THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN DEPARTMENT OF THEATRE AND DANCE NEWSLETTER WINTER 2014
IN THIS ISSUE Professor Lucien Douglas Honored by UT Board of Regents Recognizing Possibility: Lucy Kerr Receives Top Honors for Thesis Professor Robert Ramirez Joins Faculty as Head of Acting Historian, Playwright, Advocate: Dr. Stephen Baldwin Lillian B. Rhodes Endowed Presidential Scholarship in Theatre Alumni Accolades Coming to the Stage
Gone by Tawny Garcia (B.F.A. Dance candidate) Performed in Fall For Dance, 2014
FROM CHAIR BRANT POPE, A welcome from our current students to our former students. Hook ‘Em! Dean, College of Fine Arts Douglas Dempster, Ph.D. Chair, Department of Theatre and Dance Brant Pope, Ph.D. Senior Associate Chair, Department of Theatre and Dance Susan Mickey To make a gift to the Department of Theatre and Dance Jessi Propst, Director of Development and Alumni Relations 512.475.6291 jpropst@austin.utexas.edu To share your alumni news Cassie Gholston, Director of Marketing 512.232.5301 gholston@austin.utexas.edu The University of Texas at Austin Department of Theatre and Dance 300 E. 23rd Street D3900 Austin, Texas 78712 Phone: 512.471.5793 utexas.edu/finearts/tad The ENCORE logo is the genius of Harvey Schmidt, artist and composer, B.F.A. 1952. Photo: David Bjurstrom, Sandy Carson, Daniel Cavazos, Eagleton Photography, Nick Holmes, Lawrence Peart, Josh Rasmussen 1
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PROFESSOR LUCIEN DOUGLAS HONORED BY UT BOARD OF REGENTS
Department of Theatre and Dance Associate Professor Lucien Douglas is among the 27 University of Texas at Austin faculty members honored with the 2014 Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award, the UT System Board of Regents’ highest teaching distinction. The award is considered among the nation’s largest cash prizes for higher education faculty members who exhibit outstanding classroom performance and innovation in undergraduate instruction. Douglas has enjoyed an extensive career as an actor in professional theatre, film and television. His work has received critical acclaim in The New York Times, Time Magazine and Backstage. He has played over 100 roles, which include being featured on Broadway with Zoe Caldwell and Dame Judith Anderson in Medea; Off-Broadway at New York’s Roundabout Theatre in Naked, Family Business, Candida and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead with John Rubinstein and John Wood; and at several regional theatres, including the Kennedy Center, Theatre Virginia, North Shore Music Theatre and the Clarence Brown Theatre.
Dr. Lucien Douglas
A consummate educator, Douglas is an avid supporter of high school theatre programs. He conducts annual workshops for approximately 25 Texas high school drama programs as they prepare for their University Interscholastic League One Act Play competitions.
“Lucien Douglas has dedicated his life and career to the teaching of acting. His extraordinary work as a classroom instructor has been recognized by the department, college, and now the university’s Board of Regents,” shares Chair Brant Pope. “It is a powerful statement affirming that he is a master teacher of acting who is making a tremendous impact on our future artists.” Established in 2008, the Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Awards program recognizes educators who demonstrate a clear commitment to teaching and sustained ability to deliver excellence to the undergraduate learning experience. A panel of students, peer faculty members and external reviewers evaluates the award nominees’ teaching performance over three years. Faculty members are considered through a rigorous process based on a range of activities and criteria that include expertise, curricula quality, innovative course development and student learning outcomes. Past Department of Theatre and Dance recipients of the Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award include Andrea Beckham, Charlotte Canning, Katie Dawson, Franchelle Dorn and Susan Mickey.
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RECOGNIZING POSSIBILITY: ALUMNA LUCY KERR RECEIVES TOP HONORS FOR THESIS
The Way You Move Your Body, 2013. Copyright David Bjurstrom.
Lucy Kerr’s (B.A. In Theatre and Dance and B.A. In Philosophy, 2014) final month as a Theatre and Dance student concluded with thunderous applause, as she earned the top prize in the distinguished University Co-op / George H. Mitchell Undergraduate Student Awards for Academic Excellence. Kerr’s senior thesis about changing perceptions of disabled people through applied modern dance garnered her the first place spot and a $10,000 grand prize.
