Recent News

Faculty member Gesel Mason recently received the College of Fine Arts 2019-2020 Distinguished Research Award for her creative works No Boundaries: Dancing the Vision of Contemporary Black Choreographers and Yes, And.

The Department of Theatre and Dance and the College of Fine Arts at The University of Texas at Austin are pleased to announce the renewed residency of the nationally-acclaimed, ensemble -based theatre collective, Rude Mechs. This two-year residency will provide students the opportunity to work with and learn from members of Rude Mechs through group workshops, mentorship and respondent feedback on student-devised work and processes.

The 2019-2020 B. Iden Payne Award Nominations feature multiple members of the UT Theatre and Dance community, including 12 nominations for Spring Awakening, 11 nominations for Marcus; or the Secret of Sweet and six nominations for 12 Ophelias (a play with broken songs), among numerous alumni, student and faculty work outside of the university.

Alumnus Andrew Aaron Valdez (B.F.A. 2017) is currently featured as part of the touring production of American Dreams, an interactive, virtual play that invites audiences to vote on which of the game-show contestants earns immediate citizenship. On virtual stages through November 2020. 

Faculty member Katie Dawson is serving as a co-host for the Provost Teaching Fellow's new podcast The Other Side of Campus where she and other colleagues from across the Forty Acres discuss their experiences as educators as they continue to strive to innovate, create and grow as teachers.

Associate department chair and head of the dance area Charles O. Anderson has received the prestigious Creative Research Award from The University of Texas at Austin's Office of the Vice President for Research and the University Co-operative Society recognizing his extraordinary creative achievement and scholarship in 2019 as the artistic director of DANCE THEATRE X and the creator of the evening-length dance performance (Re)current Unrest.

Faculty member and Texas Performing Arts scenic studio supervisor J.E. Johnson, along with three other local Austin artists, recently shared his thoughts on the struggles and creative innovations experienced while working during this time. Johnson touched on his hands-on Performance Robots course and how it has shifted due to the pandemic.

The VORTEX Theatre, helmed by producing artistic director and alumna Bonnie Cullum (M.F.A. 1989), recently received a Cultural Division grant of $200,000 from the Texas Commission on the Arts to support the to support the continuation of creative works in the Six Square - Austin's Black Cultural District. Funds will support the Vortex's upcoming production National New Play Network's rolling premiere of Annie Jump and the Library of Heaven by Reina Hardy (M.F.A. 2014). 

In a recent article for Teen Vogue, current student Yasmin Zacaria Mikhaiel explored the guiding and grounding nature of theatre through interviews with grade school educators and students. Among them was faculty member Katie Dawson, who spoke about how Drama for Schools helps teachers incorporate drama-based teaching styles into their classrooms to foster connections with students.

Revisit the brilliant work of Department of Theatre and Dance and School of Design and Creative Technologies students with this collection of select performances from this year’s Evolution (Virtual Edition) showcase, which exhibited the resilience and adaptability of our students, as well as insight into the process of remote collaboration.