STEPHENVILLE, Texas — Tarleton State University Assistant Professor of Theater Dan Stone has been awarded a $25,000 grant from the Mid-America Arts Alliance through the organization’s Interchange Grant Program.
“With this grant, I can continue my work in Socially Engaged Participatory Theatre, focusing on rural communities in Texas,” Stone said. “Since 2008, I have been committed to this type of work through my company, Sanctuary Stage, in Northern California and Oregon. Now that I’ve moved back to Texas, I am eager to continue these socially minded arts practices here.”
The program, made possible by the support of the Mellon Foundation, awarded practice-based fellowships to 16 regional artists, providing vital resources for their socially engaged creative practices. Individual artists residing in M-AAA’s six-state region of Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas were eligible to apply.
One of Stone’s most recent projects at Tarleton State was directing the musical “LIZZIE: The Musical” about the infamous Lizzie Borden.
The Theatre at Tarleton production garnered national attention from the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival and earned a spot in the regional competition in Abilene earlier this year, a first for the university.
Stone, the winner of the award for Outstanding Direction at the 2016 San Diego International Fringe Festival, says working closely with his students is the best part of his job.
“I’ve had some really good mentors in different areas of my life,” he said. “I think teaching is more than getting in front of a classroom and talking at people. In the arts, mentorship — taking time with students and showing them how to be successful in a career that can be risky — is very important.”
A founding member of The Texas A&M System, Tarleton State University is breaking records — in enrollment, research, scholarship, athletics, philanthropy and engagement — while transforming the lives of approximately 18,000 students in Stephenville, Fort Worth, Waco, Bryan and online. For 125 years, Tarleton State has been committed to accessible higher education opportunities for all while helping students grow academically, socially and professionally through programs that emphasize real world learning and address regional, state and national needs.