Texas City, Texas — H. Russ Brown, Head of Theatre/Artistic Director at College of the Mainland was recently honored as Best Fight Director in the 2019 Houston Press Theatre Awards for his fight choreography on the Alley Theatre’s recent hit production of The Three Musketeers.
In announcing the award, the Houston Press said “Of course, we expected sword fights in the Alley Theatre’s production of The Three Musketeers, but no one was prepared for how darn thrilling they were. Challenging for the actors, complex in style, H. Russ Brown’s fight direction looked dangerous and beautiful all at the same time. A kind of potentially deadly sword ballet. Often involving several participants and choreographed to the second, Brown’s sequences were a workout for not only the actors, but the audience as well, our hearts thumping wildly with every en garde and our applause exploding as each battle came to an end.” As a Theatre major myself, albeit from the dark ages, I can attest to the struggle students have getting time onstage, playing age appropriate parts, getting access to actual scene building, lighting design, costume design, etc. It is always a struggle and while the professors assure you that the “competition” for attention is great preparation for “the real world”, time with experienced actors,
directors, designers and time onstage to really ACT in front of an audience is irreplaceable for those pursuing a career in theatre arts. And yes, there are lots of career paths that pay well. “We teach three values critical to choosing a career in theatre – Artistry, Professionalism and Service.” H. tells me. H.Russ Brown, Head of Theatre/Artistic Director and Assistant Professor of Theatre at College of The Mainland is a fascinating character and has built a Theatre Department from one single student – who graduated, went on to receive his Bachelor of Arts and is looking forward to his first teaching job – to right at 45 students majoring in Theatre Arts. And it did it mostly through outreach. Personally visiting area schools and offering himself as well as the Community Theatre tools of the trade, he built a strong relationship with the staff and the students, attracting them to COM where they would be able to audition for parts straight out of the gate; age appropriate parts to be clear, and actually take part in all the many aspects of theatre, from stage design to lighting, front of house to
costumes – even taking a show on the road so to speak with live vintage radio productions – Have Mic Will Travel! Most of the students now studying at COM are the result of Brown’s outreach. He arrived from Chicago about three years ago. A native Texan, married to another native Texas, when the opportunity arose, they felt it was a “meant to be” and so they came, soon to be followed by another firebrand, one Warren Nichols. Both got down to business immediately upon arrival and now Brown is looking forward to a Bond that when passed, will provide his department with room for many more talented artists, actual classrooms in which to teach and so very much more that will allow for a phenomenal physical space to complement the phenomenal program he and his cohorts, Amanda Bezemek and Curt Meyer who bring a wealth of talent, expertise and individual attention to the table. Of course, a mind like H.Russ Brown does not sit idly by so plans for the passing of the Bond include adding additional staff as well as many more opportunities for stage time and more intensive study in a variety of areas like stage movement and voice. Already students benefit from the stage combat certification classes. Brown, as a member of the Society of American Fight Directors, is able to offer certification in three separate types of weapons as well as firearms. Not only does this broaden the students expertise but “the training makes them much better physical actors”. Competing against other schools in the area has been challenging but the fact that the area has numerous well-rounded theatre artists that come in to play the more mature roles as well as the guest directors that come from as far away as Chicago, gives these students opportunities to work with a diverse group of talents – learning from their fellow
actors – and even aspiring directors get the chance to works as assistant directors learning from some of the best in the business.
H. Russ Brown is a nationally recognized and award-winning theatre artist/educator who has worked at theatres, colleges and universities across the country for the past 30 years. He holds a Master of Fine Arts degree in acting from Western Illinois University and is a Certified Teacher
with the Society of American Fight Directors. His areas of expertise are acting, directing, voice/dialects, stage movement, playwriting, children’s theatre and stage combat. His former students have gone on to perform in numerous Broadway productions, the movie/television industry and in performance venues across the globe. Brown continues the
tradition of professional excellence on the COM Community Theatre stage.
