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Production History of the TN Tech Players

Under the direction of Dorothy Pennebaker and Clement Eyler (1953-1962)

1953-1954 (Not officially called the Tech Players at this time)

Bell, Book and Candle by John Van Druter

1954-1955 (Not officially called the Tech Players at this time)

Harvey

1955-1956 – 1st SEASON

(The Tech Players are officially recognized as Tech’s Drama Club)

Miranda by Peter Blackmore

Pygmalion by Bernard Shaw

1956-1957 – 2nd SEASON

The Witching Hour by August Thomas

The Silver Cord by Sidney Howard

1957-1958 – 3rd SEASON

Laura by Vera Caspary & George Sklar

Ghosts by Henrik Ibsen

1958-1959 – 4th SEASON

Blithe Spirit by Noel Coward

Balcony Scene

The Brute by Anton Chekov

A Visit to Small Planet

1959-1960 – 5th SEASON

Unknown

1960-1961 – 6th SEASON

Ask Any Girl

Bell, Book and Candle (revival) by John Van Druter

1961-1962 – 7th SEASON

Unknown

Under the direction of Margery Hargrove, with assistance by Homer K. Nicholson (1962-1964)

1962-1963 – 8th SEASON

The Unexpected Guest by Agatha Christie

Charlie’s Aunt

Inherit the Wind by Jerome Laurence & Robert E. Lee

1963-1964 – 9th SEASON (Productions produced under name The Highland Theatre)

My Three Angels by Sam and Bella Spewack

A Hatful of Rain

See How They Run

Under the direction of Wesley Bostick (1964-1968)

1964-1965 – 10th SEASON (Wesley Bostick takes over theatre program)

The Pelican

Spoon River Anthology

Bus Stop

Experimental Theatre Program - Riders To The Sea by Synge, One-Act Plays

1965-1966 – 11th SEASON

The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams

The Circle by Somerset Maugham

The Grass Harp by Truman Capote

1966-1967 – 12th SEASON

Tartuffe by Moliere

Angel Street by Patrick Henry

The Fantastiks by Tom Jones & Harvey Schmidt

Look Homeward, Angel by Ketti Frings

1967-1968 – 13th SEASON

The Wild Duck by Henrik Ibsen

The Man Who Came to Dinner by Moss Hart & George Kaufman

Present Laughter by Noel Coward

A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee Williams

Antigone by Jean Anouilh

Medea by Robinson Jeffers

Under the direction of Doug Tidwell (1968-1973)

1968-1969 – 14th SEASON (Doug Tidwell takes over theatre program)

Becket by Jean Anouilh – directed by Dorothy Printz Pennebaker

The Rainmaker by Richard Nash

Three One-Acts

Even the Hater

Will the Real Jesus Christ Please Stand Up?

Mooney’s Kids Don’t Cry

Star Spangled Girl by Neil Simon

1969-1970 – 15th SEASON

The Time Of Your Life by William Saroyan (performed in Derryberry Concert Auditorium)

The Amorous Flea

Dark of the Moon by Howard Richardson & William Barney

Godspell by Stephen Schwartz

1970-1971 – 16th SEASON

(Library Auditorium officially named the Backdoor Playhouse)

The Subject Was Roses by Frank Gilroy

Arms and the Man by Bernard Shaw

Alice in Wonderland by Alice Eyre Gerstenberg

1984 by George Orwell

The American Dream and The Sandbox by Edward Albee

1971-1972 – 17th SEASON

Camelot by Alan Jay Lerner (First joint production of Tech Players and Tennessee Tech Dept. of Music)

The Devil to Pay by Robert Bode

Reynard the Fox

Oliver by Lionel Hart

1972-1973 – 18th SEASON

Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett

Androcles the Lion

A Cry of Players by William Gibson

Under the direction of Jerry Henderson and Marilyn McKay (1973-1979)

1973-1974 – 19th SEASON (Jerry Henderson takes over the theatre program)

