ADMISSIONS
By Joshua Harmon
Directed by DAVID R. JARROTT
September 19 - October 6, 2019
“a stunning examination of race in millennial America…” “not just intelligently crafted, but the production it was given was fine-tuned (which we’ve come to expect from Director David Jarrott), and played with rare emotional intelligence.”
- Austin Arts Watch
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“The real revelation—and it is one—is Tucker Shepherd as Charlie Luther Mason…Tall, tangle-haired and moody, Tucker sets Charlie’s character vividly in place with his restless intensity…Shepherd is right out of high school in Round Rock; by finding him and casting him in this role, director Jarrott does great service both to the actor and to the broader theatre community.”
– Central Texas Live Theatre
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“Gripping and unsettling…ADMISSIONS highlights the good, bad and ugly of white liberalism…the entire cast deftly approaches the ebb and flow of the 90-minute piece…Director David Jarrott succeeds in turning Joshua Harmon’s words into an accelerant that forces white progressives to re-examine themselves and where their allyship stands.”
- Broadway World Austin







CAST

TIM BLACKWOOD

BETH BURROUGHS

REBECCA ROBINSON

TUCKER SHEPHERD

JENNIE UNDERWOOD
We asked our cast about their personal experiences about college and “life after high school.”
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TIM BLACKWOOD (Bill) I am excited to help tell this story although my experience with college admissions was far less dramatic. I was confronted with several applications for schools like Notre Dame, MIT and University of Chicago, all of which extensive forms including multiple essays. However, I then saw the essentially one page application for Purdue University, and I thought "this is school for me." Yes, my entire future was determined by my creative writing laziness and I wouldn't change a thing.
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BETH BURROUGHS (Ginnie) When I applied to college, I had no idea what I wanted to do or where I wanted to go. My brother is 3 years older and was already going to Virginia Tech, and so I applied there for early admission. I grew up in Corning, NY and there is also a Corning plant in Blacksburg, VA where Virginia Tech is located, and so VA Tech became a known entity and a school of choice for a good number of us from Corning. I got accepted, and so I went. I try to think that I got accepted for having good grades and participating in activities and writing a killer essay, and not because I was from Corning and my brother already went there. But I am a HOKIE through and through... and if you want to know what a HOKIE is... ask me sometime! And yes, we do the Hokie Pokie at football games.
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REBECCA ROBINSON (Sherri) I’ve always been terrible in math and in grad school I was required to take a statistics class in order to graduate. Knowing I’m terrible at math, I went to every class, I sat in the front, I went to group study sessions outside of class, I hired a tutor. I was prepped to master the final. I walked out thinking I aced it. I got a D. I needed a C to graduate. The professor told me that he’d never seen anyone work harder, so he took pity on me and changed my grade so I could graduate. I don’t think I’ve ever used statistics.
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TUCKER SHEPHERD (Charlie) I just left high school, that's crazy! This is the real world now and I've gotta blast my way into being a productive member ASAP. All I've known for a few years is high school theatre. The moment I discovered that's where I needed to be I filled my schedule with it, and hopefully the time I spent there gave me what I need to continue doing what I love. I'm incredibly excited to continue theatre and that excitement is inversely proportional to my excitement for college and it's potentially monstrous debt. But who knows, maybe they'll give me a discount if I ask nicely.
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JENNIE UNDERWOOD (Roberta) My parents were both teachers and I was an only child. They were adamant that I would go to college and get my Undergraduate AND Master’s teaching degrees as they insisted I have something to fall back on before I moved to NYC to become an actress. So my mother filled out the paper work for Kansas State Teachers College (she didn’t have to pay a $50,000 bribe)—thank goodness they had a theatre program, albeit one that prepared you more for being a theatre teacher than professional. I fulfilled their dream and mine—less than 3 months after getting my MA, I was in New York. PS. I have never taught nor had any desire to.
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CREATIVE TEAM
DIRECTOR
David R. Jarrott​
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SCENIC DESIGNER
Michael Krauss
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SOUND DESIGNER
Craig Brock
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COSTUME DESIGNER
Aaron Flynn
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LIGHTING DESIGNER
Alison Lewis​
PRODUCTION MANAGER
Lisa Goering
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PRODUCTION STAGE MANAGER
Morgan Brochu
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TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
Carlo Lorenzo Garcia
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HOUSE MANAGER
Will Douglas
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MARKETING DIRECTOR
Natalie Garcia