URTA | Blog

06April

CalArts’ Marissa Chibas Awarded Fox Foundation Fellowship

The William & Eva Fox Foundation and Theatre Communications Group (TCG) have awarded Marissa Chibas (Professor at URTA-member University, CalArts) an Actor Fellowship in Distinguished Achievement, in partnership with Bootleg Theater. Chibas plans to use the grant to develop The Second Woman, an interdisciplinary performance with themes from both John Cassavetes’ film Opening Night and
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06April

URTA Interview with Beth Malone: Tony Nominee and URTA Alum

Beth Malone is a graduate of the MFA Acting program at UC Irvine. Last year, she originated the role of Molly Brown in the world premiere of a wholly reimagined The Unsinkable Molly Brown at the Denver Center for the Arts. This year, she received a Tony Award nomination for her portrayal of Alison Bechdel in Fun
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06April

Indiana University Professor and Students Play Key Role in Prague Quadrennial

The November issue of Theatre Design & Technology features a fascinating article about the USITT-USA National Exhibition for the 2015 Prague Quadrennial. The technical director chosen to lead the build and installation was URTA’s own Paul Bruner, Associate Professor at Indiana University. A grant from USITT and another from a private donor in Bloomington, allowed
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06April

URTA at USITT

If you’re headed to USITT in Salt Lake City next week, you won’t want to miss a fantastic session led by URTA’s Vice President, Holly Poe Durbin (UC Irvine) Undergraduate Teachers: Frontline Educators/Mentors/Guides Teachers and students are invited to this panel discussion on teaching theatre design and technology at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The panel
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06March

The URTA Q&A with Holly Poe Durbin

Holly Poe Durbin is the head of Costume Design studies at the University of California, Irvine, as well as a member of URTA’s National Board.  Today, she offers some advice to those seeking a MFA in theatre design, as well as sharing some thoughts on her own career as a professional designer. Holly, can you
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05March

The URTA Q&A with Greg Leaming

Greg Leaming is the director of the FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training and Associate Artistic Director at Asolo Repertory Theatre. He spoke with URTA about exposing graduate students to the professional theatre, auditioning acting candidates, and more… One of the cornerstones of URTA’s mission is the fostering of ties between its member programs and professional theatres. 
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23January

Actor/Director Jason Heil Talks with URTA

Jason Heil is currently directing and starring in THE LION IN WINTER for Moonlight Stage Productions in Vista, CA. He is also a graduate of the MFA Acting program at the University of California, Irvine. He recently took some time out of his busy production schedule to answer a few questions for URTA. Welcome, Jason.
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21November

“Good Kids” Launches New Play Initiative

Naomi Iizuka’s new play “Good Kids”, the inaugural effort of the Big Ten Theatre Consortium’s New Play Initiative, has concluded its run at the University of Michigan and will now continue its “rolling premiere”, being produced by theatre departments at several other Big Ten schools, including Indiana University, Purdue University, Michigan State, the University of Maryland and University of
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11November

Meet Kyle Mencel, URTA’s Newest Intern

This fall marks the launch of URTA’s new internship program and we are delighted to introduce our very first intern: Kyle Mencel! Kyle comes to us from The New School for Drama. He has been acting for about 7 years and has performed in productions ranging from Shakespeare’s The Tempest to Charles Mee’s Under Construction.
  • internship
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23October

The URTA Q&A with Alexander Gelman

Alexander Gelman is the Director of the School of Theatre and Dance at Northern Illinois University and the Producing Artistic Director of the Organic Theater Company in Chicago. He discusses with URTA a student’s decision to pursue graduate training, the program at Northern Illinois, and his own experience in grad school. Can you tell us
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