The Spotlight

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Bob Hess is a well-respected professor at UNT Dance and Theatre, known among his acting students for his passion, drive, and professionalism. During his time at UNT, Bob has written core curriculum for the acting concentration as well created the season audition process, modeled after industry standards of auditions.

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UNT’s Dance and Theatre department is huge. With approximately 350 majors and 100 minors, it is challenging to accommodate the demand for directing, designing, and acting positions for our students in the main production season. However, our students, faculty, and staff make new opportunities for student experience and creative development every semester. One of these projects is the 24 Hour Playfest, held every fall.

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This Halloween, UNT theatre took a trip to the 30th floor of the Wayside School to Mrs. Jewls’ crazy classroom.

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Are you looking to be further involved in the dance community? Well, the University of North Texas (UNT) has some extracurricular activities for you! UNT provides a catalogue of student organizations for you to choose from in various styles of dance.

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Over the past few years, UNT has increased its number of opportunities for student-directed and student-led work in the form of projects such as the First Stage series and main stage student work called Lab Series. The need is growing for directing opportunities for undergraduate students with up to 15 students per semester taking the Directing I class.

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Throughout the weekend of October 15^th through 18^th, the Department of Dance and Theatre hosted guest artist and renowned choreographer Mike Esperanza as he set a concert work on six students for the Spring Dance Concert held in February 2026. Mike Esperanza is a “multifaceted creative force,” currently residing at Western Michigan University (WMU), where he teaches jazz, music for dancers, and senior seminar courses.

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UNT’s production of And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie played five sold out shows from October 2nd-5th in the Studio Theatre. As the first main stage production of the fall semester, the diligence of our shop staff, faculty, and designers was instrumental in the success of the production. The show was a blend of technical elements, from developing the multi-leveled set to creating up to five costume looks per character, the designers were hard at work at creating the murderous mystery of the Soldier Island resort.

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An exciting shift in curriculum was made to the dance minor! Between the inclusion of a plethora of new courses and the introduction of four certificates to earn in tandem with your degree, Dance@UNT has your best interest in mind. So, if you are a seasoned dancer interested in continuing your dance education throughout your residency at UNT or an active student interested in beginning your dance education, do not hesitate to take the amazing opportunity presented.

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For many performers, approaching Shakespeare can be jarring, like there’s a language barrier between us and the bard despite Shakespeare being the primary writer of modern English, as well as being credited with over 1700 words we use today. The challenge of connecting the words of nearly 500 years ago to our modern lived experiences requires openness to new techniques. Sarah Rutan, acting professor and Shakespeare mega-fan, is a master of interpreting the Stratford-Upon-Avon born playwright.

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This past summer, the University of North Texas (UNT) Department of Dance and Theatre hosted their first annual Momentum Dance Intensive! Over the course of two weeks, high school and collegiate students from the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex joined Dance@UNT to train and grow in movement and community.

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The University of North Texas has many opportunities to study abroad, one of which is UNT Theatre’s Faculty Led London trip in the Maymester. London, and Europe as a whole, has a very different approach to theatre as an art form, and the culture of artistry is different in ways you might not expect from an American viewpoint of the theatre. Fifteen of our students experienced these differences and many general culture shocks this past summer.

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Interview with Director, Nathan Autrey

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TDIF is an annual event curated by Texas artists to inspire and foster diverse improvisational dance communities. We are grateful for the guidance of our event director, Whitney Geldon, and the production support from Reyna Mondragon.

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Interview with Director, Morgana Wilborn

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Interview with Director, Nathan Autrey