As a performer, there’s nothing like the feeling of peeking through the curtain on opening night and seeing familiar faces in the crowd excited to support you. For the UT Department of Theatre and Dance, those faces include Alice (M.A. 1976) and Chip Gentry (M.A. 1979, M. Ed. 1996), retired mathematics alumni turned devoted theatre patrons and season subscribers. What began with a single dance performance in spring 2019 quickly grew into a deep appreciation for the department’s bold creativity and the students who bring it to life. We spoke with the Gentrys, who have become part of the fabric of the community they admire, about their experience attending Texas Theatre and Dance productions, from experimental new plays to dazzling musicals and dance performances.
What did you study at UT and when did you graduate?
Alice and Chip Gentry: “We graduated from the University of South Florida in 1973, married in December 1973 and moved to Austin in January 1974. Neither of us had ever been to Texas before moving here. Alice completed a M.A. in Mathematics, with a minor in computer science in May, 1976. Chip received his M.A. in Mathematics with a minor in computer science in 1979 and a M.Ed. in Educational Psychology in 1996. Retirement has given us time to enjoy lots of events on the UT campus.”
What first interested you in seeing productions by UT students?
Alice and Chip Gentry:
“We were hooked after seeing our first dance performance (Fortitude in March 2019) and went to the spring and fall dance performances in 2019, 2022, 2023 and 2024 as well as the spring dance performance this year. Because of the high quality and energy of the dance performances, we quickly branched out to theatre performances (we think our first ones were UTNT (UT New Theatre)’s Three Shitty Sons and Flora Circular in March 2019).”
What about The Cohen New Works Festival specifically?
Alice and Chip Gentry: “We attended the festival in 2019, 2023 and 2025. We were less organized in 2019 and only attended about 10 events in that year’s festival.”
How many shows did you see at this year’s Cohen New Works Festival? What was your experience like?
Alice and Chip Gentry: “We saw 28 shows and installations. We thought it was our best experience yet. We were more organized in setting our schedule, getting tickets reserved and seeing more performances.
We now understand the concept of a “reading” and want to attend more in the future. We liked getting to watch performances while sitting on the actual stage of the B. Iden Payne Theatre. We enjoyed all the performances, but a few especially moved and/or connected with us: At this Table, Death and The Girl, Godfriend, The Tragicall Comedie of Margery Lyall, the discrete charm of the CEOs, We are the Only Poets and You got my Heart.
ArtVend and facePiece were also unique additions; it was fun to spot Em Ball, who played “Bill Gates” in the discrete charm of the CEOs, as one of the faces [in facePiece].
While watching the The Golden Hour film, some of the dancers in the film came to watch it too. We also started talking to Emma Watkins while waiting for Happenchance and found out she was the playwright for Pretend It’s Pretend from UTNT (UT New Theatre) 2024 – a play we enjoyed immensely. While walking along with the serpent sculpture [from THE SERPENTS FLY AT SUNDOWN], we spotted Kira Small who we had seen and enjoyed in two productions; those being The Scholarship, or Almost is Never Enough (The Cohen New Works Festival, 2023) and Romeo y Juliet (2024). We were pleased that she remembered us from a meeting in Winship a few years ago.
Whenever we have had conversations with any of the participants (actors, writers, directors, set designers or choreographers) they have always been very gracious and energetic. This is the unique aspect of the festival to have these personal interactions.”
What are some highlights from seeing past shows at the Department of Theatre and Dance?
Alice and Chip Gentry:
- “12 Ophelias from October, 2019 since we saw the Ophelia painting on a trip to London in 2018
- Ride the Cyclone from October, 2023
- The Smartest Girl in the World from December, 2023
- Very Blue Light (UTNT (UT New Theatre), 2023) because we go to Big Bend often and have seen the Marfa lights and have “solved the mystery” behind them.
- Pretend It’s Pretend (UTNT (UT New Theatre), 2024)
- Romeo y Juliet from April, 2024
- A Beautiful Day in November on the Banks of the Greatest of the Great Lakes from October, 2024
- James and the Giant Peach from November, 2024
Our favorite performances are those that invoke a memory for us.”
What has kept you coming back to see shows created by UT students for so many years?
Alice and Chip Gentry: “We are inspired by the energy, enthusiasm, camaraderie and joy that everyone brings to their productions. They carry that over when we see them attending other performances in support of their fellow students. We like the small venues where you could see the actors perform up close. We appreciate the high quality of the performances and the creative set design in the small spaces. We frequently saw the same actors in different productions over the years and spot them in the halls in Winship and interact with them. We like seeing the diversity in the casting.”
Want to keep up with the Texas Theatre and Dance production season like the Gentrys? Learn more about the Texas Theatre and Dance season subscription package.
Written by Katy Wiggins, with contributions by Mackenzie Mann.
