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Bush Honored for Advancing Diversity at USM
Mon, 02/22/2021 - 10:31am | By: David Tisdale
J. Theresa Bush, a University of Southern Mississippi (USM) Theatre program faculty member, has been recognized by the State Institutions of Higher Learning (IHL) for her efforts to advance diversity at The University of Southern Mississippi. Bush was one of 10 nominees for the 2021 IHL Diversity Educator of the Year award, an annual recognition based on teaching, research, publication and community service that demonstrate commitment to the ideals of the award.
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“Professor Bush’s record of research, teaching, and service demonstrates a true commitment to diversity and inclusion not only at USM, but also within other organizations and communities with which she has interacted,” said Rodney D. Bennett, president of The University of Southern Mississippi.
“I’m deeply honored to receive this recognition from the IHL, and thankful for the support of President Bennett and my colleagues,” Bush said. “My thanks go especially to Professor Stephen Judd for his guidance and Director Stacy Reischman-Fletcher for her sustained support. It’s a great privilege to unify my life’s vocation to my career at USM and citizenship in Southern Mississippi.”
Promoting equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility means “valuing human dignity, owning our power and wielding it on behalf of those less fortunate,” Bush said…
Home/News/2017/USM Instructor Designs Costumes for Acclaimed Production Fly
USM Instructor Designs Costumes for Acclaimed Production Fly
Mon, 11/13/2017 - 12:04pm | By: Van Arnold
J. Theresa Bush, assistant professor of costume design at The University of Southern Mississippi, played an instrumental role in helping the renowned stage production “Fly” garner eight nominations for the 27th Annual NAACP Theatre Awards. The awards will be presented on Feb. 26 at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles, Calif.
Bush serves as costume designer for the play that follows the story of four Tuskegee airmen on their quest to integrate the United States Air Force. The nominations include: Best Choreography, Best Director, Best Ensemble Cast, Best Producer, Best Sound, Best Costumes, Best Lighting, plus Best Playwright for writers Ricardo Khan and Trey Ellis.
After experiencing initial pride and elation from the awards announcement, Bush said she was struck by a more profound awareness
“It occurred to me that we might use this platform to garner more global recognition, more resources and bigger audiences, while spreading the message of love and respect for these incredible men who have all but vanished,” she said…
FLY - Winner of NAACP Image Award
Marshall Jones, III February 27, 2018
We're pleased to announce that the Pasadena Playhouse & Crossroads Theatre Company production of FLY by our own Ricardo Khan & Trey Ellis won the LA NAACP Image Award last night for Best Production.
This has been over 10 years in the making where the show first premiered as a one-hour school production presented by the Lincoln Center Institute for Education (now called Lincoln Center Education). It was clear that the school-based showing captured the enduring spirit of some very brave young men who answered the call to fight for a nation as the famed Tuskegee Airmen. Rick and Trey were inspired to expand the hour play into a full production for our audience at Crossroads. We then presented a reading of the full-length at the Genesis Festival in spring of 2008. In October 2009 we produced the fully-realized production and the first line of the NY Times raved: “Fly blew me away.”
Since then Rick has restaged the show in major theaters through the nation (including this month at Alabama Shakespeare Festival which is only a short drive from Tuskegee). A memorable, seminal moment came in the Fall of 2012 when the show was presented at the historic Fords Theater in Washington DC. Dozens of living airmen were flown in from all around the country to witness their lives and adventures unfold in front of their 90-year eyes. Experiencing that show in the building where president Lincoln was assassinated still sends chills down my spine…
Reviews of Sister Act and Killing Women
Can't get enough of your nun, babe
Maybe Ophelia should have followed Hamlet's advice. Julie Andrews — or was that Carrie Underwood? — checked into a nunnery in The Sound of Music and, in spite of some serious compatibility issues, wound up with a husband and a singing group. The same thing happened to Whoopi Goldberg in Sister Act when she hid from a Las Vegas gangster at a San Francisco convent and wound up leading a choir of nuns in a command performance for the Pope.
Sister Act runs through July 23 at CPCC’s Halton Theater. (Photo by Chris Record)
The musical version, transplanted to Philly and currently completing a very successful summer season at CPCC, makes it a little clearer that lounge singer Deloris Van Cartier gets her man. Some might say that Sweaty Eddie, the shy and timid police desk sergeant who whisks Deloris into hiding, mans up at just the right moment and gets his woman. No matter, there's plenty of righteous jubilation at the end.
THEATRE SEWANEE WOWS CROWDS WITH THE TEMPEST
April 3, 2014 thesewaneepurple Arts and Entertainment
by Pagie Wilson
Executive Staff
February 26 marked the opening of Theatre Sewanee’s production of The Tempest, directed by David Landon. The show, an adaptation from Shakespeare’s original play, produced a beautiful set, intricate costumes, and some of the best Shakespearean acting seen at Sewanee in a long time. Leading the cast was Chase Brantley (C’15) as Prospero. Carrying a good portion of the play on his back, Brantley portrayed a strong, sensitive, and real Prospero on stage; the scenes between Prospero and Miranda, played by Tia Strickland (C’16), were the most exciting and captivating of the show.