Theatre Arts Season 2009-2010 “Deceitful Dames ”

The Good Woman of Setzuan

by Bertolt Brecht
2010 Texas Community College Speech and Theatre Association Play Festival Entry
This classic work serves as a parable about the difficulties of remaining good during poor social and economic conditions. The good woman, Shen Te, is generous and well-intentioned. But will her own kindness lead her into a life of poverty and desperation?

February 18, 19, & 20 - 7:00 PM
February 21 2:00 PM
Junior High/High School Preview Performances
February 18 & 19 1:00 PM
TCCSTA Play Festival Hosted by Blinn College
February 24-27, 2010
Dr. W.W. O’Donnell Performing Arts Center Auditorium

The Apple Tree

Music by Jerry Bock & Lyrics by Sheldon Harnick
Presented as part of the Blinn College Theatre Arts Student Showcase

April 16 & 17 - 7:00 PM
Blinn College Theatre Arts Student Showcase.
Based on Mark Twain’s “The Diary of Adam and Eve” this musical comedy was a hit during the 1960’s, and was recently revived on the Broadway stage. The evening will include student-directed performances designed to entertain young and old alike!
The Apple Tree will take place in the MRW Studio Theatre

All Plays Subject to Change please check for current updates

For more information, please call the Blinn College Theatre Arts Program at 979-830-4269

For performance reservations, please Call the O’Donnell Information Line at 979-830-4024

The Blinn College Theatre Arts Program

The Theatre Arts Program offers a quality educational foundation through study, application, and experience. A wide range of performance and production studies combined with Blinn’s outstanding reputation as the state leader in transferring students to top four-year institutions paves the way for success in an exciting entertainment career. In the Theater Arts Program at Blinn, students apply their knowledge each year in four or more dramatic productions, two musical theatre ensembles, and hosting local, regional, and national presentations. Trips and tours enhance the experience as students enjoy a variety of professional plays and musicals, often with scheduled artist talk-backs.

Scholarship Information

The Blinn College Speech and Theatre Arts program has a number of scholarships available.

• The Larry and Mary Whigham Scholarship is awarded to students majoring in theatre arts with preference given to those with greatest financial need.
• The Timothy Ray Whigham Scholarship is also awarded to students majoring in theatre arts and demonstrating financial need.
• The W.O. and Bobbie Dietrich Scholarship is awarded to a student majoring in speech, theatre or English

In addition, there are a number of $200 scholarships offered to
to theatre arts or technical theatre students. These are contingent upon the following:

1. All recipients must declare theatre arts as a major while attending Blinn College.
2. All recipients must be enrolled in at least three hours of speech or theatre related courses while attending Blinn College.
3. All recipients must audition for and take an active role in all Blinn College dramatic productions.
4. All recipients must be enrolled full-time.
5. All recipients must must keep a 2.0 for endowed scholarships, and a 3.0 for opportunity awards.

Those interested in additional scholarship information, as well as auditioning for a scholarship in acting, can do so by contacting Bradley A. Nies, Theatre Arts Director, at 979-830-4269, or by e-mail at bnies@blinn.edu.

Those interested in auditioning for a scholarship in technical theatre can do so by contacting Kevin Patrick, Technical Theatre Director, at 979-830-4422 or kevin.patrick@blinn.edu.

Theatre Arts/Speech Faculty

Bradley A. Nies, Director and Instructor of Theatre Arts/Speech.

Office Location:  Dr. W.W. O'Donnell Performing Arts Building, Rm 113, (979) 830-4269

Theatre Arts Director since 1990, Bradley Nies earned an A.S. in Theatre Arts from Amarillo College, a B.S. degree in Radio/Television/Film from West Texas State University, and a M.A. degree in Communication (Theatre Emphasis).

In 2007 Mr. Nies received the Blinn College Professional Association Teaching Excellence Award. In 2008, he was honored by the Texas Educational Theatre Association with the Community College Educator of the Year Award.