Lucy Kerr and Dr. Rebecca Rossen 3
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Kerr’s thesis, Recognizing Possibility: Intersections of Disability, Contemporary Dance, and Social Philosophy, looks at the historical attitudes toward disabled people in society, and how applied dance can work to disrupt those negative connotations.
She demonstrates how to use dance to empower the disabled community and enlighten the public. The thesis was conducted jointly with the Departments of Theatre and Dance and Philosophy, and combines both of Kerr’s majors into an illuminating and sophisticated academic piece. “When we speak of the importance of the arts in education there could be no better example than Lucy Kerr,” shares Chair Brant Pope. “Here is a young woman whose training in the arts taught her how to liberate her imagination and creativity in ways that have made extraordinary contributions far beyond the confines of theatre and dance. Lucy is a rock star.”
Kerr’s thesis is a culmination of her work at UT, which included the dance performance The Way You Move Your Body, featuring abled and disabled dancers guiding the audience from the world of outcasts to one where difference is celebrated. “The Way You Move Your Body featured a terrific mixed-ability cast,” says Dr. Rebecca Rossen, Assistant Professor in Performance as Public Practice and Kerr’s thesis adviser. “It was notable not only because it was beautifully choreographed, staged and performed, but also because it expanded standard ideas about what ‘dance’ is, who can do it and what dance can do.” The Way You Move Your Body was a part of the Department of Theatre and Dance’s 2013 Cohen New Works Festival presented by the University Co-op.
PROFESSOR ROBERT RAMIREZ JOINS FACULTY AS HEAD OF ACTING
We welcome our new Head of Acting, Robert Ramirez to the Department of Theatre and Dance. He is a professional actor and internationally known specialist in voice and speech for the stage. Ramirez’s work has been particularly celebrated in the area of Shakespeare performance and he has performed in New York at the Joseph Papp Public Theatre and in regional theatres such as the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, the Utah Shakespeare Festival and the Illinois Shakespeare Festival. He is a coveted voice and text coach at the most significant venues in the United States such as American Players Theatre, where he has spent the last three seasons. Ramirez graduated from the renowned actor training program at the University of Delaware and is also an award-winning reader of audio books and a master teacher and practitioner of dialects and accents. He brings his exciting expertise to assist us in developing a strong Latino and Hemispheric component to our department.
The University Co-op / George H. Mitchell Undergraduate Student Awards for Academic Excellence honor students who “have demonstrated superior scholarly or creative achievement through a notable paper or thesis, research project, creative or artistic endeavor, or other product of the student’s academic work.” The Mitchell Awards are distributed annually and consist of three third place recipients, three second place recipients and one grand prize.
“I am thrilled to be joining the faculty here at UT as we develop our new B.F.A. in Acting,” shares Ramirez. “Working alongside world-class colleagues with talented and dedicated students, I am incredibly excited for our future here in Austin, Texas.”
Professor Robert Ramirez
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HISTORIAN, PLAYWRIGHT, ADVOCATE: DR. STEPHEN BALDWIN
Dr. Stephen Baldwin
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A passion for theatre and history drew Dr. Stephen Baldwin (Ph.D. 1989) to Dr. Oscar G. Brockett’s office door at The University of Texas at Austin. Brockett, a preeminent theatre historian and author of the universal text History of the Theatre, was head of the university’s theatre history doctoral program. Heralded by The Chronicle of Higher Education as the nation’s best program, the timing for Baldwin’s arrival at UT was perfect. As the historian reflected on it, Baldwin describes it as “one of the best decisions of my life.”
An advocate for the Deaf and hard of hearing community, Baldwin has been a steadfast leader for the Texas Association for the Deaf (TAD). He has twice held the role of president as well as secretary. Beginning in 2006, he assumed responsibilities as the association’s editor, writer and photographer. Baldwin shares, “My study at UT allowed me to use my research and writing skills to develop an award-winning newsletter, TAD-focused articles about legislature, politics, policies, advocacy and a TAD history/documentary film.”
Under Brockett’s mentorship, Baldwin delved into the history of the National Theatre of the Deaf (NTD). Formed in 1967, NTD is the longest existing touring company in the United States, and has performed in all 50 states and seven continents. Baldwin’s study led to the publication of his “definitive deaf theatre history book,” Pictures in the Air: Story of the National Theatre of the Deaf. Baldwin traces NTD’s understated beginnings to its rise to international prominence, and features contributions of renowned directors and actors associated with the company.