The Lion in Winter by James Goldman

1776 by Sherman Edwards & Peter Stone

The Last of the Red Hot Lovers by Neil Simon

The Torchbearers by George Kelly

You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown by Clark Genner

Evening of Comedy (Selections from Thurber plays) by James Thurber

1974-1975 – 20th SEASON

Barefoot in the Park by Neil Simon

The Ugly Duckling

That’s Where the Town’s Going

Spoon River Anthology by Kermit Breen

Everybody Loves Opal by John Patrick

I’m Herbert

Save Me a Place at Forest Lawn

What Can The Matter Be?? by John Neely Howell

Little Foxes by Lillian Hellman

1975-1976 – 21st SEASON

The Little Box of Winter Seed by Jerry Henderson

The Lennon Play: In His Own Write

Little Foxes by Lillian Hellman

I Can’t Imagine Tomorrow

Here We Are

Play It Again, Sam by Woody Allen

At the Late-Night Double Feature Show by Bob Yearwood

1976-1977 – 22nd SEASON

The Man Who Came to Dinner by Moss Hart & George Kaufman

Summer and Smoke by Tennessee Williams

Witness for the Prosecution by Agatha Christie

The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde

The Real Inspector Hound by Tom Stoppard

A Marriage Proposal by Anton Chekov

Little Mary Sunshine by Rick Besoyan

1977-1978 – 23rd SEASON

The Loveliest Afternoon of the Year

Everything Pacific Avenue

Feiffer’s People by Jules Feiffer

The Diary of Adam and Eve

The Mousetrap by Agatha Christie

Theatre of the Soul

1978-1979 – 24th SEASON

Plaza Suite by Neil Simon

Bell, Book and Candle (revival) by John Van Druter

Angel Street by Patrick Henry

1979-1980 – 25th SEASON

Royal Gambit - directed by Marilyn McKay

Jerry Henderson resigns at the end of the season. 

Under the direction of Michael Birdwell, Bettey Kash, and Ben Harville (1980-1989)

1980-1981 – 26th SEASON

Unknown

1981-1982 – 27th SEASON

She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith

Six Characters in Search of an Author by Luigi Pirandello

1982-1983 – 28th SEASON

God by Woody Allen

1983-1984 – 29th SEASON

The Private Ear and The Public Eye by Peter Shaffer

1984-1985 – 30th SEASON

INDIANS by Arthur Kopit

1985-1986 – 31st SEASON

Death by Woody Allen

Buried Child by Sam Shepard

1988-1989 – 34th SEASON

An Enemy of the People by Henrik Ibsen

Story Theatre by Paul Sills

Ah, Wilderness by Eugene O’Neill

One-Acts

American Dream by Edward Albee

Happy Journey from Camden to Trenton

The Sandbox by Edward Albee

1987-1988 – 33rd SEASON

Love, My Name is Will by William Shakespeare

Sister Mary Ignatious Explains It All For You by Christopher Durang

Whore of Mensa by Woody Allen, adapted by Michael Birdwell

Insignificance by Terry Johnson

1986-1987 – 32nd SEASON

Buried Child by Sam Shepard

Duck Variations by David Mamet

End of the World With Symposium to Follow by Arthur Kopit

Under the direction of Daniel Haughey (1989-1992)

1989-1990 – 35th SEASON

Story Theatre by Paul Sills

Studio Scenes

Happiness is a Red-Headed Cheerleader

Trouble in the Works

Hello Out There

Interview

The Shadow Box

Laundry and Bourbon by James McClure

Chamber Music by Arthur Kopit

The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail by Jerome Lawrence & Robert E. Lee

1990-1991 – 36th SEASON (Backdoor Playhouse closed for renovation at season’s end)

Story Theatre (revival) by Paul Sills

An Evening of Christmas Prose, Poetry and Drama

The Bald Soprano by Eugene Ionesco

The Lesson by Eugene Ionesco

1991-1992 – 37th SEASON (performed at the Wesley Arena Theatre)

The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare

Lone Star by James McClure (student director)

Laundry and Bourbon by James McClure (student director)

Death Takes a Holiday by Alberto Casella

Daniel Haughey resigns at end of season. Mark H. Creter is hired on a 9-month contract. 

Under the direction of Mark H. Creter (1992-present)

1992-1993 – 38th SEASON 

Fall 1992 Ah, Eurydice! (performed at the Wesley Arena Theatre)

Fall 1992 An Evening of One Acts by the Directing Class

Winter 1993 The Life of Python (student director, Donnie Thomas)

Spring 1993 Biloxi Blues by Neil Simon (performed at the Wesley Arena Theatre)

1993-1994 – 39th SEASON - Mark H. Creter takes over the theatre program as a full-time tenured instructor and artist director.

