Event Details
By Michael Mobley
Directed by Mikala Gibson
A high school typing teacher, who prides himself on never failing a student, has a new student who threatens to end that streak. While trying to keep the new student from failing, the teacher learns to confront the past harm of focusing on this self-imposed competition and not on the students. On top of learning how to use proper typing techniques, the other students in class deal with all the end-of-year obligations as seniors: prom, graduation, and the inevitability of adulthood. It's a play about dealing with the past, and present, so a better future won't be out of reach.
Performances
March 1 at 2:00 p.m.
March 6 at 7:30 p.m.
March 8 at 7:30 p.m.
About the Playwright
Michael Mobley writes about the intimate and private lives of Black Americans throughout America’s past, present, and future. He sometimes uses different genres to tell these stories. Writing about the inner lives of Black Americans allows him to shatter stereotypes and reveal a part of America that has been historically ignored and cast aside. His full-length play, Monsters had a reading/workshop at Quick Silver Theater Company and Prologue Theatre’s Foreword New Works Series. It was placed 2nd in the Echo Theater Company’s New Play Competition and was a Featured Finalist for The Risk Theatre Modern Tragedy Competition. It was also a Finalist for the Seven Devils Playwrights Conference and The Playwrights Realm’s Scratchpad Series. His full-length, Feel Alive, was developed at Echo Theater Company and was a Semifinalist for the O’Neill’s National Playwrights Conference. He was also a Finalist for the Greenhouse Residency at SPACE on Ryder Farm and the Many Voices Fellowship at the Playwrights’ Center. His work has been supported by the Atlantic Center for the Arts and Echo Theater Company (National Young Playwrights in Residence Program 21-22).
About the director
Mikala Gibson (she/her) is an award-winning stage and screen actor, director, writer and scholar. Her directing credits include Blood at the Root, A Maroon’s Guide to Time and Space (The Houston Press- Best New Play/ Production Finalist) and Our Lady of the Sacred Part: Vulva Pope (B. Iden Payne Nominee -Best Digital Theatre Production). As a 2nd year Theatre Directing MFA candidate at The University of Texas at Austin, Gibson is excited to direct the upcoming UTNT production of These. Are. The. Keystrokes. Mikala has performed in over 30 stage productions including, The Piano Lesson (Giorgee Award- Best Supporting Actress), Gem of the Ocean (Fort Worth Weekly Magazine - Best Female Actor -Honorable Mention), Twelfth Night (ATAC Globe Nominee) and Picnic (ATAC Globe Winner - Best Supporting Actress). Although she has appeared on major platforms such as HBO, Showtime, BET, PBS, AMC and Netflix, Gibson is most recognized for her portrayal of “Doris” in season five of Fear the Walking Dead. Her film acting work has also been featured at the Cannes International Film Festival, Sundance, SXSW, Austin Film Festival, Urbanworld Film Festival and The American Black Film Festival, to name a few. She is the founder of The Black Artivist Collective, LLC and the host of the platform’s podcast. Mikala is a member of Women in Film and TV Austin, SAG-AFTRA and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.
Learn more about UTNT (UT New Theatre) 2025 here
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