Asked for his insight for graduates looking to make their mark on the world, Baldwin offers, “My advice comes down to four words of wisdom: focus, discipline, sacrifice and appreciate. Translated: Control personal issues, party responsibly, manage your time, and thank your parents and past teachers.”
Baldwin’s experience at UT coupled with Brockett’s indelible influence served him well. He is author to 20 produced plays, including the 1985 work Deaf Smith, The Great Texian Scout. An avid Erastus “Deaf” Smith enthusiast, Baldwin developed a comprehensive collection on Smith that was recently made available to the public through the Educational Resource Center on Deafness at Texas School for the Deaf.
Learn more about the Deaf Smith Collection, including open captioned plays with voice overs, and see excerpts of Baldwin’s play at http://tinyurl.com/pjx4krr
WHO SUPPORTED YOU?
LILLIAN B. RHODES ENDOWED PRESIDENTIAL SCHOLARSHIP IN THEATRE
Take a moment and reflect on who encouraged you to pursue your dreams. Who made a difference and supported your artistic training – your family, a teacher or professor, a scholarship donor? As a graduate of this program, you understand the importance of supporting emerging artists, scholars and performers, who will, in turn, inspire, entertain and educate future generations of arts patrons and students. By making a gift to the TEXAS TALENT campaign, you will help provide scholarship resources for emerging artists to attend UT Austin. You can make a difference - every gift, at every level, directly supports a young artist. Donate online at givetotheatreanddance.org To learn more, contact Director of Development and Alumni Relations Jessi Propst at 512.475.6291 or jpropst@austin.utexas.edu. Lillian B. Rhodes
The Board of Regents of The University of Texas System established the Lillian B. Rhodes Endowed Presidential Scholarship in Theatre this past summer to benefit The University of Texas College of Fine Arts. Mrs. Lillian Wood Burnside Rhodes, who graduated with a B.F.A. in Drama in 1942, provided gift funds. Mrs. Rhodes loved drama and the department, especially her time spent with James Parke, the first chair of the department. “She continued to be dramatic her entire life,” shared her daughter, Ellen Rhodes Moore. The department is grateful for Mrs. Rhodes’s generosity, and the support of her family. ENCORE WINTER 2014
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DIRECTOR’S COUNCIL The Department of Theatre and Dance Director’s Council is a premier volunteer group designed to foster strong and collaborative connections between The University of Texas at Austin and the local community by supporting initiatives in marketing, public relations, student recruitment and development. As advocates for the department, this group of alumni, parents and fine arts supporters play a key role in continuing to build a professional theatre and dance training program serving thousands of talented Texans for generations.
2014 – 2015 Director’s Council Members: Carol Smith Adams
Annie McKinnon
Francesca Brockett and Jim Pedicano
Debbie Oliver
Barrett Bruce Jean Cheever Joanne and Jack Crosby Dee Dawson Gary Farmer Jolynn Free Pam and Edmund McIlhenny
Grand Duo by Mark Morris Performed in Fall For Dance, 2013 7
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Miriam Relyea Russ Sartain Nancy Scanlan Marc Seriff Laura Sheffield Karen Skolnik Leah Stolar Sharon Watkins
ALUMNI ACCOLADES Please share your story with us! Submit a brief summary of your life and career, related photos and information you want share with your former classmates.
Submit updates online at uttadalumniupdates.org or by mail at: The University of Texas at Austin Department of Theatre and Dance ATTN: Alumni News 300 E. 23rd Street Stop D3900 Austin, Texas 78712
KEVIN ADAMS (B.F.A. 1984) won the 2014 Tony Award for Best Lighting Design of a Musical for his design of Hedwig and the Angry Inch. The award marks a fourth-career win for Adams. He was honored in 2007 with the Tony Award for Best Lighting Design of a Musical for his work in Spring Awakening and earned a second in 2008 for Best Lighting Design of Play for The 39 Steps. In 2010, Adams received the Tony Award for Best Lighting Design of a Musical for his work on American Idiot. DAVID BARBER (B.F.A. 1990) recently designed scenery for three of the five shows at the Contemporary American Theater Festival, including world premieres by Jane Martin (directed by Jon Jory) and Mark St. Germain. Other current projects include costume and production design for the feature film It’s All Relative; and scenic design for the world premiere of The Most Deserving by Catherine Trieschmann at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.
