Current Students

Wendy Bable

Wendy Bable graduated magna cum laude from Slippery Rock University with Bachelor of Arts degrees in Theatre, English Literature, and Philosophy. During her undergraduate career, she was nominated for the Irene Ryan Acting award, the National Critic's Institute, and was recognized by the American College Theatre Festival for her production of King of Sticks. In 1999, she received the Dionysus Lifetime Achievement Award and Best Actress Award from Alpha Psi Omega and was named Woman of the Year by Slippery Rock University.

Ms. Bable has worked professionally with the American Players Theatre in Wisconsin and the Unseam'd Shakespeare Company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Wendy has also served as a teaching artist intern with the Drama School of Seattle Children's Theatre in Seattle, Washington. In 2003, she had the opportunity to assistant direct their summer production of Much Ado About Nothing, and returned as a teaching assistant in the summer of 2004.

From 2001-2006, Wendy served as the theatre teaching artist and the resident director for Wynn Seale Academy of Fine Arts in Corpus Christi, Texas. In 2005, she was selected as the Teacher of the Year for her campus then went on to be one of three district finalists in Corpus Christi Independent School District.

Under her direction, the Academy Theatre Department consistently produced highly acclaimed productions, including several original projects such as Through the Darkness (a multi-media, collaborative production telling the story of the Holocaust through the eyes of children).

Wendy is also the Artistic Director of UT Connections Youth Theatre (a resident theatre company based out of the UT Theatre and Dance Department) and is a member of the University Co-Op Presents the Cohen New Works Festival planning committee.

Brian Fahey

Brian C. Fahey graduated Summa Cum Laude from Northeastern University in Boston, MA with a B.A. Dual Concentration in Theatre Performance and Production with a minor in English Literature. At Northeastern Brian focused on acting and directing where memorable roles include Dr. Caligari in Caligari is Coming To Town, Biedermann in The Firebugs, and the Schoolmaster in The Visit. Also at Northeastern, Brian directed Nicky Silver's Free Will & Wanton Lust. Brian has trained at The Gaiety School of Acting in Dublin, Ireland and is a Co-Founder/Artistic Director of Gurnet Theatre Project, a theatre company that has produced work in Boston and Duxbury, MA. His production of August Strindberg's Miss Julie premiered at the Boston Center for the Arts and was nominated for a Gold Star Award from the Massachusetts Cultural Council. Also for GTP, Brian has directed Tony Kushner's adaptation of Pierre Corneille's The Illusion and the Boston Area Premiere of Bert V. Royal's Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead, which also performed at the BCA. Brian served on the Board for the 2005 New England High School Theatre Festival and has taught theatre at the high school level, as well as inner city fifth grade youth at the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts Saturday School Academy in Roxbury, MA. He is involved with the Drama For Schools program and serves at the Community Outreach Coordinator for UT Connections. Brian is currently in his first year of the MFA DTY program.

Ruth Fisher

Nitra Gutierrez

Natasha Jarvis

Natasha Jarvis is a third year M.F.A candidate in the Drama and Theatre for Youth Program. Her work involves that of a crew member, producer, and collaborator in several productions including A Tribute to August Wilson, The Book of Daniel, and Breaking Boundaries: Listen to Our Voices. Not only is she dedicated to the arts, but she is also motivated by issues of social change and justice. Last semester she and her colleagues developed an organization entitled Arts Collective for Diversity, which acted as a safe space for students to write and perform their personal narratives based upon issues of race, class, and gender oppression. Currently, she is working on the development of her thesis; in which she is using performance as a tool to question and validate the experiences of students of color within a predominantly white academic setting.

Lauren Kane

Lauren Kane is a second year M.F.A. candidate in Drama and Theatre for Youth. She received her B.A. in Theatre and Drama from Indiana University. Lauren comes to UT by way of Washington, D.C., where she worked at the Folger Shakespeare Library and Round House Theatre. At the Folger, she ran the Shakespeare Steps Out program, exposing elementary school students in D.C. public schools to the works of Shakespeare and drama as well as training teachers to integrate arts into their curriculum. She also coordinated the Teaching Shakespeare Institute, bringing teachers from throughout the United States to study Shakespeare and learn how to bring it into their classrooms. At Round House, she created the successful Destinations program for 1st through 5th graders. When Lauren isn't in class, she enjoys exploring Austin with her husband.

