Recent News

Alumnus Isaac Gómez's play Wally World, presented by Steppenwolf Theatre Company, landed among a list of four audio-plays from across the nation reviewed by The New York Times. The production is still available through their Steppenwolf NOW virtual programming until August 31, 2021.

KUT 90.5 recently checked in with Rudy Ramirez (M.A. 2012) and Frank Wo/Men Collective co-producers Chris Conard (current student), Kelsey Oliver (B.F.A. 2015), Roberto Di Donato (B.A. 2016) and Alexa Capareda about the creative development taking place through their residencies with Texas Performing Arts and Fusebox Festival.

Charles O. Anderson's (Re)current Unrest landed on the top of Robert Faire's list of timely and impactful work in and about the year 2020. Also on the list is Marcus; or the Secret of Sweet, directed by Anderson and department chair Robert Ramirez, which kicked off our spring 2020 semester prior to closures.

Associate professor Gesel Mason and her co-director Rebecca Salzer represented one of 213 humanities projects nationwide that recently received funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Their project, "Prototyping an Extensible Framework for Access to Dance Knowledge" will work to create an online resource that will increase accessibility to recordings of works by Black choreographers and provide connections across collections of archived dance work.

In a recent interview with National Performance Network, faculty member Gesel Mason talked about her upcoming project Yes, And, and the multiple residencies that have made her project possible as well as the community of Black women who have inspired and impacted the piece.

Alumni Isaac Gómez and Karen Rodriguez recount their long history of collaborating as theatre artists, beginning with their time as students at the Department of Theatre and Dance. Their most recent collaboration, Steppenwolf Theatre Company's audio adaptation of Gómez's Wally World, is streaming from December 16, 2020 to August 31, 2021.

Faculty member Gesel Mason spoke with Fusebox Festival about centering the voices of Black women in her project Yes, And, along with her previous projects and how they have inspired her current work. Yes, And is being developed as a part of Mason's residency with Texas Performing Arts and Fusebox Festival.

Head of the playwriting/directing area KJ Sanchez is leading a group of collaborators in creating a piece of documentary theatre that digs into the complex lives of those we call essential workers, commemorating the realities of working through a global pandemic.

Fusebox Festival interviewed Frank Wo/Men Collective founders Kelsey Oliver (B.F.A. 2015), Roberto Di Donato (B.A. 2016), Chris Conard (M.F.A. candidate) and Alexa Capareda about the creation and upcoming workshop performances of K ! :D D: Ö as part of the residency program created by Texas Performing Arts and Fusebox Festival.  

Head of the dance area Charles O. Anderson strives as a teacher and mentor to lead with compassion, creating environments that empower his students to share their stories through movement. His passion for inclusive dance education earned him a Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award and has helped him impact the lives of countless students.