MARLANE BARNES (M.F.A. 2010) has been living in Los Angeles since graduation. She has appeared in Summit Entertainment’s The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part Two, co-starred on Mad Men, Sons of Anarchy and iCarly and has recurring roles on Showtime’s Masters of Sex and ABC Family’s drama The Fosters. She also guest starred on the NBC pilot Salvation, which shot last spring in Dallas. Marlane volunteers for Best Friends Animal Society and is working towards a no-kill nation for shelter pets. BEN BAZÁN (B.A. 2012) is an actor, writer, director and improviser who was raised in Rio Grande City, Texas. Most recently, he was seen as “Andres” in the bilingual premiere of Salt and Pepper at ZACH Theatre which earned him a nomination for a B. Iden Payne Award for Outstanding Performer in Theater for Youth. He has performed as a member of the student troupe Bear Derby along with performances in Powerball, a two-man performance called Instant Classic, and Silent Letters. He also has been involved in several main stage productions at The ColdTowne Theater including Slam Team Six, Late Night Down and The Organ Trail. He most recently directed/ produced You Are Cordially Invited, a special wedding event.
Marlane Barnes, Photo: Nick Holmes ENCORE WINTER 2014
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In addition to performing, Bazán has taught classes with the Paramount Story Wranglers, taught literacy and diversity programs for Creative Action, and served as an acting/playwriting instructor for the Performing Arts School at ZACH Theatre. He spends his days working as an apprentice guide at Acton Academy.
Top: Ben Bazán Bottom: Sharon Benge, Eagleton Photography 9
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KATIE BENDER’S (M.F.A. 2014) play The Fault was presented at Kitchen Dog Theater’s New Works Festival in June. Her play Still Now, first produced as part of UTNT (UT New Theatre), was recently presented by Shrewd Productions. SHARON BENGE (B.F.A. 1960) was honored this fall by the Arts Council of Fort Worth with their Lifetime Achievement in the Arts. Holding a M.F.A. from Texas Christian University, she’s a professor of theatre at Texas Woman’s University, where she served as the program director for 13 years. Having mounted over 90 plays at theatres throughout Texas, her work includes productions at Fort Worth’s Casa Mañana, Circle Theatre, Jubilee Theatre, Amphibian Stage Productions, Hip Pocket Theatre and DeSoto’s African American Repertory Theatre. The founder of Fort Worth’s Shakespeare in the Park, Benge has also served in artistic and administrative capacities at Casa Mañana, Arts Council of Fort Worth and Tarrant County and the Dallas Theater Center. As an arts broadcaster, she spent 25 years as co-host of “Art Matters” on WRR-FM Radio in Dallas. She has been honored by the Live Theater League of Tarrant County with their Award for Excellence and in 2010 was named as Arts Educator of the year. During her career she has also received accolades from the City of Fort Worth, the Arts and Business Connection, the Fort Worth Business Press and the Altrusa Club.
STEPHEN BLACKBURN (M.F.A. 1997) wrote the one-man play Douglass, one of three short plays comprising Lincoln Adjacent, which ran at the Hollywood Fringe Festival in June. Meanwhile, Fierce Backbone Theatre Co., of which Blackburn is a founding member, is in its seventh year of existence and presented four original plays at the Fringe Festival, all of which were developed in the company’s weekly workshops. CHASE BRINGARDNER (Ph.D. 2007) is the vice president for membership and marketing for the Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE). He is an associate professor at Auburn University’s Department of Theatre, specializing in the study of popular entertainments such as medicine shows and musical theatre, regional identity construction, and intersections of race, gender, and class in popular performance forms.
DIANNE ARP BUCKLEY (B.F.A. 1980) participated in the College of Fine Art’s spring commencement. Unable to attend her original commencement in 1980, Buckley celebrated with the Class of 2014 in May, receiving her diploma from mentor and former department chair Dr. Coleman A. Jennings.