(The renovated Backdoor Playhouse reopens in the Spring 1994)

Fall 1993 The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare (produced in cooperation with the Wesley Players at the Wesley Arena Theatre)

Spring 1994 The Diviners by Jim Leonard, Jr.

1994-1995 – 40th SEASON

Fall 1994 Antigone by Sophocles

Fall 1994 An Evening of One Acts by the Directing Class

Winter 1995 Talking With . . . by Jane Martin

Spring 1995 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Dale Wasserman

1995-1996 – 41st SEASON

Fall 1995 A Couple of White Chicks Sitting Around Talking (student director, Matt Waller)

Fall 1995 True West by Sam Shepard

Winter 1996 KLOP by Vladimir Meyakovsky (guest faculty director, Bob Clougherty)

Spring 1996 The Nerd by Larry Shue

1996-1997 – 42nd SEASON

Fall 1996 The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams

Fall 1996 The Dumb Waiter by Harold Pinter (student director, Scott Strahan)

Fall 1996 An Evening of One Acts by the Directing Class

Winter 1997 Danny and the Deep Blue Sea by John Patrick Shanley (student director, Scott Strahan)

Winter 1997 Keely and Du by Jane Martin

Spring 1997 A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare

1997-1998 – 43rd SEASON

Fall 1997 The Little Shop of Horrors by Howard Ashman, Alan Menken

Winter 1998 Pterodactyls by Nicky Silver

Spring 1998 Tartuffe by Moliere

1998-1999 – 44th SEASON

Fall 1998 Psycho Beach Party by Charles Busch

Fall 1998 An Evening of One Acts by the Directing Class

Winter 1999 Elephant Man by Bernard Pommerance

Spring 1999 Arsenic and Old Lace by Joseph Kesserling

1999-2000 – 45th SEASON

Fall 1999 New Directors’ Series

Little Footsteps (student director, Charles Long)

Fall 1999Hamlet by William Shakespeare

Winter 2000 Heathen Valley by Romulus Linney

Spring 2000 I Hate Hamlet by Paul Rudnick

2000-2001 – 46th SEASON

Fall 2000 New Directors’ Series

Largo Desolato by Vaclav Havel (student director, Daniel Ostrander)

Fall 2000 Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe

Fall 2000 An Evening of One Acts by the Directing Class

Winter 2001 V-Day Tennessee Tech 2001

The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler

Winter 2001 Winterfest -Three Evenings of One-Acts (Student Directed)

Spring 2001 Fools by Neil Simon

2001-2002 – 47th SEASON

Fall 2001 Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett

Fall 2001 New Directors’ Series

Hospitality Suite (student director, Robert Wheeler)

Winter 2002 How I Learned To Drive by Paula Vogel

Winter 2002 V-Day Tennessee Tech 2002 - The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler (student director, Lindsey Hines)

Spring 2002 Lysistrata by Aristophanes

2002-2003 – 48th SEASON

Fall 2002 Betty’s Summer Vacation by Christopher Durang

Fall 2002 An Evening of One Acts by the Directing Class

Winter 2003 New Directors’ Series

Closer by Patrick Marber (student director, Matthew Bassett)

Winter 2003 V-Day Tennessee Tech 2003

The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler (student director, Monica Fields)

(Memorial Service for Michael Palumbo, Theatre Student)

Spring 2003 Shakespeare’s R & J by Joe Calarco

2003-2004 – 49th SEASON

Fall 2003 Steel Magnolias by Robert Harling

Winter 2004 New Directors’ Series

Play It Again, Sam by Woody Allen (student director, Sean Dietz)

Spring 2004 A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams

2004-2005 – 50th SEASON

Fall 2004 Equus by Peter Shaffer (Alumni guest director, Matthew Bassett)

Fall 2004 An Evening of One Acts by the Directing Class

Winter 2005 V-Day Tennessee Tech 2005-The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler

Spring 2005 Servant of Two Masters Carlo Goldoni

2005-2006 – 51st SEASON (Oil painting of Ms. Pennebaker installed in lobby of BDPH)

(Colin Forsyth becomes Technical Director)

Fall 2005 Raised in Captivity by Nicky Silver

Winter 2006 Winterfest 2006-Four Evenings of One-Acts (Student Directed)

Spring 2006 Look Homeward, Angel by Ketti Frings

2006-2007 – 52nd SEASON

Fall 2006 A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen

Fall 2006 An Evening of One Acts by the Directing Class

Winter 2007 V-Day Tennessee Tech 2007-The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler

