TWU Theatre Troupe To Tout College Education

2/11/03

DENTON — As part of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board's Closing the Gaps by 2015 plan, Texas Woman's University students will use theater arts to motivate middle and high school students to attend college.

TWU is one of 10 colleges, universities or high schools to receive a $7,000 award for Go Theatre, the coordinating board's motivational performance team project. Twenty-four university, college, high school and community theater groups from across the state submitted Go Theatre proposals to the coordinating board.

"This is a very prestigious award," said Sharon Benge, director of TWU's drama program. "We're the only North Texas recipient."

Go Theatre uses "cool" and "diverse" university and high school students who are versed in theater arts, and who also receive mentoring training, to motivate middle and high school students to stay in school and go on to higher education. The performers also are trained to assist students with planning and applying for college.

Each Go Theatre troupe will perform 10 times by August in schools, community centers and other locations designated by the coordinating board.

TWU will hold auditions open to all university students to build a company of 15 to 20 Go Theatre performers, Benge said. The actual production will be developed using improvisational techniques and it will be entertaining as well as have an educational message, she added.

"There are two sides to this project," said Kim Tapp, a TWU drama program graduate student who helped prepare the university's proposal with undergraduate drama student Dennis Sloan. "One is for kids to see people who are first-generation college graduates and encourage them to go on to college. The other is developing an educational laboratory for theater."

Go Theatre falls under the coordinating board's College for Texans campaign, which has a slogan of "Education. Go Get It." The goal of Closing the Gaps is to enroll by 2015 an additional 300,000 people who, based on current enrollment trends would not pursue higher education, into Texas colleges and universities.

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For Further Information Contact:

Roy Kron
Director of News and Information
Tel: (940) 898-3456
e-mail: rkron@twu.edu]