April & May 2019 College News

IMPORTANCEOFBEINGEARNEST 1 Carlton Byrd and Eugene Lee in August Wilson’s Two Trains Running (Photo: Nate Watters) 2 Johnny McAllister on the set of Bull , a feature flm that was accepted to Un Certain Regard at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival 3 Importance of Being Earnest playing to a sold out house in the Mainstage Teatre 18 | April & May | College News THEATRE Acting, Musical Theatre, Per formance and Production, Teacher Certif ication in Theatre, Technical Production, & Theatre FACULTY ACCOLADES Kaitlin Hopkins is directing the Texas premiere, by the Capital City Men’s Chorus, of Unbreakable , a new work by Tony-nominated composer Andrew Lippa; Texas State musical theatre major Rachel Webb will be playing one of the four leads opposite Mr. Lippa. Eugene Lee has a featured role in American Son (Netfix’s forthcoming flm version of the Broadway play that starred Kerry Washington as well as Eugene). He will appear in multiple episodes of the HBO series Homeland . He also won the Helen Hayes Award for Best Lead Actor for Two Trains Running at Arena Stage. [1] Michelle Ney designed sets for the Zach Teatre production of Matilda, the Musical , running through May 12. Lynn Beaver of Broadway World Austin writes, “Michelle Ney’s set design is cartoonish perfection, no detail has been overlooked. She adds surprises with every number and gives us a true feast for the eyes.” Linda Nenno directed two new short plays for Austin Scriptworks’ annual play festival, Out of Ink . Te festival ran April 25- May 4 at Hyde Park Teatre. Kate Glasheen conducted a 12-week study for her research on breath pedagogy for musical theater performance and fnished the spring semester by dialect coaching three professional productions: Freud’s Last Session and Once - Te Public Teater San Antonio; Baskerville - Falcon Teater. Bull , a feature flm co-written by Head of Film Production, Johnny McAllister , was accepted to Un Certain Regard at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival. [ 2] He was also an Executive Producer and 2nd Unit Director on the project which was directed by his wife, Annie Silverstein. Several former and current students gained their frst feature credit on the flm as well, including Bravo Nwosu , Kyle Green , Nora Jones , B.K. Frizzell and Alaiya Burks . Michael Maresca taught a One Voice Masterclass at ArteStudio, a premiere performance training studio in Mexico City. Shelby Hadden co-produced a short documentary about the Luling Watermelon Tump Queen called To Be Queen that is premiering at Tribeca Film Festival. Sarah EC Maines was invited to respond to the Kennedy Center American College Teatre Festival Region 7 student lighting and sound designs in Eugene, OR. She will be Lighting Designer for the return of Anne at ZACH Teatre in Austin this summer. STUDENT ACCOLADES B.F.A. Performance & Production major Garrett Buss , founder of the Texas State Comedy Association, wrote the book and lyrics, and directed his original musical: Canadian Bacon . Canadian Bacon featured fght choreography by B.F.A. Performance & Production alumnus Stephen Steel and music direction by B.F.A. Performance & Production major Caitlyn Martinez . Te production starred B.F.A. Performance & Production alumnus Mitchell Oden , and current B.F.A. Performance & Production majors Josh Kok , Ixchel Cuellar , David Ritch , Ben Glassman , Rylee McMullen , Jarod Williams , Clayton Chaiman . [ 2] Madison Cagle (M.F.A. Design) has received a costume internship at the Public Teatre in New York City. B.F.A. Performance & Production majors Magen Huntley , Sydney Quanz , and Sarah Tijerina directed a series of three new works in the inaugural production of their theatre company: Jane Doe. Te series featured plays by B.F.A. Performance & Production majors Kelly Ducat and Rachel Ditzig , and B.F.A. Musical Teatre major Austin Kelly . Lyndsay Vanstory (B.F.A. Performance & Production) served as both Production Manager and Stage Manager. Stage Management also provided by Dovie Stern (B.F.A. Performance & Production) and Amaris Fullelove (B.F.A. Teatre Teacher Certifcation). Drew McDaniels (M.F.A. Design) will be designing lights for a show at Florida Rep and working as an Assistant Lighting Designer at Davis Shakespeare Festival. Importance of Being Earnest played to sold out houses in the Mainstage Teatre in mid-April. Te production was directed by faculty member, Jerry Ruiz , with designs by Sydney Rhiannon Smith (M.F.A. Lighting Design), Gary Tornsberry (M.F.A. Scenic Design), Monica Pasut (M.F.A. Costume Design), and Clayt Aziz (B.F.A. Technical Production/Sound). Te Production Stage Manager was Holden Fox . Cast: Malik James , Will Wilkerson , Maura Gill , Marisa Mendoza , Kaycee Swierc , Willa Fossum , Jacob Burns , and William Hoss Abete . [ 3] College of Fine Arts and Communication | 19