January & February 2017 College News

THEATRE Acting, Musical Theatre, Per formance and Production, Teacher Certif ication in Theatre, Technical Production, & Theatre FACULTY ACCOLADES Tom Dugdale’s adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s first novel, This Side of Paradise , received its first workshop in January at Actors Theatre of Louisville. In December, his staging of Lars von Trier’s film, Breaking the Waves , was presented at the 4th Interferences Festival at the Hungarian Theater of Cluj in Romania. Also in December, Mr. Dugdale’s adaptation of A Christmas Carol was translated into Spanish by La Habra Theater Guild. Crystal Franz directed a short play called Final Conversations by alumna Rita Anderson , which was awarded a commission by Scriptworks to be performed in Frontera Short Fringe Festival at Hyde Park Theatre. The play was also selected for “Best of the Week.” In December, Eugene Lee was named the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Performer of the Year for 2016. This honor is given to an individual performance in a show staged in Pittsburgh, PA. Mr. Lee was singled out for his performance as “Pops” in Stephen Adly Guirgis’ Pulitzer Prize winning play Between Riverside and Crazy [ 1 ] at the Pittsburgh Public Theater. STUDENT ACCOLADES Jacob Burns , Jordan Ford , Kambiz Shabankare , Cameron Pelache , and Audrey Webb , have advanced to the regional finals for the Gary Garrison National Ten Minute Play Award. Sidney Rushing was chosen as first alternate. Caitlin Turnage and T. J. Young were chosen as regional finalists in the John Cauble One Act category. Also invited to the festival for a special staged reading is Iron Cowboy by Texas State alumnus and instructor Jordan Morille . In December, Ryan Sultemeier , alumnus Alex Ross (BFA, 2016), and Corey McMinn shot two short films: Blackjack Murphy and Blackjack Murphy 2 . Ryan was Director on Blackjack Murphy and Production Manager on Blackjack Murphy 2 . Alex was the Director of 1 2 3 Eugene Lee (left) and Alejandro Hernandez in Between Riverside and Crazy Malik James and Courtney West in Lyon’s Den David R. Jarrott in Freud’s Last Session 16 | January & February | College News Photography and Corey worked sound on both films. Lyon’s Den , written by graduate student T. J. Young and directed by graduate student Liz Fisher , enjoyed a sold- out run in the PSH Foundation Studio Theatre. [ 2 ] ALUMNI ACCOLADES Liz Buras (MA Directing, 2013) was the assistant director/dramaturg for the world premiere of Charles French’s Hair Like the Sun at the Texas Repertory Theatre in Houston in March 2016. Matt Ford (BFA Lighting Design, 1993) and Lori Merkle (BFA Lighting Design, 1994) are co-owners of Magic Lantern Creations, Inc., a Los Angeles based entertainment lighting corporation. In addition to serving as CEO of Magic Lantern, Matt Ford created lighting designs in 2016 for The Wonderful World of Disney: Magical Holiday Celebrations on ABC , Countdown to the Emmys: Red Carpet Live on ABC , Penn & Teller: Fool Us on The CW and Ink Master Live Season Finale on Spike TV. David R. Jarrott (BA Theatre, 1966) was a 2016 B. Iden Payne Best Actor Nominee for Freud’s Last Session . [ 3] Also in 2016, his production company, Jarrott Productions, won the Central Texas Excellence in Theatre Award for “Best Production of a Play” for its production of Arthur Miller’s The Price . Mr. Jarrott is currently appearing as J. Edgar Hoover in Zach’s Theatre’s The Great Society . Jorge Jimenez (BFA Production and Performance, 2003) appeared in Season 2 of the Netflix series, Narcos . Danny Lutman (BFA Acting, 2002) has been working on the Lifetime series My Crazy Sex which premiered in December. He can also be seen on stage in Los Angeles at the Nerdist School Stage in Fairy Tales Against Humanity, the Really Awesome Improv Show . Melissa Merz (BFA Design, 1990) edited and co-wrote a new costume design textbook, The Art and Practice of Costume Design , which was published by Focal Press. Bobby Moreno (BFA Acting, 2005) appeared in two episodes of Season 6 of Homeland on Showtime. Chelcie Ross (BA, 1964) had a busy 2016, appearing in two episodes of Chicago P.D. and acting in three films: Imperfections , New Money and Cowboy Drifter . THE WORLD ACCORDING TO SNOOPY FEBRUARY 14-19, 2017 The Department of Theatre and Dance presented Snoopy, Woodstock, Charlie Brown, Sally, Lucy, Linus, and Peppermint Patty in the international premiere of The World According to Snoopy , a musical sequel to You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown . These charmingly insightful characters sang and danced their way through life’s lessons with Snoopy at the helm in the Performing Arts Center at Texas State University. Articles: Austin American-Statesman Article Interview with BroadwayWorld Reviews: BroadwayWorld Austin 360 CTX Live College of Fine Arts and Communication | 17