He currently holds memberships through such organizations as the Texas Educational Theatre Association and the Texas Community College Speech and Theatre Association.

Through Blinn College, Bradley Nies has served in various office appointments for the Blinn College Professional Association, as well as the Blinn College Faculty Council.

Under the direction of Bradley Nies, students enrolled in the Blinn College Theatre Arts program actively participate in Delta Psi Omega, the national theatre fraternity, and the Texas Community College Speech and Theatre Association Play Festival.

Mr. Nies's years of committed service to his students and Blinn College have provided a venue of exciting and engaging theatrical productions and classroom experiences.

Deborah Vavra , Assistant Division Chair – Fine Arts & Speech Instructor

Office Location:  Arts and Science Building, #110  (979) 830-4241

Ms. Vavra joined the Blinn College faculty in 1996. She completed her undergraduate work in Speech Communication at Texas A&M University and her graduate work in Communication at the University of Houston. She has completed post-graduate work in Health Communication at Texas A&M University.

In addition to teaching Speech courses, Ms. Vavra has been very active in student organizations. She has served as the Director of the Blinn College Cheerleaders and as an Advisor for Phi Theta Kappa (international honor society for two year colleges).

For her dedication and leadership in education, Ms. Vavra has received the NISOD award and the Robert Giles Distinguished Advisor Award. She has also been nominated three times for the Blinn College Teaching Excellence Award.

Ms. Vavra is active on campus and in the community. She volunteers at St. Mary’s Church and tutors at Krause Elementary in the HOSTS program. She has also served for five years on the Washington County Relay For Life (American Cancer Society).

Karin Dahmann, Instructor of Speech and Phi Theta Kappa Advisor. 

Office Location:  Classroom Building #24  Phone (979) 830-4212

A member of the Blinn College Fine Arts faculty since 1999, Karin Dahmann received a B.A. degree from Sam Houston State University and a M.Ed degree from Stephen F. Austin University.

Prior to joining the Blinn College faculty, she was instructor of Speech at Weatherford Junior College in Weatherford, Tx. and Tarrant County College in Fort Worth, TX. She has a wealth of experience in Speech and in Theatre Arts, having taught Speech, Theatre, and English at Weatherford High School for twenty years.

She serves Blinn College as a member of the Professional Development Committee and has served as a Phi Theta Kappa advisor. Through her association with Phi Theta Kappa she was nominated for the Texas Hall of Honor for Outstanding Advisors.

The Fine Arts Department is appreciative of the professional experiences she brings to our campus community.

Tracy Matthies, Instructor of Speech

Office Location: Classroom Building, #23 (979) 830-4444

A member of the Blinn College Fine Arts faculty since 2004, Tracy Sommerlatte Matthies is a 2001 graduate of Blinn College. In 2002, she earned a B.A. degree in Speech Communication from Texas A&M University with a minor in journalism.  She completed a M.A. degree in Speech Communication, emphasis in health communication, from Texas A&M University in 2004.  While working as a teaching assistant at Texas A&M, she realized her passion for teaching college students. 

Professionally, Tracy served as the 2008-2009 president of the Blinn College Professional Association, serves on various Blinn College committees, and teaches five speech communication courses and one yoga class during a regular semester.  She is a member of the Texas Community College Teachers Association and has been active in the National Communication Association.  She also served as advisor of the Beta Alpha chapter of Phi Theta Kappa from 2005-2007.

In the local community, she is a member and past officer of the Washington County A&M Club and has been involved with the Washington County Relay For Life at the committee level.  She is also involved in her church.

Tracy Matthies is enthusiastic about serving her community, being a part of the Blinn College community, and teaching and learning from her students.  As an alumnus of Blinn College, she is delighted to serve and teach at the first county-owned junior college in Texas.

