Preparing Tomorrow's Stars Today
Texas State University’s Department of Theatre and Dance offers a diverse range of degrees in the Theatre Arts, allowing our students to find a program suited to their skills and interests. We are proud of the accomplishments of our faculty, students, and alumni. Our web pages contain information about our B.A. and B.F.A. programs (including our newly redesigned B.F.A. Musical Theatre program), graduate degrees, opportunities for performance, special events and production photos.
NEW PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
For a sneak peak at our new Performing Arts Center slated to open by January 2014 please click on the link below:
PROUDLY INTRODUCING THE 2011 - 2012 TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY MAINSTAGE THEATRE SEASON
Anna in the Tropics
by Nilo Cruz
Directed by Jeremy O. Torres
October 4-8 at 7:30 p.m., October 9 at 2:00 p.m.
This Pulitzer Prize-winning play tells the story of Cuban exiles working in a cigar factory in Ybor City (Tampa) Florida in 1929. When a new lector, perhaps the last to ply his trade, is hired their lives are forever altered. As the lector reads from Anna Karenina, he casts a spell over the workers, transforming their passions and desires through the affirming power of art. That the love they seek may result in a tragic end is ordained as much by the story of the Russian noblewoman Anna as it is by the actions of the workers themselves.
Oklahoma!
Music by Richard Rodgers
Book & Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein
Directed by Kaitlin Hopkins
November 11-12 at 7:30 p.m., November 13 at 2:00 p.m.
November 15-19 at 7:30 p.m. November 20 at 1:00 p.m. & 7:00 p.m.
Oklahoma! launched the Golden Age of the American Musical and marked the first collaboration between composer Richard Rodgers and Lyricist/librettist Oscar Hammerstein II. The first of the nine musicals they wrote together, Oklahoma! was a milestone in its merging of story, song and dance. Set in the Oklahoma territory outside the town of Claremore in 1906, it tells the story of cowboy Curly McLain and his romance with farm girl Laurey Williams; who will take her to the box social-Curly or the sinister Jud Fry.
Picasso at the Lapin Agile
by Steve Martin
Directed by Aaron Johnson
February 7-11 at 7:30 p.m., Februaury 12 at 2:00 p.m.
Laugh along with the noble denizens of a down-and-out Parisian bar as a youthful Albert Einstein and Pablo Picasso meet in 1904 shortly before either is to become famous. As they debate art and science, they are eventually interrupted by a time-traveling stranger, the once and future King from Tupelo, Mississippi, who adds his own "twist" to the discussion. This inventive, witty comedy was the first full-length play by Steve Martin, the award-winning actor, writer, comedian, and musician.
Cherry Orchard
by Anton Chekhov
Directed by Michael Costello
March 27-31 at 7:30 p.m., April 1 at 2:00 p.m.
On a Russian estate at the beginning of the twentieth century, change is in the air as the aristocratic inhabitants of the main house go about blithely living their superficial lives, ignoring potentially catastrophic events on the horizon. With The Cherry Orchard, Chekhov is at his most astute in revealing the folly of human nature when faced with potentially tragic circumstances. Comic and poignant, The Cherry Orchard is a play that speaks to our own time.
Hair
Books and Lyrics by James Rado & Gerome Ragni
Music by Galt MacDermot
Directed by Kaitlin Hopkins
April 20-21, 24-28 at 7:30 p.m., April 22, 29 at 2:00 p.m.
Hair tells the story of a group of friends choosing to speak up and sing out in celebration of love, life and freedom. The first great rock musical, it has some of the most rousing and soulful songs ever written for the stage, including "Let the Sun Shine In," "Easy to be Hard," "Good Morning Starshine," "Aquarius" and the infectious title song, "Hair."
2011-2012 PSH FOUNDATION STUDIO THEATRE SEASON
Texas State Black and Latino Playwrights Conference
September 16-18
Bug
by Tracy Letts
Directed by Robert Wighs
September 29 - October 1 at 7:30 p.m., October 2 at 2:00 p.m.
A dramatic thriller by Pulitzer and Tony-winner Tracy Letts, Bug is humorously captivating and will haunt you till the end. Isolated in her seedy, Oklahoma motel room a divorced waitress is introduced to a soft-spoken Gulf War drifter. Though platonic at first, their relationship grows and the two are forced to confront each other's past while fending off a growing bug infestation that is infiltrating the room.
Almost Maine
by John Cariani
Directed by Crystal Franz
October 27 - 29 at 7:30 p.m., October 30 at 2:00 p.m.
With over 600 productions Almost, Maine is one of the most produced contemporary American plays of the past five years. Charming, whimsical, clever, thought-provoking, and honest, this play strings together a series of vignettes to tell the story of a rural, mythical town, where ordinary people undergo surprising and extraordinary events. With broken hearts and heads over heels, this tragicomedy is a love story of the most fantastic kind.
Next Fall
by Geoffrey Nauffts
Directed by Tracy Arnold
March 6-9 at 7:30 p.m.
Next Fall takes a witty and provocative look at faith, commitment, and unconditional love. While the central story focuses on the five year relationship between Adam and Luke, Next Fall goes beyond a typical love story. It forces us to examine what it means to believe and what it might cost us not to.