This, our last WildWind newsletter, chronicles the reactions of several of our faculty and mentors, and includes a final letter to the students from me. This summer has been especially gratifying, especially watching the growth of our wonderful participants. Thank you for your continued support and encouragement, and to all of our WW guest artists, you've changed lives for the better. 

WildWind Performance Lab Artistic Director

Although I could only be there for the last few days it was so encouraging to see the culmination of the efforts of such a diverse group of artists and instructors. From my own personal perspective I was so warmed by a student, who seemed to be the shyest in the class, come out with some of the most vibrant and inventive writing or the excellent staging and verbal interpretation of a rare work by Tennessee Williams. The original scripts were all provocative and dynamic in my opinion and the melding of prose and physical theatrics representation in the beautiful play about Hispanic life and culture on the South Plains of Texas moved me to tears. Good teaching. Good writing. Good acting. Good grief; what a gratifying few days.

Best, 

Jaston Williams    

In the last year I have spent 10 days of my life working with new student playwrights and directors at WildWind Playwright's Lab at Texas Tech University, 2013 and 2014.   I do wish I could spend week after week participating in this beautifully conceived workshop. 

My time sitting and talking with one student playwright or one student director during WWPL has been a learning experience for all of us.  I feel so close to what I think is the actually the seed of theatrical creativity.  The students are well taught and well prepared in all areas of production and have four weeks to rewrite their pieces, work with directors, attend classes in different styles of creating a script and watch that script come to fruition.  They are under no time restraints, there is no time limit - but they are driven to progress because this amazing opportunity has been created for them and they ant to take advantage of the moment.  They are the eggs slowly hatching or the grapes fermenting during this opportunity.  I do believe that all of us (who are named 'the professionals') are hoping for the opportunity to reproduce this format for our own students in our own schools and hoping for the remarkable support that Texas Tech provides for their students.  Bravo!

Deborah K. Anderson, Professor of Playwriting and Directing

Middle Tennessee State University

Creativity.  Spontaneity.  Freedom.  That's what theatre is about.

Rigor.  Discipline.  Deadlines.  That's what theatre's about too. 

It's a paradox, but we deal in that sort of ambiguity all the time.  The free flow of ideas and concepts is what makes our work so stimulating, but we also know that we'll be delivering our product at 8 pm on a date determined over a year in advance. 

In a university setting, there are extra layers of discipline: classes, syllabi, learning outcomes, assessments, grades.  Sometimes we're in danger of losing touch with that free flow we prize so highly.

When the WildWind of summer hits us, though, as it has the last two years, the balance of freedom and discipline gets rearranged.  There's plenty of discipline still, and plenty of rigor, but the focus is all on process, and not at all on product.  No opening night, no production, just the work of creativity, of learning how to get out of the boxes of habit ("the great deadener" according to Beckett) and create in new and different ways - sometimes bewildering ways, but always ways that stretch and strengthen the sinews of the student artists.

Add to the gumbo the stimuli of a constantly changing staff of visiting professionals - added to the more familiar stimuli of the ongoing faculty - and the swirling concoction of WildWind  takes its protean shape: a rigorous, exhausting blast of new ideas about how to create freely: a new source of strength and suppleness for the theatre artists, young and old, at Texas Tech.

Jonathan Marks

Head of Acting/Directing, Dramaturgy

Texas Tech University

As the 2nd WildWind Performance Lab comes to an end, I am already looking forward to next year.  This four week laboratory has proven to be a transformational experience for our students, both grad and undergrads, and has allowed them to work in a way that is more focused on the qualitative development of their ideas and their practice.  It is a space where dramaturges, directors, actors, dancers and playwrights can bring in ideas to explore without the pressure of developing a final product or production; it is a place for each of them to evolve as artists into their own unique selves.

Every week, specialists in theatre and dance came to Lubbock from around the nation to share their methods, philosophies and creative processes and relate how they, as working professionals, have advanced as actors, dancers, writers and directors.   I have witness our students being exposed and immersed in these unique creative approaches and how these diverse forms have contributed to their growth as art makers.   I look forward to next WildWind as I know how impactful it has been and can be to our students.

Nicole Wesley

Associate Professor of Dance 

Texas Tech University

I had the privilege of participating in the WildWind process as an actor in one of the devised pieces "Yaws." From the beginning, the creation of theatre based on another art form ("Yaws" being derived from a short story be Tennessee Williams) was exciting under the guidance of the talented guest artists.  Methodologies emerged in movement and devised movement that led to scripts.  Each exploration led to more ideas generated not by one person but by each individual participant.  The final presentations reflected the hard work and guided creation of each of the projects.  The entire experience was very satisfying to me as a theatre artist.

Mission Statement

The Department of Theatre and Dance at Texas Tech University fosters the highest standards of scholarship and creative activity, providing opportunities for students to work actively in both areas. We champion training and education in a breadth of specialized arts, encourage students to cross boundaries between them, and prepare students for careers in both practice and pedagogy. By integrating the practical and the scholarly, the Department serves as a vital force in the artistic, cultural, and intellectual life of our society.

Vision Statement

The Department of Theatre and Dance will exhibit and promote the highest standards of artistry, professionalism, diversity, and collaboration in arts training, education, and scholarship.