November & December 2019 College News

1 Te Love Notes Chorus, a radio story for KUT Austin produced by Michelle Dahlenburg, featuring Marcia Crosby (pictured) 2 Nadine Mozon in Hang by Debbie Tucker Green opened at Ground Floor Teatre 3 Texas State Teatre and Dance's production of Te Survivors , directed by Jerry Ruiz 18 | November & December | College News THEATRE Acting, Musical Theatre, Per formance and Production, Teacher Certif ication in Theatre, Technical Production, & Theatre FACULTY ACCOLADES Cassie Abate choreographed a production of Pirates of Penzance at the University of Michigan. Linda Nenno Breining staged the world premiere of the new Oratorio, by Nell Clowder, A Hundred Times More . Written in honor of the 100th anniversary of the signing of the 19th Amendment, the oratorio tells the story of abolitionists Sarah and Angelina Grimke’s work with Sarah Mapps Douglass and the beginnings of the feminist movement. Michelle Dahlenburg was awarded a 6-hour faculty workload release for Spring 2021. She will produce several new radio pieces and develop an audio storytelling class for Texas State. In November, Michelle produced a radio story for KUT Austin about the Love Notes Chorus, a choir for people with Alzheimer's, their care partners, and volunteers. [1] Te story aired twice on KUT, was reposted on social media by NPR, and is available here. Nick Lawson appeared as Mercutio and was the fght choreographer for Classic Teatre’s production of Romeo and Juliet . He is currently performing as Mr. Darcy in their production of Miss Bennet Christmas at Pemberley . Sarah EC Maines designed the lighting for A Christmas Carol: A Rockin’ Family Musical at ZACHTeatre in Austin for the sixth consecutive year. A review in broadwayworld.com states: “Lighting designed by Sarah EC Maines is pure and magical, her use of rainbow lighting efects at pivotal moments are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen." Associate Professor of Costume Design, Brandon R. McWilliams , designed the costume for Flint Rep’s production of Into the Woods in Flint, Michigan. McWilliams was assisted by current M.F.A. Costume Candidate, WilliamWard . Tobie Minor won two B. Iden Payne awards last month. One for Best Fight Choreography and one for Best Featured Actor in a Comedy. Hang by Debbie Tucker Green opened at Ground Floor Teatre directed by faculty member Chuck Ney and starred faculty member Nadine Mozon . [ 2 ] Faculty member Cheri DeVol designed the lights while faculty member Michelle Ney designed the costumes and set. Te production was met with rave reviews. Bryan Poyser's short flm Gopherit was selected for the Houston Film Commission's 2019 Texas Filmmaker's Showcase. Te Showcase premiered in June at the American Film Institute in Los Angeles and has continued to play at Texas flm festivals and screening venues since then, including the Houston Cinema Arts Festival, the CineSol Film Festival on South Padre Island and the Austin Film Society. Jerry Ruiz will be directing the Pulitzer prize winning play Water by the Spoonful at Stages Repertory Teater in Houston in February. He will also be directing a reading of a new play In Her Bones by Jessica Khakoska at the Colorado New Play Summit hosted by Denver Center Teatre Company in February. Katie Bender’s Survivors, An Alamo Play - which Jerry directed at Texas State this semester - is getting a workshop production at Te Alley All New play festival in Houston in January 2020. Jerry will be directing the production. He received a $2600 mini grant from Education Abroad to visit Buenos Aires, Argentina, in anticipation of an Education Abroad course to be ofered for Summer 2020. Yong Suk Yoo codirected a Playback Teatre Production Making Drama Together: visiting playback theatre in collaboration with Would You Collage, Hanyang University Department of Teatre and Film, and Seongdong Art Foundation. He has also been appointed as a mentor in the directing focus at the Korea Art Creation Academy by the Arts Council of Korea. Te THE SURVIVORS Te Survivors opened in Teatre Center Mainstage to packed houses at the end of October. Te production was directed by faculty member Jerry Ruiz , and written by Katie Bender . Cast in the show were Tanner Berg , Jessica Healey , Payton Russell , Taylor Childress , Jonaee’ Davis , and JaVaun Butler . Te sound was designed by Bailey Nance and George Sanchez with lighting design by Max Wallace . Tird year M.F.A. candidate, Alexander Sterns was the costume designer. [ 3] College of Fine Arts and Communication | 19