January February 2018 College News

DEPARTMENT ACCOLADES In the Heights at Zach Scott Teatre was ranked number two by the Statesman . Te cast included Christina Sastre (BFA – Musical Teatre) and Jorrel Javier (BFA - Musical Teatre) with Logan-Rae Floyd (BFA – Musical Teatre) as assistant choreographer. Lighting for the production was designed by faculty member, Sarah Maines . Speech and Debate played to sold out houses in the PSH Studio Teatre in January. Te play was directed by Tom Delbello (MFA – Directing), with lighting design by Carlos Nine (MFA – Design), sound design by John Michael Hoke (BFA – Performance and Production, stage management by Corey Nelson (BFA – Technical Production). Te scenic design was by faculty members Michelle Ney and Cheri DeVol (who also designed projections). Te production featured Derek Miller (BFA – Acting), Ana Puig (BFA – Musical Teatre), Kaycee Swierc (BFA – Acting) and Jake Young (BFA – Musical Teatre). [1] Te department’s graduate directing program was one of 10 programs in the United States featured in the January 2018 edition of American Teatre . [2] STUDENT ACCOLADES Te following students are working on an independent flm, called No Loss No Gain which is shooting in San Marcos: Richeler Aladin , Sarah Jonak , Veronica Vergara , Mackenzie Lawreance , Raye (Kolin) Pettigrew , Monique Flores , Chase Livingston , and Bailey Savage . Jesse Castro (BFA Performance and Production) is running lights for Te Seagull at Austin Shakespeare. Te production plays through February 25. Carly Conklin (MFA – Directing) presented a paper entitled “Battle of the Sexes: Evil Women in Modern Drama” at the Texas Educational Teatre Association Conference in Galveston. She also presented this research at the International Research Conference hosted by Texas State University in the fall of 2017. Carly recently directed White Gleaming Beach , a play by Canadian playwright Greg MacArthur, at Hyde Park Teatre as part of the Austin FronteraFest. Te production features Texas State alum, Jack William Rogers and current Performance and Production major Katie Scott . Luis Parra (BFA – Performance and Production) composed original music for the piece. Te production advanced to Best of the Fest. A Girl Smiles in the Arctic by Cambria Denim swept the awards at the Secret Teatre’s Act One: One Act Festival in Long Island City, NY, winning best play, best director ( Madelyn Shafer ), best actor ( Andrew Grifn ), and best actress ( Nayem Cardenas-Lopez ). Te play will be published and available through the Secret Teatre. Cambria is a Senior BFA – Acting major; Madelyn, Andrew, and Nayem are BFA Acting alums. Cambria was also selected as one of six national fnalist for the Los Angeles-based Echo Teatre’s National Young Playwrights in Residence program. Trough this program, Cambria will receive mentorship from an established professional playwright and a staged reading in August 2018. Lauren Ferebee (MFA – Dramatic Writing) was invited to and participated in the National Winter Playwrights Retreat in Creede, CO, December 31-January 6. In addition, her ten-minute plays Winter in the House and Te Meeting are both regional fnalists for Te Kennedy Center American College Teatre Festival, Region VI. Canvas , a ten-minute play by Andrew Heinrich (MFA – Dramatic Writing) is a regional fnalist for Te Kennedy Center American College Teatre Festival, Region VI. Stuck , a play by Katie Svatek ( BFA – Performance and Production) is also a regional fnalist. Courting Mayhem , a one-act play by Sidney Rushing (MFA – Dramatic Writing) is a regional fnalist for Te Kennedy Center American College Teatre Festival, Region VI. Two BFA students in Performance and Production are also regional fnalists in this category: Naomi Davis ( Te Colored Francine ) and Dalissa Hernandez ( Roman ) ( Sage ). Preston Straus (BFA – Acting) plays the lead role of Christopher in Zach Teatre’s production of Te Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time , playing through March 4. [3] A review in BroadwayWorld. com calls the production “a brilliant piece of purely theatrical entertainment” and has this to say about Preston’s performance: “It is, however, Preston Straus, as Christopher, who gives a truly remarkable performance full of nuance and detail. He draws a portrait of a young man that is both sensitive and thrilling, causing you to forget this is an actor. As an audience, we are completely captivated by the spell Straus weaves as Christopher.” College of Fine Arts and Communication | 15