Name: Jack Earl Piland
Age: 21
Classification: Junior
Hometown: Mesquite, TX
Major/Minor: Theatre: Design and Technology focus. Playwriting minor. (This doesn’t exist yet, but should next year.)
Why did you decide to come to McMurry? I personally came to McMurry for the playwriting. My junior year of high school I decided that I would like to start writing plays. I started looking for guidance, and found it in one of my teachers from Poteet High School. He suggested looking into McMurry. That’s where I discovered all the possibilities. They boasted the playwriting class, and the possibilities of getting my works on stage, and so that’s why I decided to go here.
What has been your favorite show /role to be in, thus far? Why? Pseudolus in, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. This was my first lead role, and a great opportunity. It challenged me as an actor, and was fun, despite receiving an injury the final show. (Jack injured his leg two hours before our final performance of Forum, and the show had to be pushed back an hour.)
What show are you looking forward to most this year? The student written plays. Every other year there is an opportunity for the play writing class, taken in the previous year, to see their works on stage. The play I wrote was picked, but I decided to write another, and I’m looking forward to it being performed in the Spring.
What do you like most about theatre? I enjoy writing the most. The control, the creation, the final product. They are all worth it. It is heck to pound out that first copy, but sooner or later it pays off. Actors, directors, costumes, and set change from production to production, but your words and ideas, stay the same, forever echoing in the air above the stage, and in the minds of those who listen… well hopefully. Writing is just a refreshing purge of the emotions for me, and necessary to clear out my head. I love everything. From the writing, to the process of putting it on stage, and the final product.
What do you want to do when you "grow up"? I’d like to continue writing. Mainly for the stage, but hopefully for other things as well. I wouldn’t mind being some kind of resident playwright for a small theatre company somewhere, but that’s a dream. I’d just like to get published sooner or later, and hopefully find some way to get my plays performed on a regular basis.
What other activities are you involved in on campus? I’m involved in the Jazz Band, HEI, F.O.L.C.F, Sigma Tau Delta/English Club. I also started the McM Improv group.
What is your finest achievement so far at McMurry? Winning TETA last year. (The Texas Educational Theatre Association holds a play writing contest, Playfest, for students each year, McMurry has a long standing tradition of producing winning plays.)
Anything useful you would like to share with prospective students? When looking for a college, try and find one that is ripe for opportunity. Just saying, if there is a chance you won’t see the stage until junior year that school probably isn’t right for anyone. We specialize in the generalization of all things in the theatre. You can get on stage before junior year. You can write a play, design the lights, set, or costumes all before senior year. Even direct multiple full length plays. We may not be a gigantic department, but we put out just as many productions of equal or better quality then larger schools.
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