Graduating senior Alexandria Passanisi was recently recognized with the University Co-op George H. Mitchell Award for her honors thesis, entitled "The Missing Elements of Theatrical Representation of Autism Spectrum Disorder."

Faculty member Kirk Lynn is serving as co-writer for the upcoming film What Happens Later, directed by Meg Ryan who will also star alongside David Duchovny. This new take on the romantic comedy genre is based on the play Shooting Star by former faculty member Steven Dietz, who also serves a co-writer for the screenplay along with Lynn and Ryan.

During the world premiere run of her play John Proctor is the Villain at Studio Theatre, alumna Kimberly Belflower (M.F.A. 2017) spoke with Washingtonian about the themes that course through her work, re-examining the American classic The Crucible through the lens of high school students in the post-#MeToo era.

The world premiere of A Million Alien Gospels, co-choreographed by faculty member Dorothy O'Shea Overbey, will be featured as part of Ventana Ballet and Austin Camerata's upcoming event Beautiful World. A segment of A Million Alien Gospels was previously performed as part of Dance Repertory Theatre's PIVOT.

UTeach Fine Arts, under associate dean and Theatre and Dance faculty member Roxanne Schroeder-Arce, to host Representation Matters Symposium, a celebration of Mexican American youth and fine arts education. Events and workshops will taking place at the College of Fine Arts and other locations across Austin on May 14-16, 2022.

Faculty member and co-curator Karen Maness and her colleagues discuss the importance of celebrating some of Hollywood's hidden treasures - hand-painted film backdrops. These backdrops are on display as part of the Art of the Hollywood Backdrop: Cinema’s Creative Legacy exhibit at Boca Raton Museum of Art until January 2023.

Fusebox Festival 2022's lineup includes Gesel Mason's Yes, And, which features multiple UT Theatre and Dance artists, as well as the installation Living Modernity, created by integrated media students under the guidance of faculty member Sven Ortel. Their work will be on display April 14-16, 2022. 

Graduate students Michael DeWhatley, Khristián Méndez Aguirre and Yunina Barbour Payne will be collaborating on Trinity Street Players' site-specific production of The Christians, on stage beginning May 1, 2022.

The Daily Texan caught up with undergraduate students Andrea Nuñez (ensemble), Alyssa Hernandez (ensemble) and Alex Titsworth (sound designer) about their roles and experiences while working on Caryl Churchill's Love and Information, presented as part of the Texas Theatre and Dance 2021/2022 Season. 

The B.F.A. in Acting degree program provides an opportunity for senior acting students to spend their final semester in residence at our Los Angeles campus, otherwise known as The University of Texas Semester in Los Angeles Program (UTLA). The semester concludes with a digital showcase released through Breakdown Services/Actors Access. 

Love and Information director Mike Steele and dramaturg/movement director Molly Roy discuss the team’s interpretation of Caryl Churchill’s work and the movement, design and theatrical elements that bring lift to the technological underpinnings of the play.

PIVOT, Dance Repertory Theatre’s spring 2022 performance, combines choreographic works by both faculty and graduate students, meditating on the many interpretations of the word “pivot.” To get a better idea of what audiences can expect, we spoke with each choreographer about the unique themes and dance styles that are incorporated into their work.

Caryl Churchill’s fast-moving kaleidoscope of vignettes features a versatile ensemble of 16 actors along with innovative design and theatrical elements. Meet the cast and creative team who are transforming the Oscar G. Brockett Theatre this spring.

Playwright Minghao Tu (M.F.A. 2020) was selected as one of four 2022-23 Jerome Fellows, earning him a year-long residency at the Playwrights' Center as well as monetary support for new play development and opportunities to collaborate with professional artists. 

Faculty member Dr. Lisa B. Thompson to direct the Austin premiere of Colman Domingo's DOT at Ground Floor Theatre. The production, running May 13-28, 2022, also includes lighting design by Amber Whatley (M.F.A. 2021) and costume design by Desirée Humphries (staff), with actress Oktavea LaToi (B.A. 2017) among the cast.

Starting in fall of 2023, the newly endowed Don Wilson Glenn African American Playwright Scholarship will be awarded to a UT Theatre and Dance student playwright. Created with generous support by friends and classmates of award-winning playwright Don Wilson Glenn, each year's recipient will be selected following an annual playwriting competition.

On the 125th anniversary of his birth, theatres across the country are presenting works celebrating playwright Thornton Wilder. Among them is faculty member Kirk Lynn's adaptation of Wilder's unfinished script The Emporium, premiering at the Alley Theatre in June 2022.

Dr. Charlotte M. Canning, Frank C. Erwin, Jr. Centennial Professor in Drama and Head of the Oscar G. Brockett Center for Theatre History and Criticism, has been selected as the recipient of The University of Texas at Austin’s 2021 Civitatis Award.

The McNay Art Museum's current exhibition, The Great Stage of Texas, highlights work by Texas theatre artists, including faculty member Karen Maness and alumni Michelle Nay (M.F.A. 1989) and Stephanie Busing (M.F.A. 2014). Their artwork will be on display March 3-July 24, 2022.

In celebration of its fifteenth season, we are exploring UTNT (UT New Theatre)’s history of fostering experimentation, creative collaboration and hands-on new play development, through the eyes of its playwriting alumni.