The University of Houston School of Theatre has announced that Gregory Boyd, artistic director of Houston's Alley Theatre, will teach a course entitled Introduction to the Theatre in the Spring 1998 semester. It is the first time Boyd will lecture there, joining an already storied faculty including Edward Albee, Stuart Ostrow, and Jose Quintero.

University of Houston School of Theatre director Dr. Sidney Berger proclaimed, "There is a natural marriage between professional theater like the Alley and a conservatory like our own. I've directed at the Alley, our vocal coach has worked there, another of our instructors has choreographed fight scenes there, our scenic professor has designed there.

"The relationship seems natural. And invaluable. For our students, yes. But also for subsequent generations of theatergoers."

The initial response has been nothing short of a rave. Historically, approximately 20 students signed up for the course each time it was offered. With Boyd behind the lectern, nearly 175 have. The overfilled class will be standing-room-only.

Boyd became artistic director of the Alley in 1989; under his vision, the Alley won the 1996 Tony Award for Regional Theatre. Besides directing more than 20 Alley productions, Body has directed the recordings of Jekyll & Hyde and the upcoming The Civil War, which he co-wrote with Frank Wildhorn and Jack Murphy. Boyd has served as Panelist for the National Endowment of the Arts, the Texas Commission on the Arts, and the Massachusetts Council for the Arts. He spent 11 seasons at the Williamstown Theatre Festival as actor and director. And he has taught at Carnegie Mellon University, Williams College, and the University of North Carolina, where he headed the Professional Theatre Training Program.

-- By Peter Szatmary
Texas Correspondent