Letter from the Department Chair
Marcus McQuirter
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Happy November all!
I hope you are all having a safe, productive semester. Fall seems to have arrived. It's Texas so we’ll see how long that lasts.
I don’t know if you’ve been on the internet lately, but it looks like theater and performance are sticking around despite the current conditions. Our department has been buzzing along with classes and online offerings on The Digital Green Room. We’ve got the first season of Radiopidemic, our audio play series up and running. Tutorials from our technical theater areas. Makers and Methods Interviews with local and nationally recognized theater artists. In December we will once again present Curtain Call, our end of the semester showcase. And there is still time for you to contribute your own work to the Green Room. I hope you all take advantage of it. It is opening up new unexpected opportunities for students and the community alike.
It’s also time for Spring registration; please take a look at what we are doing next semester and join our learning environment. We continue to discover new ways to engage with our old passion.
And continue to be safe. Flu Season is upon us. It’s not the good kind by Will Eno; its the bad kind that carries with it the risk for COVID upsurge. Resist that pandemic fatigue! Stay safe!
Finally, I hope everyone took the opportunity to vote early or is making plans to fully participate in our democracy this fall. Like theater, democracy is a collective effort, and despite any differences we have with one another backstage, in the end, the show must go on.
Marcus McQuirter
Chair, Drama
Austin Community College
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radiopidemic PLAYWRIGHT SPOTLIGHT:
PABLO MUNOZ EVERS
Interview by Allison Ingraham
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In the radiodrama Over and Over Again the characters are dealing with isolation from the real world. Did you draw inspiration from the pandemic when writing your script?
Yeah, some things I’d been feeling during the pandemic definitely influenced it. There was a repetition to my days during the early stages of the pandemic that felt really suffocating. I also imagined a bit of an apocalyptic scenario going on in the “real world” of the play, like if things went really wrong and life became more difficult than it is now. Not all the way to a “people cannibalizing each other and stalking the roads in caravans” kind of apocalyptic scenario, but a couple of steps above what we’re currently going through, and inspired by elements of the current state of things.
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Why is Congress Bridge a good setting for this story?
My original idea for this play was that it took place in their house, and they had this day planned out where they’d go out and do a sequence of things around town. I adapted it to the Congress Bridge location for this series. I like the way it works around Congress Bridge; it’s a really pretty spot that can make for the setting of a great day. Like, it helps make their situation seem idyllic enough to present a decently strong argument for staying in it.
Was it challenging to write a play for a purely audio format?
Not particularly for this one. I think it’s because it’s mostly just a conversation with not a lot of physical action, and the actions that do happen were easy enough to convey through sound. I did have a hard time thinking of more audio queues to add, but maybe that’s because it wasn’t super necessary for this play, in my opinion.
How does writing a radiodrama differ from writing for other mediums?
You have to communicate action through sound instead of visuals, so if a character walks away, for example, you have to communicate that through dialogue more than if it were a stage play or a film. It’s a cool challenge to do that without making your characters straight-up say, like, “this is happening right now” in a jarring way.
You have designated this your year of playwriting. What other playwriting projects have you worked on this year or do you have planned for the near future?
I took a playwriting class taught by Laura Neill at ACC in the spring and the summer and wrote several short pieces for that, as well as a couple of 10-minute plays and a rough draft for a one-act play. I’m also working on a full-length play right now.
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radiopidemic Season 1
Congress Bridge Episodes 1-7
are now all available on the
ACC Drama Department
Digital Green Room YouTube Channel!
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STUDENT SPOTLIGHT:
STELLA MCGRIFFY
Interview by Jamie Rogers
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Where are you from?
Austin. I was born here and grew up here. I have traveled to many places but I’ve never lived anywhere else. People ask me if I like it here and for the most part, I do, but I’m honestly not sure. I like it better than the rest of Texas at least.
Were you involved in theatre in when you were in high school? Any past theatre experience on stage or behind the scenes?
Yes, I went to McCallum Fine Arts Academy for high school and was a technical theatre major. I worked on every fall musical and just about every play doing costumes and makeup through my four years of high school. I have never been on stage as an actor but I was originally an orchestra major playing viola so I would be on stage for performances. However, I quickly switched to being a theatre tech major when I realized it was an option. I enjoy working behind the scenes to make shows happen much more than being on stage myself.
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Les Miserables at McCallum Theatre, Stella's first show at McCallum
(Photo from MacTheatre)
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Why did you decide to pursue a career in Wig and Makeup?
Originally I wasn’t interested in makeup or wigs. When I realized that it could be used for creating characters and telling stories, I started to get more into it. I grew up surrounded by artists. I wasn’t that great at traditional art, but I was pretty good at makeup. I think having an art form that I was talented at was a big encouragement. I decided to pursue it because I wanted to be a part of bringing stories to life. Creating costumes and makeup was the way I could help bring those stories to life.
Can you tell us about your interest in Immersive Theatre?
I only realized recently that immersive theatre is the name for what I wanted to spend my time focusing on. Beforehand I thought immersive theatre was something more specific, like a play being adapted to be done in someone’s house instead of a stage. But now I realize that places where I’ve felt the most comfortable throughout my life, like the Renaissance Festival and Disneyland, have an immersive theatrical experience. Also, the jobs that I seem to gravitate towards and have the most fun at like haunted houses, immersive summer camps, and themed parties, all fall into that category. So I figured that because that’s where all my interests and passions lie, it must be something that I want to be doing.
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Harry Potter and the Great Pumpkin Bash, the most recent themed party with Ravens Guardians.
(Photos by Stella McGriffy)
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What were the reasons you decided to enroll in the AAS Degree program at Austin Community College?
