January & February 2016 College News

Christmas Carol: A Rockin’ New Musical at ZACH Theatre in Austin. She also celebrated the 10th Anniversary of the Broadway run of Jersey Boys for which she was Assistant Lighting Designer. Five members of the Department of Theatre and Dance worked on the current production of Tribes at Zach Theatre in Austin. Sarah Maines designed lights, Michelle Ney designed scenery, and Carl Booker designed costumes. In addition, Melissa Grogan was the dialect coach and Babs George was cast as Beth. The cast also included 2015 alum Ava L’Amoreaux . Dr. Sandra Mayo’s second book on black theatre in Texas, Stages of Struggle and Celebration: A Production History of Black Theatre in Texas , was published by the University of Texas Press on January 15, 2016. In addition, on January 29, 2016, Dr. Mayo presented at the TETA (Texas Educational Theatre Association) Conference in Dallas, “Making a Difference: the Process of Preserving the History of Black Theatre in Texas.” Toby Minor was fight choreographer and played several roles in Hidden Room’s production of The History of King Lear , Nahum Tate’s 1681 revision of the Shakespearean play. The production will tour to London’s Globe Theatre in 2017. Norma’s Rest , a one-act play by Jordan Morille , is being published in the Best American Short Plays of 2014-2015 . The play is also a semi-finalist for the O’Neil Playwrights Conference. Bloomsbury Publishers has just released Shakespeare in America: Current Practices – “the first substantive study of directing Shakespeare in America” – written by Dr. Charles Ney . Phillip Owen designed sound for Outside Mullingar at Everyman Theatre in Baltimore. The production received rave reviews with special mention of “Owen’s subtle underscoring.” Glenda Barnes Wolfe has been heavily engaged in Austin theatre over the last few months. She received great reviews from The Austin Chronicle and The Statesman for her costume designs for Debbie Does Dallas: The Musical and for Disgraced , both with Doctuh Mistuh Productions. Glenda also won Best Costume Design from Broadway World Austin Awards 2015 for The Rocky Horror Show (Doctuh Mistuh Productions). Cheri Prough DeVol was lighting designer for Zach Theatre’s production of The Santaland Diaries , directed by Abe Reybold and performed November 24 through December 27 on the Wisenhunt Stage. Student Accolades Amelia Bahr (MFA 2016) and Melissa Utley (MFA 2016) received invitations to bring scenes from their productions to ACTF Region 6 festival. Amelia directed Medea last spring and Melissa directed A View from the Bridge in the fall. Crystal Bird Caviel (BFA Performance and Production) was cast as Jory in Doctuh Mistuh’s production of Disgraced . MaeAnn Ross did the sound design for A Cool Yule at TEXArts and for Other Desert Cities at The Wimberley Players. TJ Young , Andrew Heinrich and Sidney Rushing (MFA students in Dramatic Writing) all advanced to the regional Kennedy Center/ American College Theatre Festival competition in the 10-minute play category. Mr. Young and Mr. Heinrich also advanced in the one act category, along with undergraduate playwright Lexi Wintermute . Alumni Accolades Liz Sowers Buras (MA 2013) directed 1776 and won Best Director of a Musical in Houston for BroadwayWorld.com . Erin Erxleben (BFA 2014) has booked a contract on Grand Celebration Cruises in the Bahamas. Bridget Farias (BFA alum) served as a judge for the Central Texas region of the English Speaking Union’s National Shakespeare Competition. Mother Enough? was presented as part of the Short Fringe at the Frontera Fest in Austin in January. The play, which takes a comic look at the expectations, clichés, and practices