Texas Tech University

WildWind Performance Lab

Students participating in WildWind Performance Lab (WWPL) are immersed in a non-traditional and process-oriented developmental laboratory, dissecting the art of theatre by questioning the how rather than concentrating on the what, the product. Students are offered the opportunity to experiment with all facets of the theatrical process, while concentrating on networking, play development, and contemporary design and performance methodologies.

Students' theatrical skills are challenged and developed in their primary discipline as well as across the entire theatrical spectrum. Students learn from guest artists who work not only as actors, directors, or designers, but as theatrical ambassadors, entrepreneurs, and storytellers. The guest artists help develop a student's aesthetic integrity, demonstrating the best in contemporary technique.

Most academic theatre productions are based on a four-to-six-week process, ultimately resulting in a final product: the play itself. WildWind, however, teaches exploration: myriad reactions to material, form, idea, and technique. In a unique environment, students learn the process and language of play development, using texts both from TTU students and professional playwrights.

Each summer, WildWind invites guest artists to campus who not only share their professional journeys, but also serve as mentors and, in some cases, future employers. Students learn how best to network, collaborate, and create ensemble in a variety of workshops from design to performance to dramaturgy. TTU has invited students from the Hong Kong Performing Arts Academy, as well as those who have earned national distinction from the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival.

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2023 GUEST ARTISTS

Brian Quijada
Actor | Playwright | Composer

Jim Wren
UNC-Greensboro

Wai Yim
Actor | Director | Choreographer | Playwright

Stefanie Senior
Sound Designer

Vandy Wood
Visual Artist | Theatrical Designer

Eric Lee Tysinger
Stage Manager | Production Manager | Producer

Nadja Leonhard-Hooper
Playwright | Performer

Stephanie Kyung Sun Walters
Playwright

Idris Goodwin
Scriptwriter | Breakbeat Poet | Filmmaker

Matt Dickson
Director

Robin Gee
Dancer | Choreographer | Filmmaker