Recent News

The University of Texas at Austin has suspended operations and all remaining performances of UTNT (UT New Theatre) have been canceled as of Friday, March 13. Information about campus closures and operational changes are available on the university's website. Additional information pertaining to the Department of Theatre and Dance will be posted as they become available. 

Milwaukee Repertory Theater recently announced their 2020-2021 season, featuring John Proctor is the Villain by alumna Kimberly Belflower (M.F.A. 2017). This challenging, contemporary post- #metoo response to “classic” literature explores the power of young girls who fight to tell their own stories.

Austin-based Teatro Vivo presents award-winning (Un)Documents, written and performed by Jesús I. Valles and directed by alumnus Rudy Ramirez (M.A. 2012). Comprised of poems, journal entries and immigration paperwork, (Un)Documents is an attempt to ask questions about how we talk about citizenship, documentation, its absence and what, if anything, comes from telling. 

Theatre and Dance faculty member Lisa B. Thompson was recently featured in Austin360 for her upcoming work Single Black Female, on stage this month at Ground Floor Theatre (Austin, Texas), as well as her contributions to the American stage and her work as an educator.

Alumnus Isaac Gómez's (B.A. 2013) new play I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter is currently preparing for its world premiere at Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago. With featured ensemble member and alumna Karen Rodriguez, this poignant adaptation of Erika L. Sánchez's award-winning novel follows Julia, a Chicago high school student as she navigates trials and tribulations of following her dreams of becoming a writer. 

Single Black Female, written by faculty memberLisa B. Thompson and directed by alumnus Matrex Kilgore (B.A. 2015), takes the stage at Ground Floor Theatre this spring with a two-woman show featuring rapid-fire comic vignettes that explore the lives of thirty-something African American middle-class women in urban America as they search for love, clothes and dignity in a world that fails to recognize them amongst a parade of stereotypical images. 

Playwriting faculty member Branden Jacobs-Jenkins (Associate Professor of Practice) was recently named one of the recipients of the USA Fellowship from United States Artists. This $50,000 fellowship is granted to a selected number of artists in recognition of their contributions to the field. His plays include Everybody, An Octoroon and Appropriate.