Archives
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
