Recent News

M.F.A. in Playwriting and Michener Center for Writers alumnus Travis Tate (M.F.A. 2018) was among four playwrights nationwide selected by Liberation Theatre Company to participate in their 2020-2021 Writing Residency Program. This residency, meant to support and encourage the growing works of new Black playwrights, will provide Tate with dramaturgical and early career support as they develop a new full-length play. Along with opportunities to meet established New York artists and playwrights, the residency will culminate in a public reading of each fellow's plays in collaboration with professional directors and actors. Tate was selected through a very competitive submission process to learn with and from an incredible group of artists.

Alumna Jelisa Jay Robinson (B.A. 2014) has been awarded a 2020 Maison Baldwin Residency fellowship, a writers residency in Saint-Paul de Vence, France where James Baldwin lived and produced some of his most enduring works. This program helps to realize Baldwin's dream of transforming his home into a writers' colony that supports new and emerging voices, offering writers space to pursue their current creative projects. When travel is permitted, Robinson will stay in La Maison Baldwin Residence for Writers for two to four weeks, immersing herself in and contributing to the literary culture of the same village that Baldwin drew inspiration from.

This year's Austin Latinx New Play Festival will feature the works of current M.F.A. candidate Jaymes Sanchez (The Cucuy Will Find You) and alumnus lily gonzales ((trans)formada). Other collaborators include Diana Guizado (B.A. 2019) and Brooks Laney (B.F.A. 2019), as well as current students Khristián Méndez Aguirre, Siri Gurudev, Jessica Peña Torres and Juan Leyva. Teatro Vivo, in partnership with ScriptWorks, will present this year's festival in a virtual setting, allowing the conversations around new Lantino theatre to continue amidst quarantine. Tune in Thursday, May 14 through Saturday, May 16 to join in on the conversation. 

Prior to the shift of Fusebox Festival to a virtual setting, UT Live Design M.F.A. candidates Michael Bruner, Zoey Crow, Jesse Easdon, John Erickson, Logan Smith, Ryan Weisner and Serena Zamarippa (integrated media for live performance) had designed a site-specific, interactive projection installation, entitled Liminality, using 3D projection mapping, real-time generated media and filmmaking techniques that was to be presented as the facade of the festival hub (Distribution Hall). With the shift of the festival to a digital space, these innovative students reimagined their work as a virtual experience that is now available for all to enjoy. 

Five UT Austin alumni (Brian Bogart (B.A. in Theatre and Dance, 2013), Ja’Michael Darnell (B.A. in Theatre and Dance, 2014), Joseph Dailey (B.F.A. in Theatre Studies, 2013), Sam Gorena (B.A. in Theatre and Dance, 2013) and Ethan Galis (B.A. in Biology, 2013)) have the perfect solution for quarantine blues – start a boy band. Now streaming online (and into our hearts), Kwar[N]Teens is rocking social distancing jams that bring the perfect blend of creativity and levity to these strange times. They’re here to remind us all that even amidst tough times, they’ll be there as long as you love them.

As the 2019-2020 school year comes to a close, graduating seniors everywhere are left with questions about what to do next when the end of their college career isn't what they'd hoped it would be. Ben Montero, UT Theatre Students senior at The University of Texas at Austin Department of Theatre and Dance, had a specific question: "How do you still follow your dreams when it feels like the world isn't so supportive of them?" This week, he received an answer to his question by none other than legendary filmmaker Steven Spielberg.

Faculty member and scenic studio supervisor for Texas Performing Arts J.E. Johnson recently spoke with Texas Connect about his experience with hands-on, experiential learning. Johnson, along with Shelly Rodriguez (College of Natural Sciences), have collaborated to create UT Bridge Makers, a student group that focuses on creation through interdisciplinary collaboration between the College of Natural Sciences and the College of Fine Arts.

Celebrated works at this year's virtual iteration of Austin's Fusebox Festival included faculty member Gesel Mason's NO BOUNDARIES: The Journey to Embody and Archive the Visions of Contemporary Black Choreographers project, a living. ever-evolving performance archive of prominent African American choreographers that received its world premiere as part of the festival.

Now in its 16th year, Fusebox Festival is an annual contemporary art and performance festival in Austin that features adventurous local, national and international artists. With current events suspending in-person gatherings, the 2020 festival has been reimagined as a virtual festival, featuring work by faculty member Gesel Mason (NO BOUNDARIES); the Rude Mechs (A Show of Hands; co-artistic producers are faculty members Kirk Lynn and Madge Darlington, managing director is faculty member Alexandra Bassiakou Shaw) and current Ph.D. candidate kt shorb (INAPPROPRIATE). April 24-26, 2020. 

The College of Fine Arts at The University of Texas at Austin has named Professor Robert Ramirez as chair of the Department of Theatre and Dance. Ramirez, head of the Acting program in the department, has been serving as interim chair since summer 2019.