The Austin Critics Table has chosen their favorites for the year in Theatre, Design, Dance, Visual Art and Classical Music. Among the top picks are UT Theatre and Dance students, faculty, alumni and friends for their outstanding achievements in the fields of direction, performance, design and movement.
Originally presented as part of the 2009 University Co-op Presents the Cohen New Works Festival and remounted as an ENCORE in the fall, The Psyche Project makes a return engagement as re: Psyche, June 23 - July 18, 2010 at the BLUE Theatre.
Theatre and Dance alumnus Kevin Adams (B.F.A. in Theatrical Design, 1984) won a Tony Award for “Best Lighting Design of a Musical” for his design of American Idiot. The award marks a third-career win for Adams.
Todd Lowe (B.F.A. '99) plays “Terry Bellefleur” for a third season in the hit vampire drama while Kevin Alejandro (B.F.A., Attended '95 – '99) joins the cast as “Jesus”, a character expected to appear in nearly every episode of the season.
For the 18th year, an informal affiliation of local arts critics has recognized the year's most exceptional achievements in dance, classical music, the visual arts, and theatre. Department of Theatre and Dance productions, students, faculty, alumni and friends are well represented on this year's list with nearly 40 nominations.
Dr. Brant Pope, currently head of the Department of Theatre at The University of Illinois, has been appointed chair of the Department of Theatre and Dance at The University of Texas at Austin, effective June 1, 2010. Pope has also been appointed as holder of the Z.T. Scott Family Chair in Drama in the Department of Theatre and Dance.
In Austin to deliver the commencement speech at the university-wide ceremony, award-winning actor and Department of Theatre and Dance alumna, Marcia Gay Harden visited her alma mater to lead an intensive acting workshop with selected participants from the Department of Theatre and Dance.
Theatre and Dance alumnus Robert Schenkkan (B.F.A. in Drama, 1975) received two Emmy Award nominations for Best Writing, Miniseries for his work on The Pacific. The World War II drama tracks the intertwined real-life journeys of three U.S. Marines across the vast canvas of the Pacific Theater. The Pacific received a total of 24 Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Miniseries.
This year marks the golden anniversary of the longest-running musical in American theatre history, “The Fantasticks,” written by University of Texas at Austin College of Fine Arts alumni Tom Jones (B.F.A. '49, M.F.A. '51) and Harvey Schmidt (B.F.A. '52).
