WaterTower Theatre Announces Details for the 3rd Annual Women in Theatre Panel

WaterTower Theatre today announced details for the third annual WOMEN IN THEATRE panel discussion. The event is presented under the auspices of Women of WaterTower Theatre (WOW!) and it is chaired by Jennifer Martinez. This is the third panel in the series, having already explored the unique perspective of prominent female directors and actors, 2017 will feature The Designers, and it will be held on Monday, February 6, 2017 from 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm (with a post-lecture reception in the lobby with the artists). The event will be held in the Canterbury Family Main Stage at the Addison Theatre Centre. The lecture will be moderated by Dallas arts journalist Lauren Smart, and features Leann Burns, Clare Floyd DeVries, Sylvia Fuhrken Marrs, and Frida Espinosa-Müller.

Tickets to this One-Night-Only event are $15 per person and can be purchased online at https://squareup.com/store/watertower-theatre-inc/item/women-in-theatre-ticket , over the phone at 972.450.6232, or in person at the WaterTower Theatre Box Office. All ticket proceeds go to support WaterTower Theatre's artistic and education programs. The ticket includes the lecture and a reception with the artists afterwards.

The objective of the event is to explore challenges, issues, and opportunities women working in the theatre face. Each of the designers will bring personal insights, from a uniquely female perspective, about their experiences navigating the often challenging world of theatre.

A word from our Chair:

"In past years, WaterTower Theatre has hosted female Directors, Actors and now, some of the city's best female Designers. These are the people who imagine and create the world where the stories come to life, all the scenery, costumes, lights, and props the audience sees in a production. I'm so honored to chair this event, and help share a uniquely female perspective in the world of theatre design." -Jennifer Martinez

How to Buy Tickets:

By Phone: 972-450-6232

Online: https://mkt.com/watertower-theatre-inc/item/women-in-theatre-ticket

In-Person: WaterTower Theatre Box Office, 15650 Addison Road, Addison, Texas 75001

Performance details:

In the Canterbury Family Main Stage at the Addison Theatre Centre

One night only: February 6th at 7:00pm

Ticket Prices:

Single Tickets: $15 per person - General Admission

$10 for Women of WaterTower Theatre Members

About the Panelists

Leann Burns received her B.A. from The University of North Texas and currently works as Technical Theatre Teacher at Irving High School. Her extensive work at WaterTower Theatres includes Silent Sky, Ring of Fire: The Music of Johnny Cash, One Man, Two Guvnors, The Grapes of Wrath, Spring Awakening, The Lieutenant of Inishmore, and many others. Leann has previously served as Master Electrician for WTT from 2007 - 2010. She has worked at Merry-Go-Round Playhouse in Auburn, NY where she designed for Always, Patsy Cline and worked as an Electrician and Master Electrician for the 2005-2007 Seasons.

Clare Floyd DeVries is an architect who hopped the fence into theater set designer. It's more fun.

She has designed many shows at WaterTower Theatre, most recently Silent Sky, and Sexy Laundry. WaterTower Theater is her favorite space in DFW to design for - because of the great people and scene shop - but especially for the wonderful possibility-filled space itself. Three stories high with doors all the way up! A basement for traps! More floors to remove! Favorites shows here include: Traveling Lady, Our Town, The Glass Menagerie, The Crucible, Urinetown, Enchanted April, Spitfire Grill, and Sweeney Todd.

She also designs at other stages around DFW, including: Shakespeare Dallas, Undermain, Contemporary Theatre of Dallas, Casa Manana, Trinity Shakespeare, Second Thought Theater, and the Dallas Theater Center. She is Resident Designer at Circle Theatre and a member of Kitchen Dog Theater. Her set designs have even gotten as far out of town as the west coast and east to Prague. Film/TV work includes the award-winning indie film Ciao and the game show Whatta Ya Think?!

Her sets have won multiple Column, Critics' Forum, and Leon Rabin Awards, as well as an award from WOW, the Women of WaterTower Theatre. Most recently, KERA profiled her for their Art & Seek "Artist Spotlight" series.

She wrote the set design how-to book Alice Through the Proscenium and is - very very slowly - finishing a follow up book on sustainable (AKA "green") theater.

