[Students] Catch a Rising Star New Play Festival open August 14

[Joan Lawrence]

Catch a Rising Star New Play Festival open August 14.  Eight
original short plays are set to premier at 8:00 PM, Friday
and Saturday, August 14 and 15 in the  Studio Theatre of the
Performing Arts Center at Texas A&M - Commerce.   The eight
plays are written and performed by students participating in
the Texas A&M University System  Advanced Collaborative
Theatre program. Participants in the ACT project attend
intensive seminars in playwriting, directing, theatrical
design, dramaturgy and logistics in a three-week symposium.
They also work with a group of children, aged 8-16, and help
them write and produce their own original plays. 

Then, on the last two evenings of the project, they we host
a world premiere of  the best of the university students'
works. 

The plays include: "Little Princess" and "Flip Flop"
by Chasity Gibson, a Senior from Greenville; "A Game of
Chance" by Gerald Taylor II, a Graduate Student from
Commerce; "Choices" and "The Family Way" by Donna
Deverell a Graduate from  Yantis; "The Gift" by Maria
Carter-Evans, a Senior from Commerce, "Laundry Day" by
Forest Attaway, a Senior from Gun Barrel City, and "Alone
in the Dark" by Matthew Plummer, a Senior from Wills
Point.

Additional cast members include Jacob Layton, a Junior from
Elsa, and Samantha Grace, a Senior from  Shreveport, LA.

Past participants in the ACT include professional actors,
comedians, directors, playwrights, designers, and educators.
One Alumnus, Guillermo (Billy) De Leon, of Austin, is part
of a group of writers who have been nominated for a day-time
Emmy Award. 

De Leon said, "The ACT is a great way for audiences to see
the talent of the coming generation. That new actor,
director, or playwright whose work you see on the ACT stage
might be on Broadway, or in Hollywood, the next time you see
them"

Some of these plays contain strong language and adult
situations. Parents are cautioned.

  Show times are at 8:00 PM August 14 and 15, with the doors
opening at 7:30

  Admission is free of charge; donations will be accepted. 




Holly Stone
Playhouse Box Office Manager