Muse Machine

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, a 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.^[2]

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.