Texas State hosts Houston-area theatre master classes

By T.C. Sprencel
University News Service
September 9, 2010

Broadway is paying a visit to Houston, by way of Texas State University-San Marcos.

Theatre faculty members Kaitlin Hopkins, Robin Lewis, Lauren Lane and Michelle Ney will visit the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston Sept. 17 for a master class session, bringing years of experience in the country’s foremost theatre district to one of the state’s most renowned arts-focused high schools.

“This is one of the top high schools in Texas in the performing arts,” said Hopkins, head of musical theatre at Texas State.

Hopkins, who will also conduct a college audition workshop at Cypress Academy of Performing Arts in Houston Sept. 19, knows a thing or two about performing arts success. The award-winning stage and screen veteran has more than 25 years of experience in film, television, opera, radio and theatre — including extensive work on Broadway.

In her position at Texas State, Hopkins has helped to engineer a nationally acclaimed theatre program with a faculty composed entirely of working Broadway professionals. Much of the program’s success is a result of outreach efforts such as the workshops scheduled at HSPVA and Cypress Academy.

“It’s about giving back, but it’s also a recruiting opportunity,” said Hopkins. “We can meet these kids, see their work and tell them about Texas State.”

Hopkins and her colleagues travel around the country conducting master classes, during which they give students lessons on various elements of theatrical production and prepare them for college applications and auditions. Many of those applications, perhaps unsurprisingly, are submitted to the very program that Hopkins oversees.

“We had close to four hundred students audition for us last year, which is an incredible number,” she said. “This year, I think we are going to break our record by a long shot.”

For more information, please contact Kaitlin Hopkins at (512) 245-2147, or via email at kh40@txstate.edu.