Top: Stephen Blackburn Bottom: L to R: Dr. Coleman A. Jennings, Dianne Arp Buckley, Dr. Brant Pope at Commencement, 2014.
MARY CHASE (M.F.A. 2006) recently relocated to Denver after serving a year at the American Embassy in Kuwait and traveling for In Region Training to 11 Middle Eastern countries. Currently she is developing and directing a new dance program in Denver Public Schools at the Designated International (Merrill) Middle School. At Merrill faculty serve refugee and immigrant families from 26 different countries. The population of Middle Eastern students is their third largest after native English and Spanish. KENNETH CHU (M.F.A. 1996) is the costume shop manager at Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Drama. FRANCES YA-CHU COWHIG’S (M.F.A. 2009) play The World of Extreme Happiness premiered at The Goodman this fall and will move to New York City’s Manhattan Theatre Club for its world premiere in February.
MICHELLE DAHLENBURG (M.F.A. 2011) was awarded the Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award by the Texas State University College of Fine Arts and Communication. In addition to her work at the university, she is the artistic director for Conspire Theatre. Formed in 2009, Conspire Theatre leads theatre and creative writing workshops for women incarcerated at the Travis County Correctional Complex in Del Valle, Texas. Dahlenburg is also a program manager for HATCH: Inspired Social Change, an audio producer for the 4 Plus 4 Equals art + mental health project, and a story producer/performer for Mortified Austin. LISA D’AMOUR’S (M.F.A. 1996) play Airline Highway is currently running at Steppenwolf Theatre Company and will be moving to the Samuel J. Friedman Theater (New York) in April. This will be the first Broadway production for D’Amour. She is a Pulitzer Prize finalist for her play Detroit.
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Photo: Courtesy of Allison Ebling
EMILY FREEMAN (M.F.A. 2013) received the Michael H. Granof Award for Excellence in Graduate Education for Outstanding Thesis. Underwritten by the University Co-op and coordinated through The University of Texas at Austin’s Graduate School, the Outstanding Thesis Award recognizes exceptional work by master’s students and encourages the highest levels of scholarship, research and writing. Emily Freeman
RUDE MECHS, the department’s resident theatre company, was inducted this spring into the Austin Arts Hall of Fame. Selected by the Austin Critics’ Table, the honor recognizes their contribution to the Austin community. The collective’s co-producing artistic directors include MADGE DARLINGTON (M.F.A. 2004), THOMAS GRAVES (M.F.A. 2008), KIRK LYNN (M.F.A. 2004), LANA LESLEY and SHAWN SIDES. ALLISON EBLING (B.A. 2011) has joined the national touring company of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat as the A2 (Assistant Sound). The tour stars Broadway and American Idol stars Ace Young (“Joseph”) and Diana DeGarmo (“Narrator”) as well as a talented ensemble. The tour is scheduled through April 2015, and includes destinations all over the United States, including Chicago, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Houston and Washington D.C.
Freeman’s document, Feminist Performance Pedagogy: Theatre for Youth and Social Justice describes the use of feminist performance pedagogy in working toward a Theatre for Young Audiences practice that engages youth in social justice. The thesis explores the process of writing, rehearsing and touring Freeman’s play, And Then Came Tango. Produced in fall 2012 by the UT Department of Theatre and Dance, the play prompted national conversation about modern family and the representations of communities. Freeman was recently appointed community engagement director for the Orlando Repertory Theatre. She also received the 2014 Distinguished Thesis Award from the American Alliance for Theatre and Education. And Then Came Tango received the Laurie Award from The Growing Stage-The Children’s Theatre of New Jersey this April.
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DAVID FULK (Ph.D. 1979) has written five independent feature films, directed two films, and compiled and edited two baseball anthologies. His play The Potman Spoke Sooth, written and first performed at The University of Texas at Austin, continues to be staged around the world. Fulk’s middle-grades novel Raising Rufus is scheduled for a spring 2015 release by Random House/Delacorte.
