'The Beauty Project' blooms at Smith-Gilbert Gardens in partnership with KSU

April 8th, 2026

Vanita Keswani leads a group of KSU theatre students outdoors at Smith-Gilbert Gardens in Kennesaw — Vanita Keswani, education and exhibits manager at Smith-Gilbert Gardens, speaks to KSU theatre students during the development of the interactive performance, "The Beauty Project: Through the Looking Glass." (Courtesy of Kennesaw State University)

This spring, Kennesaw State University (KSU) students are turning Smith-Gilbert Gardens into a stage. “The Beauty Project: Through the Looking Glass,” a partnership between KSU’s Department of Theatre and Performance Studies, the City of Kennesaw and Smith-Gilbert Gardens, invites visitors to wind through in an immersive experience inspired by Lewis Carroll’s Wonderland. The production just earned the National Theatre for Young Audiences “Community Impact” Award, recognizing a collaboration four years in the making.

The walk that began it all

The idea started with a stroll. When Smith-Gilbert Gardens Education and Exhibits Manager Vanita Keswani met KSU Theatre and Performance Studies Chair Chuck Meacham in 2021, she had a vision she’d been holding for a while.

“I’ve always imagined people could walk through and get immersed in a story,” Keswani said. “And so we kind of just dove in thinking about what the possibilities could be.”