Theatre Department to host festival and plays from regional universities

By Alec Jennings
University News Service
February 23, 2009

Inviting more than 700 theatre artists from five different states and more than 35 schools, the Texas State University-San Marcos Department of Theatre and Dance will be hosting the American College Theatre Festival, Region VI Feb. 24-28.

Theatre students from Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas will gather with the same goal in mind – earning a spot in the national competition.  Participants will present plays, attend workshops and competitions to earn a spot at the national contest at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. 

Students attending will get the opportunity to view the work of other schools, gain help in developing new plays, and get their own work critiqued by experts and professionals as well as many other activities. Interacting with the professionals involved also presents opportunities for networking and possibilities for future careers.

Along with the individual competitions that will take place during the festival, participating schools throughout the region will enter full-length productions. Two of the seven shows that will be presented this year will be Texas State productions including an original play, House of Several Stories by Texas State graduate student John Boulanger.

This is the first time Texas State has hosted the regional festival. John Fleming, theatre chair, said the event presents the university with a unique opportunity to showcase its talents and facilities on a national scale.

“Hosting the festival is a major event,” Fleming said. “This event literally helps put Texas State and our department on the national map.”

Students and the public are invited to productions surrounding this festival. Tickets for the Texas State productions prior to the festival will be $10 general and $7 for students with ID. Tickets for productions during the festival itself will all be $10.

For more information about the festival, visit www.theatreanddance.txstate.edu or call the theatre box office at (512) 245-2204.
 

The following is a schedule of productions and their sponsoring universities. Texas State performances prior to the festival are denoted with an asterisk:

  • Caucasian Chalk Circle (Texas State)
            Main Stage Theatre
            *Feb. 17 and 18, 7:30 p.m.
            Feb. 25, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.
 
  • As it is in Heaven (Oklahoma Baptist University)
            Studio Theatre
            Feb. 25, 11 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.
 
  • Rabbit Hole (West Texas A&M)
            Main Stage Theatre
            Feb. 26, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.
 
  • House of Several Stories (Texas State)
            Studio Theatre
            *Feb. 17 and 18, 7:30 p.m.
            Feb. 26, 11 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.
 
  • Metamorphoses (Centenary College)
            Main Stage Theatre
            Feb. 27, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.
 
  • The Anatomy of Gray (University of Oklahoma)
            Studio Theatre
            Feb. 27, 11 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.
 
  • Doubt (Midwestern State University)
            Main Stage Theatre

            Feb. 28, 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.