HY HETHERINGTON (B.F.A. 1996), joined by MICHAEL HARTMAN (B.F.A. 1987) and SONG K. JUNG, conducted an Entrepreneurship and Arts Training Workshop for 50 Theatre and Dance undergraduate students in October. The two-day workshop is designed to teach students to use the skills learned as part of arts training to find creative solutions in a business environment and reinforces that these skills are beneficial to future leaders in all fields. Hetherington is the C.E.O. and managing partner of HLP Integration LLC, which he created in 2007. Jung, a colleague of Hetherington, is the chair of McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP’s international Intellectual Property and Technology practice, leading more than 50 IP attorneys, patent litigators and patent agents. Hartman, founder of the publicity firm The Hartman Group, returned recently to Texas to become C.E.O. of Austin, Texas-based Amy’s Ice Creams. The Hartman Group represented some of Broadway’s biggest hits, including Wicked, Rock of Ages, Big Fish and 700 Sundays.
David Fulk Top: L to R: Dr. Brant Pope, Hy Hetherington, Song K. Jung, Michael Hartman, Dr. Douglas Dempster Bottom: Entrepreneurship and Arts Training Workshop, 2014. 11
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ANDREW HINDERAKER’S (M.F.A. 2013) play Colossal received a Rolling World Premiere and is being produced across the country throughout 2014 and 2015. This fall, the smash play, directed by alumnus WILL DAVIS (M.F.A. 2013) was produced at the Olney Theatre Center and went on to Mixed Blood Theatre Company. Upcoming productions are at Dallas Theater Center (April) and Southern Rep Theatre (September). Hinderaker won the prestigious Jean Kennedy Smith Playwriting Award from the Kennedy Center for the Arts for his script. Colossal was featured at the Cohen New Works Festival at UT in 2013.
KELLY HOWE (Ph.D. 2010) is the vice president for the Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE) 2016 Conference. She is an assistant professor of theatre at North Central College.
FLORDELINO LAGUNDINO (M.F.A. 2004) is directing In the Next Room, or The Vibrator Play at Brown University/ Trinity Repertory M.F.A. Program this winter. He has performed with The Shakespeare Theatre, Woolly Mammoth Theatre, and Perseverance Theatre, where he also directed Animals Out of Paper, Doubt, Yellowman, Topdog/ Underdog, and several world premieres. Other directing credits include productions with Generator Theater Company, Tsunami Theatre Company and Juneau Symphony. At Brown/ Trinity, Lagundino directed In The Blood by Suzan-Lori Parks, Much Ado About Nothing, and Stone Cold Dead Serious by Adam Rapp.
CATHERINE ANN JONES’ (B.F.A. 1965) play Calamity Jane just wrapped up a back-to-back release at The Plaza Playhouse Theatre and Camino Real Playhouse in southern California. Jones is an award-winning playwright (On the Edge, The Women of Cedar Creek) and screenwriter (The Christmas Wife, Unlikely Angel, Touched by an Angel series).
JACQUELINE HINTON (B.F.A. 2001) stars in the new music video, Kevin Drew’s “You in Your Were,” featuring Zach Galifianakis and Feist, seen at funnyordie.com.
Dream of Perfect Sleep by Kevin Kautzman Presented in UTNT (UT New Theatre), 2013 L to R: Antoinette Robinson (M.F.A. 2013) and Janelle Buchanan
KEVIN KAUTZMAN’S (M.F.A. 2013) play, Dream of Perfect Sleep premiered this June at the Finborough Theatre in London. Conceived at The University of Texas at Austin and produced in 2013 UTNT (UT New Theatre), Dream of Perfect Sleep won both the Southwest Playwriting contest and the Kernodle Prize. It was published this summer by Oberon Books.
Jacqueline Hinton
MONA LEE (Attended) is the founder and owner of BriteLites Acting Studio, an Austin, Texas-based company providing actor training. She’s a working actress whose 40 years of experience includes regional theatre, film and television. Her extensive stage work includes appearances in The Prodigious Snob at Lincoln Center; as guest artist for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival; and a tour of The Second Time Around, starring Pat O’Brien. She performed in Marigolds, Crimes of the Heart, and many other stage performances in California, New York and Texas.
Catherine Ann Jones ENCORE WINTER 2014
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TODD LOWE (B.F.A. 1999) stars in the romantic comedy-drama Sequoia that premiered at the 2014 SXSW Film Festival. Lowe plays the role of “Oscar MacGrady,” the father that goes in search of his suicidal daughter.
