On a campus where it seems science and the arts rarely collide, one department has simultaneously supported the arts and raised funds for a new laboratory.

Students in the occupational and physical therapy programs in the UW Department of Rehabilitation Medicine sold discounted tickets for several showings of the Seattle Opera’s performance of The Marriage of Figaro. A portion of the proceeds will go toward building a student lab for the department.

“You have to find new ways to fundraise,” said Anita Williamson, a graduate student in the master’s program for occupational therapy. “I thought it was a way to support the arts, but at the same time, reach out and get funds to help build our new lab.”

Students and faculty who purchased the tickets will receive a backstage tour of the opera led by UW alumnus Dean Williamson, the conductor of the show. The students hope to hold similar fundraisers for the lab in the future with local ballet and theater groups.

“Fundraising has really changed a lot over the past couple of years,” Anita Williamson said. “It’s nice that [people who donate] can get something in return for it. In this case, they were able to get a ticket for the opera, but at the same time, we were able to get money for our lab.”

The opera was composed by Mozart and follows two sets of lovers through a day of comical trials and tribulations. It is based on a Beaumarchais comedy that was banned in Vienna during the 18th century. While it was originally a satire of the aristocracy, the opera has a timeless quality that makes it applicable to the present day.

“The modern audience will see it as 24 hours in a day of a marriage with the universal themes of love, redemption and forgiveness in the end,” the conductor said of the performance.

Dean Williamson graduated from the UW in 1981 with a bachelor’s degree of music in piano performance. He served as the principal coach and pianist for the Seattle Opera for 12 years and was the director of the Seattle Opera Young Artists Program until 2002. From there, he went on to perform and conduct at companies across the country, and in 2007, he became the artistic director of Opera Cleveland.

“The way to succeed in business and the arts is to take whatever is given to you and run with it,” Williamson said. “The one thing that I always tell students graduating from college, especially in the arts, is to go where the wind blows you. Take advantage of every opportunity presented to you.”

The performance features a cast of international singers directed by Peter Kazaras. It runs at McCaw Hall until May 16.

Reach editorial assistant Lexie Krell at arts@dailyuw.com.