April & May 2017 College News

and will be traveling to Indonesia to participate in an upcoming residency for digital storytellers. Shane Smith was hired as head carpenter for a new mounting of Greater Tuna , playing at the Long Center. STUDENT ACCOLADES The following students and alumni were hired to work as local crew on the load-in for Phantom of the Opera at UT’s Bass Concert Hall: Noah Allen , Jessica Dunbar , Mickey McGuane , Robert Peterson , John Michael Hoke , Bohb Nelson , Joe Martin , and Dave Martin . Jenna Vanden Bosch worked as Research PA and Ryan Sultemeier as assistant editor on Eclipse Across America, part of a series of short documentaries for Curiosity Stream. Seven Texas State students recently worked with faculty member and producer, Betty Buckley on the filming of I Miss You Already , a short film by John Dyer: Alyssa Vincent (Production Coordinator and Second AD), Brittany Falk (Script Supervision), Conner Breitling (Extras Coordinator), Corey McMinn (Boom Operator), Ryan Sultemeier (Utility Grip and Second AC), Travis Jones (Extra and PA), Rene Morales (Extra and PA). Texas State placed first in a number of playwriting awards at the Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival in Washington DC, beating out Yale and Julliard. TJ Parker-Young (MFA Dramatic Writing 2017) [ 3] received the Harold and Mimi Steinberg National Student Playwriting award (the top playwriting award given by KC/ACTF) for his play No. 6 : they play will be published by Samuel French. TJ also won the Ken Ludwig National Scholarship for best body of work by a college playwright. A Texas State student has won this award for five out of the last six years. Caitlin Turnage (MFA Dramatic Writing 2019) was the winner of the John S. Cauble Short Play Award for her play, In a Dark Room, the Lord Knows . She will be attending the O’Neill Playwrights’ Conference this summer as part of the award. Cambria Denim (BFA Acting 2018), was runner-up for the National Undergraduate Playwriting Award for her play Arabesque No. 1 . Sally Rath (BFA Technical Production 2017) was the runner-up for the National Award for Excellence in Costume Design at the Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival in Washington DC. Stacey Rice , Kristi Kyle , Alison Hatfield , Cayla Cox , Kathy Nelson , Sam Gonzales and Learda Shkurti are working on National Geographic’s The Long Way Home , now filming at Ft. Hood. MaeAnn Ross (BFA Design & Technology 2017) will enter the MFA program studying sound design at the University of California, San Diego in fall 2017. The Queensbury Theatre in Houston has offered a theatre home to playwright Sidney Rushing (MFA Dramatic Writing 2018). Audrey Webb’s play, Handcuffed , will be produced this summer as part of Mildred’s Umbrella Theatre Company’s Ninth Annual Museum of Dysfunction Short Play Festival. The Company selected plays from over 100 entries by emerging and established writers nationwide. Audrey is also the recipient of the Scott Scribes Scholarship from the Betsy Whitehead Scott Scholarship Fund. Lexi Wintermute (Performance and Production 2017) just wrapped working on an ABC untitled pilot project filmed in Austin. ALUMNI ACCOLADES Roberta Ahrens (BFA Acting 2016) has been accepted in the MFA acting program at Columbia University. Justin Beets (BFA Design and Technology 2016) has been accepted into the MFA program in lighting design at the University of California, San Diego. Zuhdi Boueri and Johnique Mitchell (BFA Acting 2015) will be performing a new play by Hansol Jung in South Africa. Roberta Colindrez (BFA Acting 2008) is starring in I Love Dick which begins airing on Amazon May 12. The series is a creation of Jill Soloway ( Transparent ). Mandy Murphy’s (BFA Acting 2014) play From A to Double D will be produced in New York City this summer as part of the SheNYC festival in July. Madelyn Shaffer (BFA Musical Theatre 2014) has joined the board of SheNYC (formerly NYC Women’s Works Festival) which will be producing nine original plays and musicals Off-Broadway at a theatre festival this July. College of Fine Arts and Communication | 19