Notable Alumni

Kathleen Gardin '17 earned a Bachelor of Arts in theatre at SFA. She graduated with a Master of Fine Arts in costume design from Ohio University. She has worked professionally with companies like the Glimmerglass Festival, Crossroads Repertory Theatre, Texas Shakespeare Festival, and the Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theatre.

Daniel Miller '16 earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts in performance with a concentration in acting and directing. He also has studied European theatre arts at Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance in London and the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre in Tallinn, Estonia.

Miller has toured internationally with "Legally Blonde the Musical" and performed in "Jersey Boys" on the Norwegian Cruise Lines with the Original Broadway creative team and direction.

He has performed regionally with Quintessence Theatre Group, Ivoryton Playhouse, The Palace Theatre, Arizona Broadway Theatre, Thingamajig Theatre Company, AD Players and the Texas Shakespeare Festival. 

Now a dance teacher at the Gus Giordano Dance School in Chicago, Cara Shear '16 says Chicago wasn’t on her radar until SFA dance program professors and the connections she made through the university’s guest artist series helped her get a scholarship to attend the Gus Legacy College/Pro Intensive the summer before her senior year.

“In my first class as a freshman, my professor told me I would be a modern dancer,” Shear said. “My previous dance training included ballet for 14 years and high school drill team for three years. I had no previous modern dance training. Fast-forward four years after graduation, and I am the main modern dance teacher at Gus Giordano.

“Receiving my degree from SFA in dance with a concentration in choreography and performance opened a world of opportunities! The program taught me valuable lessons through one-of-a-kind experiences and connections I will always cherish.”

Mai Le '13 has acted in many productions in Houston, including at the Alley Theatre, Stages and Main Street. She was featured in Houston Press' article, “Houston's Up and Coming Actors 2019: Razzle, Dazzle and a Whole Lot More.” In 2020, she was the host for Space Center Houston's Explorer Camp TV, a show dedicated to science and space exploration learning.

She is the co-writer for “Song of Me,” an original play about Vietnamese cooking, tradition and growing up in Houston, which premiered at Stages in 2022. She is a voice actor for Sentai Filmworks and also has been seen in national and web commercials for companies including PODS: Moving & Storage, Upwork, Starbucks and Amazon.

Thomas Brazzle '08 is an actor, writer and director based in Atlanta, GA. He got his start training in child television and commercial performance at KD Studios in Dallas. After spending time studying abroad in London and Barcelona, Thomas returned to the US to focus on creating new work and working in regional theatre and film.

He has performed at The Guthrie in Minneapolis, Shakespeare and Company, Connecticut Rep, The Alley and many other regional theaters and has appeared in multiple national commercials and network shows.

He also produces, writes and directs films and new works with his production company Whet Ink, focusing passionately on telling stories from the perspective of marginalized individuals.

Arrica Lagsding fell in love with dancing at the age of 3 and now spends her time spreading that passion to her students at Studio 6a Dance Academy in Plano. While at SFA, she studied dance and English and joined the SFA Repertory Dance Company, giving her the freedom to explore different types of dance and helping her cultivate a new appreciation for the art. Lagsding offers lessons for students of all skill levels at her studio and strives to create a welcoming environment for students of all ages.

Fall 2018 Sawdust Magazine feature story

Kent Barrett '04 is a multi-disciplinary theatrical designer and artist who has developed a wide-ranging body of work and established a national and international presence on the performance scene.

He serves as an associate professor at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, teaching theatrical design and new technology. Barrett is a former company member with The Wooster Group, an NEA Grant recipient and instructor at MIT.

A prolific technologist, his work has been seen at across the world, with national venues including The Park Avenue Armory, Harlem Stage, La MaMa, Signature, The Public, The Brooklyn Lyceum and Lincoln Center.

In addition to his work in theater, dance and performance, Barrett also has collaborated widely on independent films, art installations and with architectural lighting firms. He is one of the founding members and Co-Artistic Directors of Valley Traction Arts Collective, an experimental performance group creating work in, for, and about the Cumberland Valley in Pennsylvania.

