Recent News

Mickey headshot with fabric

Susan Mickey Wins Jeff Award in Costume Design

October 23, 2018 | The Joseph Jefferson Awards

Professor Susan Mickey recently received the Jeff Award in Costume Design for her work on The Taming of the Shrew at Chicago Shakespeare Theater (2017). The Jeff Awards honor outstanding theatre artists in the Chicago area and celebrate excellence through its recommendations, awards and honors.

square woman standing over venice

Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice Tells a Story of Greed, Hatred and Love

October 23, 2018 | Department of Theatre and Dance

A businesswoman, hated for being Jewish, tries to break into the clique of rich men who run Venice. A wealthy merchant seeks to buy the love of a young man. A sheltered heiress attempts to escape her dead father's will. One of Shakespeare's most controversial and misunderstood plays, this production of The Merchant of Venice tackles, head-on, the topics of anti-Semitism, misogyny and homophobia in society. Part scathing social satire, part romantic comedy, part revenge thriller, The Merchant of Venice defies expectations and asks us to examine what hatred we hold in our hearts.

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Dance Repertory Theatre Explores Embodiment and Innovation in Fall For Dance

October 15, 2018 | Department of Theatre and Dance

Under the direction of Charles O. Anderson, Dorothy O’Shea Overbey and Gesel Mason, The University of Texas at Austin’s award-winning dance company Dance Repertory Theatre returns to the stage in Fall For Dance, November 6-11 at the B. Iden Payne Theatre. An examination of embodiment and innovation through contemporary ballet, Fall For Dance features works by renowned guest artists, including Gregory Dolbashian and Sidra Bell. 

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Harrison Butler

Harrison Butler Named Executive Director at Theatre of Arts Acting Conservatory in Los Angeles

October 15, 2018 | Theatre of Arts

Harrison Butler (M.F.A., Theatre, 2010) has been named the new executive director of the Theatre of Arts Acting Conservatory in Los Angeles. TOA is the longest continuously running acting conservatory in Los Angeles, located in the heart of Hollywood. Butler is the 14th executive director to be hired in the history of the institution.

Cosme Flores

Cosme Flores Cast in Power Rangers: Best Morphers

October 11, 2018 | Broadway World

Alumnus Cosme Flores (B.F.A., Acting, 2018) was recently cast as "Ben" in Power Rangers: Beast Morphers, set to air on Nickelodeon in 2019. Featuring an all-new cast of heroes and villains, Beast Morphers will expand the Power Rangers universe with tactical leather suits, 'Beast Bot' sidekicks and elevated battle footage.

Sam Olayiwola

Fulbright Scholar Oluwaseun Olayiwola Enrolled in the MFA Choreography at Trinity Laban

October 11, 2018 | Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music & Dance

Oluwaseun S. Olayiwola (B.F.A. 2018) is currently a Fulbright Scholar pursuing an M.F.A. in Choreography at Trinity Laban in London, England. As an advocate for the arts and a Nigerian-American artist, Oluwaseun hopes to engage residents with dance during his two years in the program and contribute toward the Nigerian diaspora’s representation in the arts landscape.

 

Beachgoers in Asbury Park, New Jersey in 1911.

ON THE BLOG: Playing with the Past—History and Matawan

October 3, 2018 | Off Book: A Theatre and Dance Blog

Matawan Dramaturg Kristin Perkins outlines the history and truth behind the 1916 shark attacks in Matawan, New Jersey and details the state of a nation gripped by fear of disease and war. 

Quinton Headshot

Alumnus J. Quinton Johnson Joins the Cast of Choir Boy

October 1, 2018 | Playbill

Alumnus J. Quinton Johnson (Hamilton) has joined the cast of Tarell Alvin McCraney's Choir Boy in the role of "Bobby Marrow," set to premiere on Broadway in January 2019. This music-filled play debuted in 2013 and details the hopes of a group of young singers at the Charles R. Drew Prep School for Boys. 

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ON THE BLOG: Meet the Cast of Matawan

September 25, 2018 | Off Book: A Theatre and Dance Blog

Meet the cast of Matawan, a new play by Dan Caffrey that tells the story of the summer of 1916 when a series of fatal shark attacks terrorized the New Jersey Shore. Featuring an all-star cast of Texas Theatre and Dance students under the direction of Alice Stanley, Matawan takes the stage October 2018. 

David Baker

David Baker

September 24, 2018 | IMDB.com

David Baker (B.F.A., Acting, 1986) performed in the Off-Broadway production of Tracy Letts' play, "Mary Page Marlowe" at Second Stage Theater. Baker also performed in season 2 of Amazon’s Emmy-winning comedy, "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel." photo by Sara Krulwich/The New York Times