana Visiting Scholar at Centre College, and the Dayton Hudson Distinguished Artist at Carleton College. He also teaches play development through The Farm Theater.

Lillis is the host of The Farm Theater's Bullpen Sessions podcast. He is a member of the Labyrinth Theater Company and a lifelong Yankees fan. Learn more by

For more information about this screening, contact Department of Theatre & Dance Chair Talon Beeson at beesont@apsu.edu. To learn about future CECA events and productions, visit /ceca/.

About the Department of Theatre and Dance 

The Department of Theatre and Dance is a training program that focuses on the professional skills expected on any stage, set, studio, or audition, or in any dance company. It offers a Bachelor of Fine Arts with concentrations in acting, dance, design, musical theatre, and stage management, as well as a Bachelor of Arts with concentrations in theatre and dance. 

About the Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts 

Since 1985, the Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts (CECA, or "seek-ah") has been providing students, the Clarksville community, and the Middle Tennessee region with engaging experiences through the Art + Design, Creative Writing, Music, and Theatre & Dance programs at APSU. CECA brings as many as 85 guest artists to Clarksville each year and presents up to 100 public arts and culture events annually, including concerts, exhibitions, artist lectures, master classes, artist residencies, and more. In addition, CECA provides the arts faculty at APSU with research opportunities to enhance their professional growth as well as numerous student scholarships each year to support APSU's own emerging artists. To learn more about CECA, contact Dr. Andrea Spofford at spofforda@apsu.edu.