November & December 2015 College News

Faculty Accolades Linda Nenno Breining performed in Stephen Sondheim’s Sunday in the Park with George for Austin Shakespeare, playing to role of George Seurat’s Mother. Michael Costello played Alfieri in A View from the Bridge in the Department of Theatre and Dance. The set was designed by faculty member Michelle Ney with costume designs by alumna Glenda Barnes . Melissa Utley (MFA – Directing) directed the production. John Fleming , with co-writer Andrew Carlson, recently published the 11th edition of Oscar Brockett’s The Essential Theatre , an Introduction to Theatre textbook that has been a leader in its field for the past fifty years. Sheila Hargett designed costumes for the Department of Theatre and Dance production of Evita . Sheila, who will retire at the end of the spring semester after 45 years at Texas State, has designed more than 130 theatrical productions for the department and mentored numerous students through the design process. Eugene Lee is a Black Theater Alliance/Ira Aldridge Award recipient. He won the Sidney Poitier Award for Best Leading Actor in Regina Taylor’s Stop.Reset . The production, which played at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre last May, was called “one of the most ingeniously funny, inventive and soul-enriching plays of this season” by NewCity . Eugene also joined undergraduates Britley Bennett and Chas Harvey in the departmental production of Sunset Baby by Dominique Morissseau. The production was directed by MFA Directing student, Jessica McMichael , with design elements by faculty members Cheri Prough DeVol and Phillip Owen . Anne McMeeking worked as a painter for the HBO/Warner Brothers TV show, The Leftovers . She also designed scenery for a developmental THEATRE Britley Bennett and Ches Harvey in Sunset Baby Our 2015 music teacher graduates were once again completely successful in gaining employment or entering the graduate program of their choice: Randallyn Kelso - Asst. Band Director, Beckendorff Jr. High, Katy ISD, Katy, Texas Lawrence Varela-Halbert - Asst. Band Director, S.C. Lee Jr. High School, Copperas Cove ISD Haley Dougherty Kibodeaux – Music Teacher at Navarro Elementary School in Lockhart ISD Lani Gil – Orchestra Director, Boerne Middle Schools, Boerne ISD, Boerne, Texas Elizabeth O’Connell – Asst. Band Director, Stafford MS & HS, Stafford ISD, Stafford, Texas William Cordova – Music Teacher, Havard Elementary School, Galena Park ISD, Houston, Texas Arminda Velasquez – Asst. Band Director, Cedar Ridge HS, Round Rock ISD, Round Rock, Texas Hector Bermea – Mariachi Director, Los Fresnos HS, Los Fresnos ISD, Los Fresnos, Texas Arabella Stachura – Music Teacher, Hommel Elementary, Everman ISD, Everman, Texas Riaz Mohammed – Assistant Band Director, Campbell Middle School, Cypress Fairbanks ISD, Houston David Ortiz – Assistant Band Director, Scobee Middle School, Southwest ISD, San Antonio, Texas Sol Ruppa – Assistant Band Director, Southside High School, Southside ISD, San Antonio, Texas Joseph Menditto - Music Teacher, Hawthorne Academy and Washington Elementary, San Antonio ISD Nikki Singer - Music Teacher, D.P. Morris Elementary School, Mansfield ISD, Arlington, Texas Courtney Edwards – Band Director, Wilder Intermediate School in Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City ISD Cesar Gonzalez – Asst. Band Director, MacArthur HS, North East ISD, San Antonio, Texas Brad Miller - Asst. Band Director, Lamar Jr. High, Lamar Consolidated ISD, Rosenburg, Texas Tyler McClendon – Asst. Band Director, Canton MS/HS, Canton, Texas Cesar Deleon – Music Teacher, Walnut Springs Elementary, Dripping Springs ISD, Dripping Springs, Texas Austin Baker – Music Teacher, Del Valle Elementary, Del Valle ISD, Del Valle, Texas Inez Rodriguez – Asst. Band Director, Goodnight MS, San Marcos CISD, San Marcos, Texas Chris Diaz – George I. Sanchez Elementary School in Austin ISD, Austin, Texas Gerald Martinez – Graduate School, DePaul University, Chicago, Illinois Matt Hurtado – Graduate School, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge Vocal music education graduates: Ruben Morgan – Zachry Middle School, NISD, San Antonio, TX Jason Gallardo – Shoemaker High School, Killeen, TX Ashley Branson –Westwood High School, Austin, TX Bethany Cowan – Harker Heights High School, Killeen, TX Samara Neto – Wiley Middle School, Leander, TX Ashley Haight – Eastern Hills Middle Schools, Killeen, TX Garrett Dibble – Killeen, TX Brittany Garza – Lockhart, ISD, Lockhart, TX Samuel Parrott – Seguin, ISD, Seguin, TX Richard Shehulski – Hays, ISD, Kyle, TX M.M. Graduates: Nancy Lott - Asst. Band Director, McNair Middle School, Southwest ISD, Atascosa, Texas Drew Saenz – Asst. Band Director, Westlake High School, Eanes ISD, Austin, Texas