Set for The Mad Ones

Set Design: Channing Schreyer

Lighting Design: Rachel Atkinson

Photo credit: Channing Schreyer

We continue the long slog back from The Great Lockdown and wrestle with all the things that changed. What was once the purview of dystopian fiction became a reality for the entire planet. And while the restrictions to our ability to assemble may have receded, our ability to anticipate and plan for the future remains irrevocably shaken. This is true for our fields in the performing arts, but it is also true for an entire generation. As a parent, I’ve watched my own children prepare to step into a terribly uncertain world. It is not something unique for those coming of age during the COVID crisis, but to see it unfold first hand… it’s something else.

The Mad Ones explores this question of uncertainty, centering on a young woman who is about to move on into “The World.” Written well before our world fell in on itself, the play instead frames the question between two commonplace coming of age events—learning to drive and graduating high school. These two lenses magnify just how terrifyingly exciting the leap into adulting can be.

To contextualize, The Mad Ones is not another tale of the apocalypse. Rather, it is couched in normal, everyday suburban life. It is funny, poignant, musically audacious at times (whew those key shifts!), simple and clear-eye at others. In discovering the piece, I found the author’s note at the very beginning of the script an incredibly generative entry point:

THE MAD ONES takes place in a flash - within the seconds it would take to turn the key in the ignition of a car.

In a flash. A spark. The ignition of a car. The firing of a neuron. The birth of a universe in a sea of uncertain, undefined possibilities. I mean, think of how bright the smallest spark is when you are sitting in the dark. Now add music. Roll the windows down. Let the wind whip and sing at the top of your lungs. That dark and unknowable future brightens; you might need your sunglasses at this point… And find joy in the fact that while the road in the rearview gave you a starting point, it does not dictate where you go from there.

It has been such a joy to work with this cast and production team. We climbed into this car together and the road trip has been incredible. I am equally excited to know that the trip will not end when this show closes. The Mad Ones is a lovely jumping off point for a new Musical Theatre degree coming online in the 2023-24 academic year. For decades, the Music and Dance Departments at ACC have set a high bar for instruction in the performing arts, and each continues to produce shows of the highest caliber. I am excited to partner with them for this new offering. It seems fitting for the College’s 50th and the Drama Department’s 40th birthdays that we launch something new and bold. After all, if the future is uncertain, why not approach it with a little song and dance to make things more interesting?

Marcus McQuirter

Director & Chair of ACC Drama

The Austin Community College Drama Department is happy to announce our production of The Mad Ones by Kait Kerrigan and Bree Lowdermilk

June 8th - June 25th 2023

Thursday & Friday 7:30 PM

Saturday & Sunday 2:00 PM

"Mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved... 18-year-old Samantha Brown sits in a hand-me-down car with the keys clutched in her hand. Caught between a yearning for the unknown and feeling bound by expectation, she telescopes back to a time before her world had fallen apart. As she relives her senior year, we meet Sam’s well-intentioned helicopter mother Bev and her high school sweetheart of a boyfriend Adam, but it’s her painfully alive best friend Kelly that haunts her. Kelly was everything Sam is not – impetuous and daring. She pushed Sam to break rules and do the unexpected. When Kelly’s killed in a car wreck, Sam loses not only her best friend but also the part of herself that was learning to be brave. Now, Sam has to make a decision. Will she follow her mother’s dreams for her, or will she summon the courage to drive away from her friends and family into a future she can’t imagine"

Tickets on sale now! 

All ticket sales go directly to ACC Drama & Dance Scholarship fund.

General Seating: $8.00

The Mad Ones Tickets

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT:

DAVID DECH

Interview by Jamie Rogers

Where are you from? 

I moved a lot throughout my life, but if I were to choose one place to say where I’m from it would have to be Hurricane, West Virginia.

Were you involved in theatre when you were in high school? Any past theatre experience on stage or behind the scenes?



My friends convinced me to audition for “Legally Blonde: The Musical” my senior year. I got the role of Elle’s Dad and loved every second on stage.

What were the reasons you decided to enroll at Austin Community College? 

I had come from West Virginia University to live with my parents and it was close and affordable.

Any favorite classes in the Drama Department and why? Important things you have learned so far?

I have loved my acting classes with both Marcus McQuirter and Perry Crafton. I learned so much about not only acting but myself. I have used what they taught me to further my analysis of the human experience.

You are currently cast in our summer 2023 production of The Mad Ones. Can you tell us a bit about the character you play? And what the rehearsal/performance process was like?

I play Adam, the boyfriend of the main character and a certified silly guy. I started my prep as soon as I got hold of the music and script. Working music with Dr. Wayne Davis gave me a great starting point. Then I put my head in my script and started analyzing plot points, symbolism, and character relations. Being on stage and working with the rest of the cast was that final piece to see even more that I missed my first time through. It has been a blast and I have loved everyone involved.

