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As ever, we love updates from friends and members current and past!

In addition to sharing his South Africa experiences above, Paul Adolphsen '15G let us know some good news about a pair of Play Lab alumni: "MJ Kaufman's play Sagittarius Ponderosa (2015) is receiving a production Off-Broadway at the National Asian American Theatre Company this fall and Tira Palmquist's play And Then They Fell (2014) is receiving its premiere at LA's Brimmer Street Theatre Company in October."

The Ticket Seller, a short film for which Sound Design faculty member Amy Altadonna was the production recordist and sound designer, was named an Official Selection at the 2016 North Bay Art and Film Festival. This summer, she designed Liz Duffy Adams' Or, The Taming, and Ugly Lies the Bone at Shakespeare & Co, Dear Elizabeth at Dorset Theatre Festival, Peter and the Starcatcher at Perseverance Theatre in Juneau, AL, and the critically acclaimed Cal in Camo in NYC with my Colt Coeur collaborators, starring David Harbour (Stranger Things, Newsroom).  The New York Times critic Ben Brantley wrote in his review that Cal was "staged with scrupulous attention to detail by the director Adrienne Campbell-Holt - and an expert design team that includes John McDermott (an alumnus of ours from 1994!), Grant Yeager, and Amy Altadonna."

Incoming first-year student Luke Bosco submitted photographic proof (below) that he’d been Tiger Lily/the lost boy in Peter Pan at Paint Box Theatre this summer — which had the helpful side-effect of reminding us that the UMass Theater connection ran strong in that production. Alumnus Troy David Mercier played Peter, alumna Linda Tardiff had a cameo, and graduate student Christina Beam did the costumes.

Professor Harley Erdman was among the writers of The Northampton Playwright’s Lab’s Play by Play, a new play festival. Gina Kaufmann was among the directors, as was alumna Sheila Siragusa. Harley also marked the publication of his book, Women Playwrights of Early Modern Spain (ITER, 2016), which features his translations of ten plays, for the first time ever in English.

Congratulations on the Design Arts Utah 2016 Juror’s Award, the accompanying gallery show, and the complimentary press coverage to MFA lighting alumna Jess Greenberg!

Student Allison Kerr was this year’s recipient of the Stephen Driscoll BADA Scholarship, and she was joined at the program by two other UMass Theater students, Mallory Kassoy and Sevan Dulgarian. Stephen sent us a picture of himself with all three women from Oxford, which was by all accounts a fabulous and rewarding experience.

We’re on the mailing list for Lucinda Kidder ‘03G’s Silverthorne Theater Company, which had a very good summer and this year continues into the fall with a production of The Compleat Works of Wllm Shkspr (Abridged).

David Korins ’99 won an Emmy award (his first of many, we’re convinced) for his work as production Designer for Fox’s Grease Live!

Faculty member Priscilla Page '00G spent a chunk of her summer in Chicago and wrote eloquently for Howlround about Space Age, one of the pieces of theater she experienced while she was there.

Glenn Proud ‘15G is back with us this fall as the assistant production manager. He also served as part of our South Africa contingent this summer, among other things. His update: “I spent a good portion of the summer in South Africa this summer co-piloting study abroad courses one being Art & Culture in South Africa the Grahamstown National Arts Festival Course with Prof. Megan Lewis.  Also, I spend a week in August in New York City attending the Ping Chong + Company Summer Institute on Undesirable Elements.  Last, I've been in rehearsals directing Elena Nietupski '16 in the original work, Remember Me, Nellie, by alumni Brian Marshand Sound Designed by Webster Marsh (current MFA Candidate). Later this Fall I will be Guest Lecturing a course in Ensemble Performance at Boston Conservatory.”

Fay Richards ’11 let us know she recently left Parsons-Meares, LTD to join the costume shop at The Juilliard School as a first hand.

Sam Rush ‘97G’s New Century Theatre drew upon the talents of UMass this summer, including Gina Kaufmann and Gil McCauley as directors!

Professor Emeritus Dick Trousdell let us know that he's had two new articles published this year. One in the spring issue of Jung Journal, Culture and Psyche, on tragic recognition as healing in therapy and contemporary drama and fiction; and another in the Journal of Analytical Psychology for November on the American Artist and Jungian Scholar, Mary Foote.

He also shared his experience of the memorial service for fellow emeritus Miguel Romero's husband, Paul Sheren: "The memorial celebration in June for Paul Sheren, the marriage partner of Professor Emeritus Miguel Romero, was exceptionally beautiful. It was held at the home of the Mariani family, next-door neighbors of Paul and Miguel in Montague. Many of their neighbors, friends,Theater Department faculty, staff, and alums-- including their children---gathered to share good talk, and the food, drinks, and desserts all had brought. Then, moving outdoors into the back yard, a circle of loving remembrance formed in which many spoke of Paul and Miguel,and especially of the example they set of volunteer community work and of memorable Passover Seders shared with Jewish and non-Jewish friends alike. Finally, a memorial tree was planted in the yard of Paul and Miguel's former home. That such a healing celebration happened on the day after the mass killings at an Orlando gay nightclub, made it especially meaningful. It was one of those moments when all could actually feel how shared love is more powerful and creative than any hatred or prejudice. Many came away thinking about that and about how Paul and Miguel's life together made it real."

What are you doing? Send us your updates so we can include them in the next Stages issue! Cool projects, babies, new jobs, awesome honors — we'd love to brag about all you amazing people are accomplishing. Send Us Updates!