Put simply, it was because I was excited about it. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do after high school so I bought myself some time to figure it out by taking miscellaneous classes at ACC. Then, I saw the announcement that ACC would be offering a new degree specializing in costumes and makeup. I got really excited about it, and that excitement made it clear that that’s what I wanted to do. I also really like how the degree is geared towards teaching you skills and getting a job.
Any favorite classes in the Drama Department and why? Important things you have learned so far?
Surprisingly, History of Technical Theatre. Learning history is a hobby of mine that I am very enthusiastic about, so I knew this class was going to be fun. Plus, it is the history of the field that I work in, and I learned so many things that nobody had ever bothered to teach me before. So many classes have taught me new skills, and I’ve really enjoyed every class I’ve taken as part of this degree. I think the most important thing I’ve learned so far, which is applicable in any class, is how to put myself out there.
You also are heavily involved in Cosplay. How did that begin and what is your design process like?
I started cosplaying because my friends were talking about it. My first cosplay wasn’t that good. When I saw all the amazing cosplayers at that little library convention, I knew I wanted to try again, and make it better. It was so fun to dress up and turn myself into someone else, a character that I really admired, that I kept doing it and kept getting better.
My most recent cosplay was a team effort between me and a friend, Skye Rivera, doing Mungojerrie and Rumpleteezer from Cats! The Musical. After deciding what and when we wanted to cosplay, we researched which specific version of the characters to do. We settled on the 1998 film version during their duet, because we found lots of references to that version of them. Next, we bought the supplies and started altering and making items, figuring out techniques along the way. We split the work, following our todo list. Finally, we had the costumes ready enough and the convention was the next day. I painted our faces, we got dressed up and headed out the door.
If you want to see more of Skye’s cosplays and other work you can follow them @skye_chronicles on Instagram, and if you want to see more of my cosplays and other work you can follow me @spoo.gle on Instagram.
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Skye Rivera and Stella McGiffy at Ikkicon 2019 cosplaying
Mungojerrie (right, cosplayed by Skye) and Rumpleteezer (left, cosplayed by Stella)
(Photo by @macilorene on Instagram)
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Any favorite ACC Drama Production?
Harry and the Thief is actually the only one I’ve seen. It was great! I haven’t been that involved in the department until recently so I’m not that up to date on productions or events.
Do you attend school and have outside employment? If so, how do you find a balance between work and drama department involvement?
I do not have a job, no. I am very lucky and very grateful to have a supportive family who is helping me get through college. I used to have a job and only go to school part-time, but at the end of 2019, I decided I wanted to go to school full time and quit my job so that I could do that. I have AD/HD, dyslexia, anxiety, and depression, so going to school full time is something that takes a lot of effort for me to be successful.
How has the transition been to online learning for Fall 2020 classes?
It’s been a lot of time management and constantly working to keep up. There are some things that I really like about it, like for my makeup class not having to take all of my makeup back and forth from school and being about to have my own personal set up at home. But there are things that are really hard about it, like not being able to have a teacher stand over my shoulder while I work and tell me what I could be doing better at that moment. Overall, it’s been okay but I am excited for it to be over.
Any overall advice to give to current Drama Majors on ways to get them involved in the Department?
Advice that I should probably follow as well because I am not the best at it, but, reach out to people. Talk to your teachers and your classmates. Talk about what you are interested in, what you’re passionate about. People will notice you more and take an interest in you and your passions, and in this field of work, that’s what you want.
What does the future hold?
Well, I plan to complete my AAS degree, and when I’m done with that the current plan is to move to Seattle with my friends. I want to continue to work on cosplay and immersive theatre and hopefully get a job in that line of work. I want to try and work for and with people and companies that I look up to, like Disneyland or Weta Workshop. Most of all I just want to continue to make things that I like, and however that ends up happening is fine by me.
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Registration for Spring 2021
ACC Drama AA and AAS Courses
is now open for current and former ACC Students
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Congrats to ACC Drama Students who received nominations for
B Iden Payne Awards!
JOE KELLEY was nominated for 2 B Iden Payne Awards for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Drama for his work as The Comte de Guiche in Archive Theatre and Austin Scottish Rites Theatre production of Cyrano de Bergerac and for Outstanding Actor in Theatre for Youth (playing all the male roles) in The Texas Chili Queens production at Pollyanna Theatre
JORDI SALMERON was nominated for a B Iden Payne Award for Outstanding Actor in Theatre for Youth for his work as Derek in SaulPaul's Alien Adventure production at Austin Scottish Rite Theatre.
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PERRY CRAFTON was inducted as President of the Texas Educational Theatre Association for 2020-2022 at the TxETA TheatreFest Virtual Conference in early October.
STEPHANIE DUNBAR was nominated for a B Iden Payne Award for Outstanding Mask/Headdress Design for work on ACC Drama's production of Much Ado About Nothing.
RACHEL ATKINSON was nominated for a B Iden Payne Award for Outstanding Lighting Design for Theatre en Bloc's production of Dance Nation.
KRISTEN ROGERS successfully defended her dissertation, "Mediatizing the 'Madwoman': An Analysis of the Treatment of Female Mental Illness on Stage and Screen since the 1940s," and will officially graduate in December with a Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Fine Arts (Theatre) from Texas Tech University.
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CALLING ALL ACC DRAMA ALUMNI!
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Be sure to join the ACC Alumni Network!
The ACC Alumni Network is open to all former students who have earned an associate degree or certificate, or completed at least 20 credit hours at ACC. Our mission is to promote and support our alumni and students in their educational, social and professional endeavors, and to foster a spirit of loyalty and lifelong connections to Austin Community College.
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You can always keep
up-to date with the
ACC Drama Department
by visiting our website
or following us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!
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