SCOTT MARLOWE (B.F.A. 2004) was named San Francisco Choreographer of the Month for November 2014. He is a dancer, actor and director and has been creating and performing with LEVYdance since 2005. Marlowe recently starred in the independent feature film TEST, written and directed by Chris Mason Johnson. In 2011 Marlowe stepped into the role of LEVYdance associate director.
NIKIKO MASUMOTO (M.A. 2011) is a farmer, artist and leader, who works alongside her family to raise organic peaches, nectarines and grapes at Masumoto Family Farm. In 2012 she started the Valley Storytellers Project whose aim was to create spaces for people to tell stories in and about the Central Valley in California. In 2013 she published her first book The Perfect Peach (Ten Speed Press), co-authored with Marcy and David Mas Masumoto.
DINK O’NEAL (B.F.A. 1984) recently appeared as Jeffrey Dahmer’s father on Killer Kids. He shot two “spec” commercials for Virgin Atlantic Airlines and another for the New York Lotto, the latter of which was screened in competition for the Young Director’s Award at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. In addition, O’Neal played the title role in The Crying Man, an independent short film. He continues writing as a theatre critic for ArtsInLA.com.
NAT MILLER (M.F.A. 2008) received a B. Iden Payne Award for Outstanding Direction of ZACH Theatre’s Pinocchio. Miller is the education director at ZACH Theatre.
DANIEL L. PATTERSON (B.F.A. 1973, M.F.A. 1975) is a professor of theatre and chair of the Department of Theatre and Dance at Keene State College (KSC) in New Hampshire, where he has taught and directed for the last 35 years. Patterson served as chair and co-host of the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival for Region I (New England) from 2001 through 2003.
KIM NGO (B.A. 2007) is a costume designer based in Los Angeles, California. Her work is featured in the film Break Point, which premiered at the 2014 SXSW Film Festival. Working with fellow alumna ANNIKA EMMA LAWRENCE (B.A. 2010) and many UT Radio-TelevisionFilm students, the film was well received. Ngo has designed costumes for Virgin America’s national commercial “Feel the Upgrade” campaign and Princess Cruise’s commercial “100 Reasons.”
L to R: Breaking Point Film Crew - Peter Bernstein, Jason Tobias, Annika Emma Lawrence and Lauren McCarthy 13
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Patterson’s specialty is directing and acting although he has taught extensively in technical theatre and worked as technical director for KSC for the first 15 years of his tenure there. He has also taught design and stage management, and has a special place in his heart for the playwriting class that he begun. He has directed over 30 productions at KSC.
CHARLIE POLLOCK (B.F.A. 1997) recently starred in the lead role of Elmer Gantry at Signature Theatre and in the ensemble of the Tony Award nominee for Best Musical, Violet. Prior Broadway credits include Love’s Labour’s Lost, Urinetown and 9 to 5 The Musical. CATHERINE ROGERS (M.F.A. 1993) has published her short story “After Three Tangos” in the Gettysburg Review spring 2014 issue. She recently returned to the U.S. from her second Fulbright fellowship in Greece (2009, 2013). At Aristotle University Thessaloniki and in Athens, Rogers led the workshops “Understanding Illness and Trauma through Narrative” with students, physicians and health care professionals, artists, writers and fellow Fulbright alumni. She is currently an M.S. candidate in Narrative Medicine at Columbia University.
MIXTAPE THEATRE COMPANY, created by Theatre and Dance alumni, presented their new work Home in June at the Hollywood Fringe Festival in Los Angeles. This is the company’s second production at the Festival. Company members include MARK SCHEIBMEIR (Founder and Co-Artistic Director) (M.F.A. 2010), SMARANDA LUNA (M.F.A. 2010) (Founder and Co-Artistic Director), MARLANE BARNES (M.F.A. 2010), WILL BRITTAIN (B.A. Attended), MICHELLE
FLANAGAN (B.A. 2010), ANDREW KOTRLA (B.A. 2012), SHAUN PATRICK TUBBS (M.F.A. 2010), MELISSA RECALDE (M.F.A. 2010), and BIANCA WUGOFSKI (B.B.A. 2013).