(Directed by Samantha Colyer and Emily Stefanick)

Spring 2007 The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde

2007-2008 – 53rd SEASON

Fall 2007 Our Town by Thorton Wilder (Directed by Charles A. Long)

Winter 2008 Angels in America: Millennium Approaches by Tony Kushner

Spring 2008 Angels in America: Perestroika by Tony Kushner

2008-2009 – 54th SEASON

Fall 2008 Assassins by Stephen Sondheim and John Weidner

Fall 2008 An Evening of One Acts by the Directing Class

Winter 2009 V-Day Tennessee Tech 2009-The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler

(Directed by Jennifer Dotson-Creter)

Spring 2009 She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldmith

2009-2010 – 55th SEASON

Fall 2009 Naira Has No Gender by Olu Obafemi

(co-directed by Olu Obafemi and Mark H. Creter)

Fall 2009 Dracula by Crane Johnson

Fall 2009 The Chekhovian House of Mirth

(Directing class evening of One Acts by Anton Chekov)

Winter 2010 The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Abridged by Adam Long, Daniel Singer, and Jess Winfield

Spring 2010 Hands Around (Reigen) by Arthur Schnitzler

2010-2011 – 56th SEASON

2010 Autumn Production, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

Book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart, Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim

Directed by Mark Harry Creter, Music Direction by Melinda Richards

2011 Winter Production - V-Day 2011, The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler

Guest Director - Steven W. Gwilt, Student Director - Evan Montgomery

Spring 2011 Production, Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller

Guest Director – Dave Davidson

2011-2012 – 57th SEASON

Fall 2011 The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

Book by Rachel Sheinkin, Music and Lyrics by William Finn

Conceived by Rebecca Feldman, Additional Material by Jay Reiss

Directed by Mark Harry Creter, Music Direction by Melinda Richards

Winter 2012 New Directors’ Series

Oedipus Rex by Sophocles

Student Directed by Matt Wilson

21st Annual Dorothy Printz Pennebaker Memorial Spring Production

Spring 2012 Love’s Labour’s Lost by William Shakespeare

Directed by Mark Harry Creter

2012-2013 – 58th SEASON

Fall 2012 Cabaret

Book by Christopher Isherwood, Music by John Kander and Lyrics by Fred Ebb

Directed by Adam Combs, Music Direction by Mendy Richards

Choreography by Jennifer Dotson-Creter

Winter 2013 V-Day Tennessee Tech 2013

The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler

Guest Directors - Mary Boring and Beth Thompson

Spring 2013 22nd Annual Dorothy Printz Pennebaker Memorial Spring Production

The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton under the Direction of

The Marquis de Sade, by Peter Weiss

Directed by Mark Harry Creter

2013-2014 – 59th SEASON

Fall 2013 Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show

Directed by Mark Harry Creter, Music Direction by Mendy Richards

Choreography by Jennifer Dotson-Creter

Winter 2014 New Directors’ Series

Yankee Tavern by Steven Dietz

Student Directors - Josh W. Rapp and Joe Clark

Spring 2014-23rd Annual Dorothy Printz Pennebaker Memorial Spring Production

She Kills Monsters by Qui Nguyen

Directed by Mark Harry Creter

2014-2015 - 60th Season

(Nicholas Ryan joins the Dramatic Arts Program as technical theatre instructor/Production Manager)

Autumn 2014- Avenue Q, Music and Lyrics by Robert Lopez and Jeff Mark, Book by Jeff Whitty

Directed by Mark Harry Creter, Music Direction by Mendy Richards,

Winter 2015-Beckett in the Backdoor

Play by Samuel Beckett

Krapp’s Last Tape by Samuel Beckett

Student Directed by Joe Clark

Winter 2014-The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler

Guest Director-Eleni Fragopoulos

Spring 2015-The 24th Annual Dorothy Printz Pennebaker Memorial Spring Production

A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare

Directed by Mark Harry Creter

(The Tennessee Tech Backdoor Playhouse officially closes for renovation. Scheduled to re-open Fall 2017.)

2015-2016 - Sixty-First Season

Autumn 2015-Derryberry Auditorium

Never the Sinner by John Logan

Directed by Mark H. Creter and Joe Clark

Winter 2016-Cookeville Performing Arts Center (CPAC) Backstage.

Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead by Bert V. Royal

Guest Director - Joe Clark

Spring 2016-Dogwood Performance Pavilion

Blood Wedding by Federico Garcia Lorca

Directed by Mark H. Creter

(Nicholas Ryan resigns at end of the season.)

(Jeff Kean joins the theatre program as technical theatre Lecturer/Head of Design)

2016-2017 - Sixty-Second Season
Autumn 2016-Talon Theater
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Abridged by Adam Long, Daniel Singer, and Jess Winfield.

Directed by Mark H. Creter

Winter 2017-Cookeville Performing Arts Center (CPAC) Backstage.
Trifles by Susan Glaspell. Directed by Braden Wahl.

Mud by Marie Irene Fornes. Directed by Joe Clark.

Winter 2017-Derryberry Auditorium
The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler

Guest Director-Prudence Van Aalten

Spring 2017- Derryberry Auditorium

First Date, a Musical Comedy. Book by Austin Winsberg, music and lyrics by Alan Zachary and Michael Weiner.

Directed by Mark H. Creter

Music Direction by Mendy Richards

Choreography by Melissa Moffett

(Renovations continue in the Tennessee Tech Backdoor Playhouse. Completion expected in June 2017.)

(We move back into the all-new Backdoor Playhouse in August 2017)

2017-2018, Sixty-third Season.

Autumn 2017.
Chicago, A Musical Vaudeville

Book by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse, Music by John Kander, Lyrics by Fred Ebb

Directed by Mark Harry Creter, Music Direction by Mendy Richards, Choreography by Jennifer Dotson-Creter

Winter 2018.
The Nether by Jennifer Haley*

Directed by Joseph Clark

Spring 2018.
The 28th Annual Dorothy Printz Pennebaker Memorial Spring Production.

Big Love by Charles Mee*

Directed by Mark Harry Creter

2018-2019 - Sixty-fourth Season

Autumn 2018.

Playing With Fire (after FRANKENSTEIN) by Barbara Field

Directed by Mark Harry Creter

Winter 2019.

Pluto by Steve Yockey

Directed by Joseph Clark

Spring 2019. 

The 29th Annual Dorothy Printz Pennebaker Memorial Spring Production. 

The Rivals by Richard Brinsley Sheridan

Directed by Mark Harry Creter

(Colin Forsyth resigns as Technical Director) 

2019-2020 - Sixty-fifth Season

(James Lyle Alder joins as Facilities Manager and Scene Shop Foreman)

Autumn 2019.

Ruthless! the Musical

Music by Marvin Laird and lyrics by Joel Paley

Directed by Mark Harry Creter, Music Direction by Mendy Richards, Choreography by Megan Randolph

Winter, V-Day 2020.

The Vagina Monologues

by Eve Ensler

Directed by Simone O’Dell

Spring 2020.  

The 30th Annual Dorothy Printz Pennebaker Memorial Spring Production. 

Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde

by Moisés Kaufman

Directed by Mark Harry Creter

(Due to Covid 19 campus closures, Gross Indecency was postponed until Fall 2020.) 

2020-2021 - Sixty-Sixth Season

Autumn 2020.

The 30th Annual Dorothy Printz Pennebaker Memorial Production

Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde by Moisés Kaufman

Directed by Mark Harry Creter

Winter 2021. The Kurt Eisen-Essential Playwright Series.

Hughie by Eugene O’Neill

Directed by Joe Clark 

Spring 2021.  

The 31st Annual Dorothy Printz Pennebaker Memorial Spring Production. 

Failure: A Love Story by Phillip Dawkins

Directed by Mark Harry Creter

(Jeff Kean retires at the end of the Spring 2021 semester. Search for his replacement begins.)

(Robert Cardana joins the University as Lecturer in Technical Theatre and Technical Director/Head of Design for the Backdoor Playhouse)

2021-2022 Sixty Seventh Season 

Autumn 2021

The Fantasticks by Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt

Directed by Mark Harry Creter, Music Direction by Mendy Richards, Choreography by Ella Grace Clopton.

Winter 2022

Wolves by Sarah DeLappe

Directed by Joseph R. Clark 

Spring 2022

The 32nd Annual Dorothy Printz Pennebaker Memorial Spring Production.

Airness by Chelsea Marcantel 

Directed by Mark Harry Creter

 

 

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