31July

How to Nurture Alumni Connections for Your Theatre Program

by Jerry Tsai For college and university theatre programs, instructing and training students to succeed in their professional endeavors is your number one objective. However, your relationships with these artists don’t—and shouldn’t—end with their graduation! Maintaining connections with your program’s alumni provides a variety of benefits. When your graduates succeed, your program’s reputation improves,

Posted by URTA Posted on 31 Jul 0 Comments

01October

Celebrating 50 Years of URTA Stories

In 2019, URTA celebrates its 50th anniversary. The longevity alone is impressive and reason enough for us to be proud, but when one begins to reflect on the number of lives URTA has touched over those years—in so many different ways—it’s really staggering. To me, those 50 years represent many thousands of individual URTA stories.

Posted by URTA Posted on 01 Oct 0 Comments

18April

Liberty University’s Scott M. Hayes Talks URTA Training and the Terminal Degree

Scott M. Hayes, an URTA alum of the Asolo Conservatory at Florida State, and current Interim Dean of Liberty University’s School of Visual and Performing Arts, spoke about his graduate theatre training, professional journey, and offers advice for those interested in performing, teaching, and more. You’re a multi-faceted artist–a playwright, director, producer, and actor. What

acting, arts administration, Asolo, Asolo Conservatory, graduate school, Liberty University, mfa, Regent University, The URTAs, Theatre, theatre arts, UC Irvine, university theatre, urta
Posted by URTA Posted on 18 Apr 0 Comments

30March

“Come From Away” URTA Alums Jenn Colella and Joel Hatch

Broadway’s Come From Away is a unique new musical that beautifully intertwines the stories of a group of strangers stranded in Gander, Newfoundland where international flights were forced to reroute on September 11, 2001. All actors in the show’s ensemble play multiple characters. The cast features two URTA alumni—Jenn Colella and Joel Hatch—who each play

acting, auditions, Broadway, Come From Away, mfa, MFA training, musical theatre, musicals, The URTAs, theater, Theatre, theatre arts, UC Irvine, University of Minnesota
Posted by URTA Posted on 30 Mar 0 Comments

17January

Interview with “Beautiful” star and URTA Alum, Ben Jacoby

What made you decide to go to graduate school? I felt like I needed more training. I went to a small, liberal arts college where I studied a wide range of subjects. Acting, of course, was one of them, but the liberal arts atmosphere didn’t afford me the in-depth training I felt like I needed

Posted by URTA Posted on 17 Jan 0 Comments

02January

Interview with Lighting and Set Designer Justin Townsend

Justin Townsend is an international lighting and set designer for performance. He has been nominated for the 2016 Tony Awards and Drama Desk Awards for Broadway productions “The Humans” and “American Psycho”. He holds a MFA from URTA member university, CalArts. Mr. Townsend is an Assistant Professor of Theatre at Brooklyn College. He spoke recently

Posted by URTA Posted on 02 Jan 0 Comments

05December

URTA Alum and Tony Winning Sound Designer, Leon Rothenberg

URTA’s Rachel Friedman recently chatted with California Institute of the Arts alum, Leon Rothenberg about how his training shaped his career, and about his current show “Rancho Viejo”, now playing at Playwrights Horizons. I would love to start with the beginning of your career. You received your Bachelor of Music from Oberlin and then went

Posted by URTA Posted on 05 Dec 0 Comments

16November

Alumni Interview with Colby Lewis

Actor Colby Lewis is a 2014 MFA graduate of URTA member program, University of Connecticut. Since graduating, he’s performed a variety of major roles including, notably, Cassius Clay in the Denver Center Theatre production of One Night in Miami. Currently, he’s the Male Principal Standby in the Chicago company of Hamilton, understudying the roles of

Posted by URTA Posted on 16 Nov 0 Comments

27October

Alumni Highlight: “Vietgone” at Manhattan Theatre Club

Attending a performance of Vietgone at Manhattan Theatre Club I knew very little about the show, other than it centered around a love story starting after the Vietnam War, and that there might be some rap. It turned out to be a beautiful and hilarious piece written by Qui Nguyen and directed by May Adrales,

Posted by URTA Posted on 27 Oct 0 Comments

19September

Alumni Interview with Emily Penick of ACT

What made you want to go to graduate school? I wanted to go to grad school for two specific reasons. The first reason was to improve my craft and set myself up for a professional directing career. The second reason I felt I needed graduate school was because I felt I wasn’t being taken seriously

Posted by URTA Posted on 19 Sep 0 Comments

Category: Alumni