Kevin Patrick, Technical Theatre Instructor

Office Location: Dr. W.W. O'Donnell Performing Arts Building, Rm 110, (979) 830-4422

Kevin Patrick joined the theatre faculty in 2005 after teaching theatre design and production at Columbus State University in Columbus, Ga.

Mr. Patrick is 'returning home' to Texas; he graduated from Plano Senior High School and Southwestern University in Georgetown. He received his M.F.A. in Theatre (emphasis: Scenography) from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and has professional and academic design credits in Texas, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Georgia, and New Hampshire.

He has been active with the Texas Educational Theatre Association, Southeastern Theatre Conference, Alpha Psi Omega, and the United States Institute of Theatre Technology.

Locally, he is active in the contemporary worship service at the First United Methodist Church. He designs lighting and scenery for the Brenham Children's Chorus and Brenham Broadway Kids. He has designed scenery for several shows at the Unity Theatre, the professional theatre in Brenham.

Facilities

The Dr. W. W. O'Donnell Performing Arts Center includes two performance spaces, production facilities, a caterer’s kitchen, and offices for the Fine Arts faculty and administrative support.

The O'Donnell Theater is a proscenium stage with continental seating for 500 patrons. The proscenium opening measures 38 x 20 feet, with an average useable stage depth of 31 feet, 4 inches. The 18 single-purchase counter-weight lines and four electric-winched lines support four electrics, a white sky-cyc, and three Wenger acoustical clouds for band and orchestral performances.

The MRW Studio Theater is a flexible Black Box theatre that can be used for theatre productions in all manner of configurations. The overhead lighting grid boasts 87 2.4kW circuits at 18 feet from the concrete stage floor.

Both theaters utilize Strand lighting systems, Clear COM communications, and audio support through Soundcraft and Mackie mixers.

The Performing Arts Center has four six-person dressing rooms available, each with private restroom and two main dressing rooms with wheelchair accessible showers.

The Theatre Arts program produces at least four shows annually, and each production begins in our own facility. The scene shop is well stocked with hand, power, and stationary tools. Found nearby are a separate paint room, properties and furniture storage, and costume production and storage rooms. The electrics room includes a growing set of audio and special effects equipment, including High End Cyberlights, RGB mixing LED fresnels, Elation DesignSpot 575's, and U.V. fixtures. The dedicated audio-editing PC runs SFX show control software, Sony Audition for editing, and Notion and Progression music composition software.

The Clint Anderson Collection

Blinn College is proud to be the home for memorabilia donated by Clint Anderson, professional actor and Brenham native. Mr. Anderson’s donation included a generous monetary gift to maintain the collection and make it available to students, as well as the community. Examples of this collection are displayed in the lobby of the Dr. W.W. O’Donnell Performing Arts Center.

Speech/Theatre Arts courses

DRAM 1120 Theatre Practicum I
DRAM 1121 Theatre Practicum II
DRAM 1310 Introduction the Theatre
DRAM 1330 Stagecraft
DRAM 1341 Makeup
DRAM 1342 Introduction to Costume
DRAM 1351 Acting I
DRAM 1352 Acting II
DRAM 2120 Theatre Practicum III
DRAM 2121 Theatre Practicum IV
DRAM 2331 Stagecraft II
DRAM 2366 Introduction to Motion Picture Arts
DRAM 2389 Academic Cooperative
SPCH 1311 Introduction to Speech
SPCH 1315 Public Speaking
SPCH 1318 Interpersonal Communication
SPCH 1321 Business & Professional Speaking
SPCH 1342 Voice and Diction
SPCH 2341 Oral Interpretation

RETURN TO TOP

Theatre Arts Program

Scholarship Information

Courses Available

Curtain Up!

Dr. W. W. O'Donnell Performing Arts Center

MRW Studio Theater

Faculty

The Clint Anderson Collection

Alumni

O'Donnell Seating

Map to O'Donnell Center

Superior Awards at Play Festival

Past Performances