Talleri McRae

Dedicated to theatre for all ages, Talleri McRae is a free-lance theatre artist. She is also an actor, a storyteller, and a teacher. In recent years, she has worked with many Chicago Theatre companies including: About Face Theatre, The Goodman Theatre, Next Theatre, AppleTree Theatre, and Special Gifts Theatre. Last year, Talleri served as a guest drama specialist for grades K-3 at Orrington Elementary School in Evanston, Illinois and she currently serves on the Executive Board of the American Alliance for Theatre and Education. A recent transplant to Austin, Texas, Talleri is thrilled to be pursuing a MFA in Drama and Theatre for Youth at the University of Texas at Austin.

Nat Miller

Nat Miller is a second year M.F.A. Theatre For Youth student from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He has just finished two years teaching English and Theater at a high school in Burlington, WI. Nat has also been an actor/teacher for First Stage Children's Theater in Milwaukee. His most current work was devising an original musical with teenagers for Milwaukee's Next Act Theater. Nat received his B.F.A. in Theater from SMA in Dallas, and his teaching certification at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. His thesis will involve directing children's theatre play and creating curriculum that deal with social issues.

Alicia Reid

Alicia Reid is a first year MFA candidate in Drama and Theatre for Youth. She graduated with a B.A. from Grinnell College with Honors in Art History. She spent a semester during her junior year at the National Theatre Institute at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center in Waterford, CT. Upon graduation, Alicia worked as an intern in directing/dramaturgy at Portland Stage Company, Maine and volunteered with a local high school Shakespeare Club. Most recently, Alicia comes to UT from Los Angeles where she worked for three years at The Painted Turtle, a non-profit camp for children with chronic and life-threatening illnesses and a member of the Association of Hole in the Wall Camps. Alicia served as the Performing Arts Assistant, Entertainment Coordinator, and then Camp Program Associate, planning and implementing programs camp-wide from Performing Arts to Archery.

Sally Vander Gheynst

Sally Vander Gheynst has been working with young people for the past ten years. Sally has a Bachelor of Science in Education from the University of Georgia in Secondary English Education and Theatre. She is a certified teacher and has taught both high school English and Theatre. Prior to coming to the University of Texas at Austin, Sally worked for California Theatre Center as Education Coordinator, directing productions, managing over thirty teaching artists and one thousand students, and designing and implementing almost twenty curricula. She has also served as Education Director for Mad River Theatre Works in West Liberty, Ohio, creating and running a Summer Theatre Academy for students. Sally has also worked as a teaching artist in a variety of school and theatre settings around the southeast and California. Sally is currently pursuing a Masters in Fine Arts in Drama and Theatre for Youth and is working with the Drama for Schools Professional Development Program at UT. Her thesis work will use drama-based instructional practice or Theatre in Education techniques to explore issues of disease awareness and prevention.

Amira Wizig

Amira graduated from Rice University in 2004 with a B.A. in English. At Rice, she taught at Summerbridge Houston and Congregation Beth Israel, interned for a summer in Washington, DC with Youth Venture, which supports youth-led community programs, guest directed a middle school literacy play, and studied in Spain for a semester. Acting credits at Rice and Houston community theatres include: Barefoot in the Park, And Baby Makes 7, Rapunzel and the Frog Prince, The Vagina Monologues, The Madwoman of Chaillot, and 24 Hour Play. Upon graduating, Amira directed Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at Rice Summer School, where she also taught enrichment classes, and assistant directed Stages Repertory Theatre's The Toys Take Over Christmas, directed by Rob Bundy. In the past two years, Amira has interned at The Alley Theatre, Williamstown Theatre Festival, and McCarter Theatre.