Sylvia Fuhrken Marrs is the costume shop manager for Baylor University's Department of Theatre Arts. She also teaches their intro to costuming course and designs for their annual season. Baylor Design credits include: True West, Mary Stuart, and The Amish Project. In addition to her position at Baylor, Sylvia is a freelance costume designer. Local DFW credits include: Silent Sky, One Man, Two Guvnors, The Big Meal, and Lord of the Flies at WaterTower Theatre and Other Desert Cities at Circle Theatre. Other credits include: SSMT's The King and I, Millbrook Playhouse's Velma Gratch and the Way Cool Butterfly, and Pinocchio. She has also designed costumes for several independent films: No Good Deed by Jon Graham, The Riverhouse Inheritance by Sandra Lee, and Nicky by Sam Henderson. Sylvia received her B.F.A. in Costume Design from Shenandoah Conservatory University in Winchester, Virginia. Upon graduation, she worked in Washington D.C. as a wig stylist for Folger Theatre and Signature Theatre. Credits include: Henry V, Twelfth Night, Miss Saigon, Gypsy, Beaches, and Three-Penny Opera. She resides in Waco, Texas with her actor-husband, John-Michael Marrs.

Frida Espinosa-Müller is a Mexican-born artist. She holds her BFA in Dramatic Literature and Theatre at U.N.A.M., and studied physical theatre at the DTdC in Mexico City. In 2005, she moved to Dallas to join Cara Mía Theatre Co's Resident Ensemble where she has served as an actress and designer. She teaches theatre, puppetry, and visual arts as part of CMTC's Educational Programs for Youth and through CAP. Frida had written and directed several children's plays that are part of Cara Mia Theatre Co's Educational Turing roster. Frida has also served Cara Mia Theatre Co's as director, editor and ensemble on the Broadway en Español Series with AT&T Performing Arts Center. Frida's most recent designs include puppetry, costume and masks for CMTC'S productions The Magic Rainforest, TEOTL: The Sand Show, Crystal City 1969 and Nuestra Pastorela; and Masks design for the UNT's production of The Siege of Numantia. Some of her roles include: the Nurse in Romeo and Julieta, Dolores in Zoot Suit, Rosa in Lydia, the title role in Yerma, and the Mother and Death in Blood Wedding. Alicia in The Dreamers: A Bloodline and Abu in Deferred Action in collaboration with the Dallas Theater Center (part one and two in Cara Mía's trilogy on immigration), and la Niña in Nuestra Pastorela.

About the Moderator

Lauren Smart's work as a journalist and critic has appeared in the Dallas Morning News, Dallas Observer, American Theatre magazine, among others. She is the managing editor of Arts + Culture Texas and she is on the adjunct faculty at Southern Methodist University where she teaches arts writing. Currently she is overseeing the launch of a high school journalism program in collaboration with the Dallas Public Library and theDallas Morning News.

About Women of WaterTower Theatre:

The goal of Women of WaterTower Theatre is to offer members the opportunity to connect with an exciting and diverse group of women, a place to expand horizons with prestigious speakers and innovative events, and a forum to help build wider community support for WaterTower Theatre. Since the group was founded eight years ago, WOW! has grown to a membership of more than 160. Shannon Brame and Karol Omlorfounded the group and stewarded its growth for three seasons. WOW! was later chaired by Suzanne Oliver and April Bosworth and its current Chair is Rose Colarossi.

About WaterTower Theatre

WaterTower Theatre is one of the leading regional theatres in North Dallas and Texas. The company celebrates its 20th anniversary during the 2016-2017 Season. The Company has consistently been recognized for its artistic excellence by the Dallas Theatre League, Dallas-Fort Worth Theater Critics Forum, The Dallas Morning News, The Dallas Observer, D Magazine, and The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, among others. WaterTower Theatre has a subscription base of more than 2,000 subscribers and serves an audience of over 28,000 patrons annually.

WaterTower Theatre is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization as designated by the IRS. Like all arts organizations, WaterTower Theatre relies on both ticket income and donations from individuals, corporations, foundations, organizations, and government to produce live professional theatre and offer community outreach and arts education programs. WaterTower Theatre is grateful for the support provided from The Town of Addison, TACA, The National Endowment for the Arts, the Texas Commission on the Arts, the Shubert Foundation, and the hundreds of individuals, corporations and foundations whose annual donations allow WaterTower Theatre to consistently produce world-class live professional theatre.

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