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A number of TLU Dramatic Media students are highlighted in a current TV commercial for TLU, including Junior Hannah Schmidt, who is featured prominently. Check it out to find footage of Erika Gallo, Britnie Tucker, Ryan Beene, Megan Taylor, Adri Lopez, Zac Reynolds, and a couple of other partially obscured company members that may or may not include Christopher DeLuca and Annelise Leifeste. There's even a long shot that includes a certain graying professor named Legore. The commercial is right... there are endless opportunities at TLU! Austin Manning, a 2011 graduate of TLU Dramatic Media, is featured on a current television commercial for Texas Lutheran University. After graduating from TLU, Austin worked as a stage manager at Sea World in San Antonio, before completing his M.F.A. from the University of Virginia. He is currently serving as the Assistant Technical Director at the Zach Theatre in Austin, Texas. We extend our congratulations to Austin, and see more television in his future... just wait until HGTV comes a calling! We are thrilled to announce the arrival of guest artist Stephen Ivey, who will serve as a Visiting Assistant Professor during the 2015-2016 academic year. Ivey originally began his career as an actor, and has performed professionally in regional theatres, films, and commercials. After receiving his M.F.A. degree in acting from the University of California-Irvine, he moved to Los Angeles where he began working as a talent manager. During his tenure as a manager he has represented top writing and acting talent in film, television, and theater. He has taught acting, voice & speech, stage combat and the business of acting at various venues across the country, including UC-Irvine, Westminster College, Pacific Conservatory for the Performing Arts and Texas Lutheran University. In 2012 he founded Ivey Entertainment, a talent management company that represents actors and writers in the Los Angeles area. Professor Ivey is a co-founder and the treasurer for Theatre for Change, a non-profit organization dedicated to theatre for social change. Audiences can enjoy Professor Ivey's performance as Dr. Thomas Martinson in the new play TRIGGER WARNING. Written by David Legore, TLU Professor of Dramatic Media, TRIGGER WARNING performs on Friday, September 11th at 7:30 PM in Jackson Auditorium.  Sam Mandelbaum (left) as Wayne Mooreland and Stephen Ivey (right) as Dr. Tom Martinson in TRIGGER WARNING.
 It is with mixed emotions that TLU Dramatic Media announces the resignation of Scott Spidell, who blessed us with his contributions this past year. Scott, our "Big Beautiful Canadian" has accepted a position in his native land with MacEwan University in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Though our time together was short, we were blessed to collaborate with Scott on a number of successful productions and initiatives. We hate to see him go, but are excited that he and his wonderful wife June will be reunited for a new adventure in their lives. Best wishes to you both, and remember to send us an occasional care package of Nestle Coffee Crisp bars.
TLU Dramatic Media is excited to announce open auditions for An Experiment with an Air Pump, by Shelagh Stephenson. Auditions will be held on Thursday, January 15th, from 2:30-5:30 PM in Jackson Auditorium. Prepared pieces are preferred (1-3 minutes). Auditions will also consist of readings from the script. Please contact Professor David Legore at [email protected] or 830-372-6021 with inquiries. 
Change in Season to Feature The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) [Revised]11/21/2014 Due to some complications with the new play MR. BURNS, A POST-ELECTRIC PLAY, TLU Dramatic Media is excited to announce a change in the annual season. THE COMPLETE WORKS OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE (ABRIDGED) [REVISED] will be produced instead. This beloved comedy, which took the theatre world by storm, features a talented group of students who will produce the show through TheatreXpress, the official student production organization at Texas Lutheran University. The play will be directed by senior Luke Nelson, with assistance from senior David Soop. The cast features Ryan Beene, Connor Dillion, Allisa Johnson, and Bryan Mittelstadt. See details below!
