Recent News

After performing in Hamilton on Broadway, J. Quinton Johnson (attended) has returned to Austin to direct Alice's Wonderland, a musical adaptation he co-wrote with Julia Riew. Presented by Summer Stock Austin, this production features the work of multiple UT Theatre and Dance artists.

Alum kt shorb (Ph.D. 2021) spoke with staff members at Theatre Mu, one of the longest running Asian American and Pacific Islander theatre companies in the country. They discuss the flexibility and versatility that have helped the company thrive over the last few years.

In November 2022, faculty member Gesel Mason will participate in Gibney Dance Company's Imagining Digital program, a virtual forum where artists share vital perspectives and ideas. Mason will be in conversation with fellow artist Gregory King as part of Gibney's Deeper Duets series.

The Texas Theme Park Engineering & Design student organization is expanding the possibilities of interdisciplinary collaboration on campus, one innovative project at a time. Sponsored by faculty members J.E. Johnson and Karen Maness, this group cultivates the creative problem-solver in each of its members, from engineers to artists to designers. 

Playwriting alumnus Drew Paryzer (M.F.A. 2018) delves into what he calls "playable plays" in a recent article for HowlRound Theatre Commons. Paryzer investigates interactive moments in theatre, arguing that leaning into experiential storytelling and technologies could deepen understanding of the human condition.

Current student Nelson Nwachukwu performs as "Benedick" in the TYA production of Much Ado about Quite a Lot as part of his acting internship with Illinois Shakespeare Festival. He can also be seen on stage alongside faculty member Quetta Carpenter in the festival's productions of King Lear and Much Ado About Nothing.

Faculty members Kirk Lynn (performer, writer) and Alexandra Bassiakou Shaw (director) will present Lynn's one-man-play The Cold Record at the 2022 Darwin Festival in Australia.

Ahead of their world premiere production of Spells of the Sea, written by alumni Guinevere "Gwinny" Govea and Anna Amelia Rose Pickett, Metro Theater Company interviewed M.F.A. candidate Xinyue Zhang about the show's workshop at Pegasus PlayLab. Zhang was a member of the community engagement team alongside fellow M.F.A. candidate Claire Derriennic and a University of Florida collaborator.

From Shakespeare to HBO, faculty and students of the Department of Theatre and Dance are hard at work this summer. Learn more about their work in the first summer update, now available on the blog. 

Faculty member and Harry Ransom Center curator Eric Colleary has been collecting and archiving the ways theatres around the world navigated the onset of the pandemic and the subsequent shuddering of theatres in 2020. His findings as part of the Theatre 2020 Project can be found in a digital archive through the Harry Ransom Center.