Drama Department in the News
ACC Drama Department Season Opens With a Hit
ACC Production of Proof deemed “beautifully engineered [with] a high level of acting... deserving to be seen beyound the purely internal circuit of Austin Community College.”
by John Silvey
The ACC Drama Department opened its fall 2008 season with a hit, literally. Department Chair Shelby Brammer decided to open the season with a Broadway hit – Proof. Quoted by The Accent, Brammer “chose Proof because it was something I thought I could cast, and it was a play I thought would appeal to our audiences. Beautifully written and constructed, its story is universal regarding the hopes and fears we all have about what we may have inherited from our parents.” Proof, which opened in the ACC Gallery Theater on Friday, October 10th, is a Pulitzer Prize winning drama written by playwright David Auburn.
With elements of mystery and surprise, Proof tells the story of a young woman’s struggle to discover how much of her father’s mathematical genius, and his madness, she may have inherited. According to The New York Times, Proof ran on Broadway for 917 performances before closing on January 5, 2003, “making it the longest–running Broadway play in two decades.” Proof is also the recipient of the 2001 Tony Award for Best Play. Proof was eventually made into a motion picture released in 2005 based on the screenplay written by David Auburn and Rebecca Miller (daughter of the famed playwright Arthur Miller), and starred Hollywood notables Gwyneth Paltrow, Anthony Hopkins, and Jake Gyllenhaal.
ACC’s production of Proof starred Paul Wright as the father, Robert. Paul Wright, ACC Math Professor and member of the Actor’s Equity Association, has been in several ACC productions as well as earning extensive film credits such as Friday Night Lights, Prison Break, and the TV show Walker, Texas Ranger. Co–starring were Hailey Tuck, a current ACC drama major who played the role of Robert’s daughter, Catherine, and guest actor Dustin Doering, an ACC Alumnus and independent film star, who played the role of Robert’s admirer and Catherine’s love. Emily Robinson, a current ACC student, is featured as Catherine’s sister, Claire.
ACC’s production of Proof hailed a sumptuous review by Austin Live Theatre blog, which called the production “beautifully engineered [with] a high level of acting, and it deserves to be seen beyond the purely internal circuit of Austin Community College.” The review continues by lauding the work of Peter Sukovaty, ACC’s set and lighting designer. “The set designed and lit by Peter Sukovaty is gorgeous. The meticulous craftsmanship, atmosphere and lighting are superior by far to most of Austin’s productions, with the possible exception of some of those at the Zach Scott theatre.” Perhaps the highest praise of this review is simply stated: “this is real theatre, worth a whole lot more than the $6 price of admission to the general public.”
The playwright, David Auburn, began his playwriting career as a student of the University of Chicago, where he received a B.A. in English. He then received the honor of a screenwriting fellowship with noted director Steven Spielberg and Amblin Entertainment. After Auburn finished his fellowship, he decided to leave Los Angeles for New York City to become a playwright. Auburn arrived in New York City and started a theatre company with a group of friends, and then spent two years in the playwriting program at the prestigious Julliard School. Since his first play, Skyscraper, David Auburn has a successful career as a playwright and screenwriter. Auburn is also the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, Helen Merrill Playwriting Award, and the Joseph Kesserling Prize for Drama, in addition to a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award. Auburn currently resides in New York City with his wife, Frances, and their daughter, Rebecca.
The director and ACC Drama Department Chair, Shelby Brammer, began her directing career by writing and directing in New York City where she had an established career as an actress for the stage, screen, and television. She then decided to return to school and graduated with an M.F.A. from the Playwrights Workshop at the University of Iowa where she also majored in Directing. Brammer eventually came to Austin and was employed by ACC. In 2000, she assumed the role of the ACC Department Chair of Drama and since directed numerous ACC productions including musicals such as Anything Goes, Hair, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, dramas such as Suburbia, Blood Wedding, comedies such as A Phoenix Too Frequent, The Lucky Spot, Lysistrata, and original pieces, Locked in the Arms of a Crazy Life (by Charles Bukowski) and Somewhere West of Love (a western which she wrote.) Shelby Brammer recently returned from a year long sabbatical during which time she wrote, produced, and directed an independent film based on the novel The Gay Place by Billy Lee Brammer, in collaboration with her sister, Sidney Brammer.
ACC’s production of Proof ran in The ACC Gallery Theater from October 10th – 12th and October 17th – 19th, showing Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m
John Silvey is the Web Specialist for the Division of Arts and Humanities at Austin Community College.
‘Trick the Devil’ Brings Blues Legend to Life
Long Center Hosts ACC–ProArts Production
The ACC Drama Department and ProArts Collective have produced a compelling drama about the last days of blues artist Robert Johnson. The play is… Read More…
Review:
‘Robert Johnson: Trick the Devil’
Blues legend Robert Johnson went down to the crossroads one night and sold his soul to the devil. Afterward, he could make music like no other man in the Delta. How else… Read More…
Pro Arts/ACC
A Legendary Deal Where Roads Cross
Everyone comes to the crossroads sooner or later. When Robert Johnson did, it led to a deal with the devil and the greatest blues music ever played, or so the legend says. In the case of ProArts Collective and the Austin Community College Drama Department… Read More…