Muse Machine is an American arts education organization based in Dayton, Ohio, serving 77,000 students and 600 teachers across 13 different southwestern Ohio counties.[1] Founded in 1982 by Suzanne Murray Bassani,[2] the organization has produced many annual musicals and summer concerts, where students participate on stage, backstage, and in the orchestra.[3] Bassani, an accomplished stage actress and festival organizer who had lived 18 years in Italy, established the organization after moving to Dayton, with help from locals Jean Woodhull and Frances Sullivan.
Muse Machine's first stage production was the play Once in a Lifetime, put on by Mountview Theatre School students who transported their production (and director) from London to the Victory Theater in Dayton.[4]
A 501(c)(3) non-profit, in tax year 2022, Muse Machine had total revenues of $1.2 million and program service expenses of over $660,000, and net assets of nearly $6 million, under executive director, Ruth Reveal.[5] The approach of the organization is to engage students through arts-integrated classroom instruction, interactive workshops, and professional development for teachers.