January February 2024 College News

Allan Lopez was the male swing for Natasha, Pierre, and The Great Comet of 1812 at the Zach Theatre. Konnor Sheppard played Carl Hampton in the world premiere of ShaWanna Renee Rivon's commissioned work Emancipation! at the Cullen Theater in Houston. Nicole Soria ’s thesis film Familia Alocada , written/ directed in Advanced Film Directing, played at the Lift Off Global Film Festival, and Student World Impact Film Festival, both in 2023. Josh Trevino Jr. was selceted as 1 of 10 in the nation for the 2024 cohort of the Cody Renard Richard Scholarship Program. ALUMNI ACCOLADES Shelby Acosta opened Real Women Have Curves: The Musical as Prima Flaca at the American Repertory Theatre. Morgen McKynzie (nee Morgan Amalbert) appeared as Grace Porter in 2024’s Mean Girls movie. Stephen Brower’ s comedy Palatable Gay Robot was performed at La MaMa with Texas State Musical Theatre founder Kaitlin Hopkins. Javaun Ryal Butler made his New York City debut this month in '54 Sings Stevie Wonder at 54 Below. Issac Byrne’ s play The Golden Fleece debuted with Open-Door Playhouse in podcast form in January. Bella Coppola began rehearsals for the pre-broadway workshop of Smash as Chloe. Laura Sky Herman portrayed Lila in the off-broadway production of White Rose The Musical . Hunter Ginn is featured in Recurrence , a forty-minute psychological thriller that is semifinalist in multiple film festivals across the country. Vanessa Gonzalez had a new stand up comedy special on Netflix is on tour with Chelsea Handler and was featured in Texas Monthly . Dannie McCallum can be seen in the Disney+ show Echo . McCallum portrays “Tuklo” an indigenous ancestor of the show's main character Maya Lopez. [ 2] College of Fine Arts and Communication | 15 Kendra Mcgee has accepted an offer to intern this summer at NBC Universal in Media Operations for Oxygen and Syfy. Betty Marie Muessig was in Theatre Under the Stars production of Cinderella . Madeline Perez was cast as a Main Stage performer on the Disney Wish cruise boat. Juliette Redden debuted in the national tour of Les Miserables . Payton Russell was hired on as an executive assistant at HBO. Taylor Scorse plays the lead in the feature film Under the Influencer , released nationwide in December 2023. Colin Trudell appears alongside Sutton Foster and Norman Leo Butz on the new cast album of Diary of a Wimpy Kid The Musical . DEPARTMENT ACCOLADES The Texas State Department of Theatre opened their production of The Liar by Pierre Corneille translated by Ranjit Bolt. The production was directed by Katherine McGerr and assistant directed by Caitlin Grammer and included Texas State Bobcats: Sierra Salazar, Cosi Arthurs, Illiana Perez, Nicholas May, Casey Prowell, Kyler Huyse, Drew Barber, Kylie Hill, Oliver Barnfield, Maddie Lumley, Samuel Morales, Alissa DeAnda, Ella Jackson, Catherine Kenner, Emma Chambers, Brady Hogwood, Grace Money, Briana Castillo, Eli Patterson, Kierstyn Born, and Pepper Garcia . The department also opened their production of Three Sisters by Anton Chekov, translated by Paul Schmidt. The play was directed by faculty member Michael Costello and featured Bobcats: Ileanna Villalobos , Jessie Flam , Sydney Cooper , Lauren Magee , Ella Kriegel , Olivia Smith , Kevin Engel , Nico Hamburger , Rory Schaeffer-Preston , Seth B. Lewis , and Sarah Rosenkranz . THEATRE Acting, Musical Theatre, Per formance and Production, Teacher Certif ication in Theatre, Technical Production, & Theatre FACULTY ACCOLADES Cheri Prough DeVol designed the lighting for the Minnesota Opera production of The Elixir of Love , directed by Daniel Ellis. [1] Kate Glasheen completed her certification in Vocal Combat Technique in the first cohort ever to be trained. Bryan Poyser 's short film Don't You Go Nowhere ended its film festival run. The short film won a total of 17 awards across 39 festivals during its run and is now available to view on YouTube. Also, in December, Bryan started production on a new feature film entitled Leads . STUDENT ACCOLADES Jasmine Aurelio ’s thesis film Tabo , premiered at the Student World Impact Film Festival and went on to play at Lost River Film Fest, Los Angeles Lift-Off, Flatland Film Festival, Rivercity Underground Film Festival, and Dreamachine International where it won Best Student Short. Jordan Banks ’ thesis film Justis , written/directed in Advanced Film Directing, premiered at the New York Hip Hop Festival and was awarded Honorable Mention at Global Shorts Fest. Brooke Cox was the assistant choreographer for Natasha, Pierre, and The Great Comet of 1812 at the Zach Theatre. Jennifer Gonzalez worked as Assistant Lighting Designer and designed the spots for the production of The Elixir of Love . Emery Jones ’ thesis film Halfway to Heaven , made in Advanced Film Directing, was awarded the prestigious 2023 Austin Film Society Short Film Grant. Cheri Prough DeVol designed the lighting for The Elixir of Love Dannie McCallum stars in a new Disney+ show Echo The department of Theatre opened their production Three Sisters 14 | January & February | College News 1 2 3