ROBERT SCHENKKAN’S (B.A. 1975) play All The Way garnered the 2014 Tony Award for Best Play. A depiction of President Lyndon Johnson’s struggle to get civil rights legislation passed while facing an election campaign, Schenkkan’s play also received Best Play Awards from the 57th Annual Drama Desk, The Drama League, Outer Critics Circle and New York Drama Critics’ Circle. All The Way stars Bryan Cranston, recipient of the Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role for his portrayal of “LBJ” and alumnus ERIC LENOX ABRAMS (M.F.A. 2004) as “Bob Moses.” His sequel to All The Way, The Great Society, debuted at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival this summer.
COLLEEN WASHINGTON (B.A., B.S. 2013) has been accepted into the Agent Training Program at Agency for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills, California. Agency for the Performing Arts (APA) is considered an industry leader in the field of talent and literary representation for nearly 50 years. They represent artists and performers across all media platforms, including feature film, television, music, theatre, publishing and digital. Blue Genie Art Industries, co-founded by DANA YOUNGER (B.A. 1995) was inducted this spring into the Austin Arts Hall of Fame. Selected by the Austin Critics’ Table, the honor recognizes Blue Genie for their contributions to the Austin community.
MARTIN ZIMMERMAN (M.F.A. 2010) received the Terrence McNally New Play Award for his play Let Me Count The Ways. The award is a cash prize given annually to recognize a new play that celebrates the transformative power of art. Zimmerman’s plays also include Seven Spots On The Sun, White Tie Ball, The Making Of A Modern Folk Hero and The Solid Sand Below.
Some of our West Coast Longhorns from the early 1980s reunited in May to catch up and reminisce about their time at Theatre and Dance. Smiles all around - it looks like a great time was had by all! Our thanks to Steve Krauss, Wendell Grayson, Candace Sorensen, John Forster, Margaret Valenta Davis, Pete Puckett, Gretchen German, Jody Wassel, Jim Hensz, Kimberly Aileen Scott and Joseph Catmull for sharing.
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COMING TO THE STAGE
All titles and dates subject to change. For more information, visit us online at jointhedrama.org
Refugia An original idea developed by The Moving Company February 12-15, 2015 Composed in five chapters, Refugia is an investigation into the lives of those who find themselves at the crossroads of transition, navigating life’s margins. It explores humanity’s constant state of passage - geographically, emotionally, and physically, across those borders that only exist of our own creation. Cinematic, yet highly theatrical, this innovative work is an evocative and uplifting story of transformation.
DANCE REPERTORY THEATRE PRESENTS MOVE! March 6-14, 2015 The award-winning ensemble Dance Repertory Theatre returns to the stage with MOVE! The spring concert is a showcase of unique and compelling dance works created by nationally renowned choreographers, including New York-based artists Kate Watson-Wallace and Sidra Bell.
Dead Man’s Cell Phone, 2014 15
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All titles and dates subject to change. For more information, visit us online at jointhedrama.org
Enter a Woman, Pretty Enough By Diana Lynn Small March 27-April 3, 2015 Cora is a twelve year-old girl on an exciting field trip to visit a historic gold rush town in northern California. But when her best friend she’s expecting to see never appears, Cora finds herself in a totally new frontier: rough, wicked and bizarre.
Ears, Eyes + Feet May 8-9, 2015 Collaborative works by student and faculty composers, choreographers and video artists from the Department of Theatre and Dance, the Department of Art and Art History, and the Sarah and Ernest Butler School of Music.
The Cohen New Works Festival Presented by Broadway Bank April 13-17, 2015 Presenting over 30 new works to more than 7,000 attendees in five days. The biennial performance event celebrating original works created by university students and faculty.
Esperanza Rising, 2014 ENCORE WINTER 2014
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The Department of Theatre and Dance is a world-class educational environment that serves as the ultimate creative incubator for the next generation of artists, thinkers and leaders in theatre and performance.
STAY CONNECTED /uttad @uttad @uttadaustin We want to brag about you to our alumni, students and faculty! Send us your latest news online at uttadalumniupdates.org
A Streetcar Named Desire, 2014 17
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GET INVOLVED Your support of the Department of Theatre and Dance is appreciated! You can make a difference by making a donation to the department’s Texas Talent campaign. To learn more, visit givetotheatreanddance.org or call Jessi Propst, Director of Development and Alumni Relations at 512.475.6291.
Annie Jump and the Library of Heaven by Reina Hardy Presented in UTNT (UT New Theatre), 2014 ENCORE WINTER 2014
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