THE COMPLETE WORKS OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE (ABRIDGED) [REVISED] by Adam Long, Daniel Singer, and Jess Winfield Feb. 6-8 Evenings: Friday, and Saturday @ 7:30 PM • Matinees: Friday and Sunday @ 2:30 PM All 37 of Shakespeare’s plays in 97 minutes?! That’s the goal of this madcap dash through the Bard’s canon, as performed by a three-person troupe. An irreverent, fast-paced romp, the play weaves its way through all of Shakespeare’s Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies in one wild ride that will leave you breathless and helpless with laughter. The play was born when three inspired, charismatic comics, having honed their pass-the-hat act at Renaissance fairs, premiered their preposterous masterwork at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1987. It quickly became a worldwide phenomenon, earning the title of London's second-longest-running comedy after a decade at the Criterion Theatre. THE COMPLETE WORKS OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE (ABRIDGED) is one of the world's most frequently produced plays, and has been translated into dozens languages. As reviewed by The Today Show, “If you like Shakespeare, you’ll love this show. If you hate Shakespeare, you’ll love this show!” 
Anton Antonovich Skvoznik Dumakhanovsky, at right, the Mayor of Supgorod (Soup Town) in Russia, presents Mayor Don Keil of Seguin with an honorary riding crop. Dumakhanovsky was overheard saying, “It’s how I keep the peasants in line!” The two dignitaries met at Seguin’s City Hall during a whirlwind tour to discuss a possible trade agreement. Mayor Dumakhonovsky pitched the following to Keil, “We are known for our delicious cabbage soup. Plus, my personal vineyard produces wine that is both viscous and bubbly. By the end of the next decade we want to be able to say that ours will be one of the finest small family-owned vintners in this part of the western south-central section of our district! Would you be willing to trade for your big pecan?” At that point, Mayor Keil quickly wielded his new riding crop, chasing Dumakhanovsky out of the building. The Russian escaped in his troika, racing west down Court Street as fast as his six horses could carry him. As the carriage disappeared, Keil yelled, “Go back to Siberia!”
In an effort to thaw the icy diplomatic tensions, the public is invited to meet Mayor Dumakhanovsky and the other fictional citizens of Supgorod this weekend, November 14—16, at Texas Lutheran University. The department of Dramatic Media will produce The Government Inspector, a comic farce adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher from the original play by Nikolai Gogol. This classic comedy, updated for a modern audience, promises to bring reconciliation through laughter. Evening performances are Friday and Saturday at 7:30 PM, with matinees on Friday and Sunday at 2:30 PM. General admission tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for senior-citizens and student ages, and free with a TLU ID.  TLU Dramatic Media is pleased to announce the hiring of Professor Scott Spidell. Professor Spidell will serve as our new Production Designer/Technical Director, beginning August of 2014.
Professor Spidell brings a tremendous background of experiences to our program. His recent M.F.A. in Performance Design from York University in Toronto, Canada, comes after a career of 30-plus years in theatre, film, and television. He was most recently the Head of Production at the University of Waterloo in Canada where he has taught and served in a variety of capacities for the past nineteen years, including many as Technical Director. He has a long list of credits in scene design and stagecraft, lighting design, video design, props, special effects, and sound. His research interests deal with the integration of media in live performance. He is a union stage manager with the Canadian Actor’s Equity Association. If that weren't enough, he’s also been a working actor. We are thrilled with this diversity of skills and look forward to our collaborations with Professor Spidell.  After 12 years as our faculty designer, many of those years serving also as the technical director, Professor Terry Price has resigned his position as a faculty member. He will continue his position with TLU Marketing and Communications, expanding to full-time in that capacity. He is looking forward to some new opportunities in this expanded role for “MarCom.” By extension, he will continue to serve our efforts in DRAM, including work with students interested in videography, social media, and student publications. Collectively, we will miss Terry’s outstanding contributions to our program. He has been the first and only faculty Production Designer/Technical Director in our history, elevating our production values and curricular offerings. He has been an outstanding teacher, collaborator, and mentor— not to mention world traveler, sharing study abroad adventures with TLU students. Above all, he has been a true friend to his faculty and student colleagues. Thank you, Terry, for all that you have done (and will continue to do) for TLU.
Given the critical role that production design and technical direction play in our program, this has led to some related developments. Thus, it is with sadness (but profound gratitude and appreciation) that we announce the departure of Tyler Afflerbach. Tyler did such great work for us in 2013-2014, stepping in after school had already started and quickly becoming a trusted leader, collaborator, and colleague. She has a very bright future, and she too will be missed! A national search for a full-time faculty member in Production Design/Technical Direction is soon to be underway. We look forward to welcoming a new colleague in the fall of 2014, capable of providing the excellent design, technical direction, collaboration, and teaching that our students deserve. |
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