TETA Board of Directors
President / CEO
It doesn’t seem like it’s time for another Texas Theatre Notes, but this semester has flown by. The UIL One-Act Play season has been incredible so far and has had many of us on the road performing and seeing wonderful plays. I have been very impressed with the quality of theatre education in our state based on the plays I have seen. It is encouraging to see how many young people are vitally involved in our art and doing so very well. I know I have been delighted and inspired by the great talent in our high schools and impressed with the sportsmanship of the companies. Congratulations on a great season!
The other good news is that TETA is doing well and is moving forward in numerous ways. We have just completed a meeting where we took a hard look at our By-Laws and have identified several items that need revision. These recommendations will be made to the TETA Board of Directors at our May meeting. We feel that it is imperative to clarify several points in the By-Laws and hope this will make our organization even stronger. Once approved by the Board and the membership where required, the revised By-Laws will be posted on our website.
It is my pleasure to announce to you that Dr. Gene Dickey and Jenny Nichols have agreed to serve as co-convention directors for TheatreFest 2014 in Dallas. This Dynamic Duo has planned and coordinated our most recent conventions and they have been outstanding. We have discussed ways to involve more members in the process, finding opportunities for more folks to share their expertise with the membership as a whole. As you may imagine, this is a mammoth task and the more individuals who are available to help, the easier it is for everyone, and the stronger our convention will be. We will be seeking volunteers for various areas and hope that you will contribute your time and talents where you can. Jenny and Gene are already working on securing our special guests and coordinating featured artists and, from what I hear, TheatreFest 2014 should be one of our best ever! Please find a way to lend your support and do plan to attend TheatreFest 2014 in Dallas. The dates are January 23-26 and the convention will be at the Hyatt Regency, Dallas.
One of the questions which has been asked relates to how members are able to take their ideas, questions or matters of interest to the Board of Directors. There is, and always has been, a liaison for every member to the Board. To be sure that everyone is informed about this contact and line of communication, we are publishing an organizational chart in this issue of Texas Theatre Notes which will also soon be posted on the website which lists the first line of contact for every group and member. If you are a member, your first point of contact should be either the VP-K-12 or the VP-CU, depending on which section to which you belong. If you are a member of a committee or a committee chairperson, know that every committee in TETA has a Board representative as their liaison and that Board member is your first point of contact (committee members should obviously first contact their committee chairpersons). Please review the organizational chart and contact your representative if you have anything to share. Of course you are always free to contact any of the Board of Directors at their email address which ends with the domain name tetatx.com.
In the next few months, State Meet will have been concluded, followed by SummerFest July 19-21 in Waco at Baylor University. I know a number of you have summer theatre productions and I wish you well in those endeavors and in all your summer activities. Thank you all for your commitment to educational theatre in the State of Texas and to your students who benefit so much from your passion about our art. See you in September!