David Dech and Faith Trapane rehearsing a scene from The Mad Ones

Set Design: Channing Schreyer

Costume Design: Desiree Humphries

Lighting Design: Rachel Atkinson

photo credit: Channing Schreyer

Do you attend school and have outside employment? If so, how do you find a balance between work and drama department involvement?

I’m Worker David in the morning and Actor David at night. I hope to put enough effort into this to make them both the same thing. It’s tiring but fun. I consider theater as a sort of hobby or training so I don’t find the balance hard.

What local theater companies have you performed with?

I previously played Spike in Vanya and Sonya and Masha and Spike and Cliff Bradshaw in Cabaret at the Georgetown Palace Theatre.

Any overall advice to give to current Drama Majors on ways to get them involved in the Department?

Love what you do and put your best foot forward to better not only your craft but also yourself.

What does the future hold?

I hope to audition for Texas State’s Musical Theater program and make it as an actor.

ACC Drama is proud to announce our 40th Anniversary Season! 

Bat Boy

The Musical

Story and Book by Keythe Farley and Brian Fleming

Music and Lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe

Red by John Logan

Hearts Like Fists by Adam Szymkowicz

GUEST DESIGN ARTIST SPOTLIGHT:

DESIREE HUMPHRIES

Interview by Jamie Rogers

Where are you from? What schools have you attended?

I’m from Austin, Texas. Bear with me, this is a very long academic journey. I graduated high school from LBJ Liberal Arts and Science Academy, went to ACC for a while, transferred to UNT to attempt to get into the Fashion Program, then came back to UT to get into the Fashion Program there, didn’t get in and came to the realization that really what I’ve wanted since Middle School and Moulin Rouge came out I wanted to win an Oscar. And so, I ended up at Texas State and graduated with a BFA in Theatre Design and Technology, focusing on Costume Design.

What draws you to designing costumes for theatre?

I love telling a story with clothing. I think it’s not that much different from real life, we wear costumes. We wear things to show status, to show our interests, to convey our personalities. I love character designing, honestly my favorite part is when there are no limitations and there is just me playing with what I think the character is and then translating it into what they would wear.

Can you tell us a bit about your design process?

I try to take the advice of a friend and “start with the maids” meaning starting with the ensemble of the cast. I tend to sometimes not take my advice, I am a flawed human, but when I do it gets some of the basics out of the way. I start all designs of the same way by doing preliminary research. I take who they literally are from the script. What is their job? What is their relationship to everyone in the play? How old are they? What year is the play set in?

Then I think about the things not included in the script. How are the characters coming off to the other characters in the play. This is sometimes when I get into my own head about how I personally feel about the characters. I try to get a sense of their motivations and sensibilities. Is this character abrasive because they are just mean or is it that they are overworked cause that can mean the look in a certain moment is that they need to look tired or they need to look like a Mean Girl.

When those questions are answered and I, the design team and the director are all on the same page I get more specific. I start researching items to buy and build. I figure out a general color scheme or sometimes as I am pulling costumes a color story comes to me.

Why did you decide to pursue costume design as a profession? Are there particular productions that you are drawn to?

Moulin Rouge! In Middle school I would draw Nicole Kidman’s dress over and over again. But the first time I even knew I could go to school and have a job in designing clothing was when I was a little kid. I was watching Reading Rainbow and they did a segment going backstage of Cats and talking to the costume designer and that was the first time I got the itch! Productions I am drawn to and would really love to design someday a giant comedic Musicals like Hair Spray, The Producers, Something Rotten, Grease, and Into the Woods…I also have a really great idea for Midsummer Night's Dream!

I’m also really drawn to Children’s Theatre because I think it’s honestly where some of the most creative things happening in Theatre are.

Is there a favorite production?

That I’ve designed? Possibly Annie Jump And The Library of Heaven. Dressing grown adults as children is one of my favorite things. Favorite Production I have ever seen? When I was at Texas State we did a production Hair that lives rent free in my head! It was beautiful. The costumes, the lights, the set, the performance, everything. I worked backstage and I cried every night.

Scenes from The Mad Ones

Set Design: Channing Schreyer

Costume Design: Desiree Humphries

Lighting Design: Rachel Atkinson

photo credit: Channing Schreyer

Describe your design process for our upcoming production of The Mad Ones. What are some of the design challenges?

The process was pretty standard. I drew inspiration from what I’ve seen the Class of 2023 wearing. It was important to the design team to firmly place this show in the present. One of the biggest challenges was not breaking the bank while trying to stay current. I hope I succeeded!



Are you currently working on any other projects?

Not at the moment! I world fulltime at UT so that eats up a lot of my time. But I’m already so ready to do another show.

Any advice to students who wish to pursue a career in costume design?

Consume all kinds of media now! You never know what will help you design. I have taken inspiration from so many things. I can find characters I read in plays from anything. For The Mad Ones, I got inspiration from Netflix’s Outer Banks for Adam then turned around and Kelly, I was inspired by a collection of different “Tik Tokers” along with my own high school memories.

What are your future plans?

I don’t know. I want to try film and I go back and forth on if I want to go to Grad School