Richard Robichaux '96 has been seen in the films:

• "Boyhood," which was nominated for six Academy Awards and won the Golden Globe for Best Picture
• "The Book of Love," with Jason Sudeikis and Jessica Biel with all original music by Justin Timberlake
• "Bernie," opposite Shirley MacLaine, Jack Black and Matthew McConaughey
• "Ocean's 8"
• "Where’d You Go Bernadette?” with Cate Blanchett, marking Robichaux’s fourth film with award-winning director Richard Linklater.

He also has extensive television credits, including "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" and the ABC comedy "Speechless."

Fall 2017 Sawdust Magazine Feature Story

Originally from Galveston, Chele Ware '83 went on to live and work in New York City a few years after graduating from SFA. She has worked as a lighting designer for Brooklyn’s Spoke the Hub Dancing and the Gowanus Arts Building as well as individual choreographers.

Ware also was an electrician for off-Broadway and on-Broadway performances and has been a member of Local One, a NYC union of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, since 1996.

Since the late nineties, she has worked in television as prop crew and most notably as property master for "The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon." Other shows include "All My Children", "Saturday Night Live", "Late Night with Seth Meyers" and "Good Morning America."

Ware also holds a Master of Arts in forensic psychology from John Jay College of The City University of New York.

Spring 2017 Sawdust Magazine Feature Story

Born and raised on a cotton and cattle farm in West Texas, Brad Maule '74 earned his BFA in theatre at SFA. After graduating cum laude, he spent thirty years in Los Angeles as a professional actor and recording artist.

In addition to co-hosting and guest appearances on popular talk shows of the day, including "Regis and Kathy Lee", "Merv Griffin", "Mike Douglas", "Nashville Now", "Ralph Emory", "Montel Williams", "Oprah Winfrey", "ABC's The Home Show", "Tammy Faye and Jim J. Bullock", "Sally Jesse Raphael" and "Phil Donahue", Maule's accolades include:

• twenty-two years on ABC Television's soap opera, "General Hospital" in the role of Dr. Tony Jones
• two nominations for Daytime Emmys
• three albums of country music
• numerous guest-starring roles on television and film:
  • "Charlie's Angels"
  • "Three's Company"
  • "The White Shadow"
  • "Too Close for Comfort"
  • "The Young and the Restless"
  • "Malibu"
  • "Too Soon for Jeff"
  • "Last Married Couple in America"
  • "SOB"
  • and "7th Heaven".

For the past seventeen years, Maule also has served as a lecturer in film and acting at SFA, is on the board of "The Friends of Historic Nacogdoches", "The SFA Fine Arts Dean's Circle" and "The Historic Landmark Preservation Board" and is a member of "The Sons of the Republic of Texas".

After serving in the US Army for three years, Tom Littrell worked at Showco in Dallas, providing large-scale lighting and sound systems to rock tours. He was offered a lighting technician position on Paul McCartney's "Wings over America" 1976 tour, leading to tours with Led Zeppelin, the Who, Gensis, Linda Ronstadt and more.

He participated in the development and creation of the first modern-day moving lights, automated moving fixtures call Vari-Lites, touring with Genesis and the first Vari-Lite system in 1981. During this tour, he programmed the lights for the tour and operated the console. Littrell continued working with Vari-Lite for twenty years, also touring with artists that included Hall and Oates, David Bowie, ZZ Top and Don Henley.

Littrell continued working in lighting as a manager and outreach and training specialist until his retirement in 2020. He continues to be active in both community and professional theatre as a lighting designer for many area theatre groups, including Forward Theatre, Four Seasons Theatre, Children's Theatre of Madison, Theatre LILA, University Theatre UW-Madison, Madison Theatre Guild, Music Theatre of Madison, Strollers Theatre, Mercury Players, Stage Q, Stoughton Village Players, In Tandem Theatre and The World's Stage Theatre Company.

He is on the board of Four Seasons Theatre and a member of the Technical Committee for the Bartell Theatre venue in downtown Madison.

Littrell received the Distinguished Alumnus honor by the SFA School of Theatre and Dance in 2011.