THE NEXT KEITH: ACTING STUDENT CONTEMPLATES HIS FUTURE Not every student could say their first exposure to theatre began with their family detained at the Canadian border. But a visa dispute resulted in a young Keith Machekanyanga being torn from his mother, father, and sister at the northern border and placed into foster care. Where a normal family would be devastated, the Machekanyangas knew to always look ahead. “Even in handcuffs, my father was optimistic,” says Machekanyanga. “He knew he would get past it.” In the thickest of all silver linings, this unfortunate moment was the inciting incident for his future love of acting. His temporary foster mother and father were theatre buffs, and provided Machekanyanga with his first stage experience by taking him to Shakespeare in the Park. “It made me forget for a moment the situation I was in and enjoy the here and now.” Emigrating from Zimbabwe when he was five years old, Machekanyanga grew up in Grand Prairie, Texas, a suburb of Dallas/Fort Worth. As a high school student, he juggled a number of extracurriculars, often dividing his time between football, wrestling, soccer, and theatre. His first role was as Duane in Hairspray, and eventually his life in theatre bled into other activities, and his coach made him choose between football and theatre. “I didn’t have to think twice about it,” says Machekanyanga. He chose the stage and hasn’t looked back.
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LOST AND FOUND: HOW DANCE BECAME A STUDENT’S TRUE CALLING
Machekanyanga’s introduction to the UT Department of Theatre and Dance came through an ambassador: acting instructor Jim Daniels. Machekanyanga was at an open college audition when he passed by the UT booth. “Jim came up and put his arm around me,” he says. “From that moment, UT was number one on my list. It had a good vibe.”
The more Erica Saucedo lost herself in dance, the more she found it was the right fit. An Austin native, Saucedo was eager to use her college experience to live in a new city. But the allure of UT was too much to overcome. “I realized that the promise of a mental and physical diet of top-tier academics and rigorous dance training was too enticing to ignore,” she says.
Now a first-year student in the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting program, Machekanyanga hopes to use this opportunity to its full potential. He has spent his spring semester in three shows, but it isn’t just the numerous performance opportunities that keep him here. “I’m really excited about what I will learn,” he says. “People sometimes tell me that I will be the next Denzel or the next Morgan. But I want to be the next Keith.”
“During my freshman year, I was introduced to the notion that my dancer self did not have to be separated from my student self,” she says. “Such thinking enabled me to not only follow my passion, but to cherish each moment of my life in dance.”
Through Theatre and Dance’s Texas Talent sponsors Marc and Carolyn Seriff, Machekanyanga was able to receive scholarship funds to help his student experience. “It definitely eases some of the financial pressures of going to college, helping me with the cost of food, books, and other aspects of life at UT.” Texas Talent allows UT Theatre and Dance to entice high-caliber talent such as Machekanyanga, providing another strong reason to be a Longhorn. Even after his renaissance life so far and dreams for the future, he returns to his foster home experience. Some might be filled with ‘what-ifs’ and regret, but he is contemplative. “As unfortunate the situation was, I was thankful to experience it because it introduced me to theatre.” Machekanyanga says. “Otherwise I might be doing something else.”
Saucedo’s rigorous training exposed her to the renowned work of such nationally recognized choreographers as Ohad Naharin, Paul Taylor, and David Parsons, as well as UT’s talented faculty members David Justin and Charles O. Anderson. During her first concert dance piece, “Rite,” Saucedo had a difficult rehearsal process due to emotional and physical strain. “Charles Anderson, the choreographer, was asking me to strip away any sort of presentational dance movements and expressions,” she told The Daily Texan in the March 5, 2014 issue.” I’d been raised in the competition dance world, where we’re taught to show off all our tricks all at once to impress the audience.” Keith Machekanyanga
It wasn’t until she could strip away these practiced techniques that she could truly lose herself in the movement. She used this knowledge and passion in all of her work in the dance program. Now in her senior year, Saucedo culminates her UT experience with a choreographed piece of her own, “White Noise (RGB),” part of Dance Repertory Theatre’s spring 2014 concert Kinesthetic Imperative. Presented alongside the work of renowned choreographers Merce Cunningham and Millicent Johnnie, “White Noise (RGB)” is a vibrant and colorful piece accompanied by an original electronic score from composer Walter Nichols. “I am tremendously thankful for my research and learning inside the classroom,” Saucedo says, “and I am increasingly humbled by the opportunities The University of Texas at Austin has provided me.” Through generous donor contributions, Saucedo was able to receive three merit-based scholarships to continue her work and education at UT, most recently through the Leon Danielian Endowed Presidential Scholarship in Dance. The Department of Theatre and Dance hopes to support dance even further with the creation of the Dancers’ Circle, a program that allows members to invest in UT’s talented young dancers by directly funding undergraduate scholarships. As Saucedo’s experience at UT has allowed her to find and lose herself in dance, she is eager to pursue a full-time dance career. Armed with an education both academic and visceral, she has the best opportunity to pursue her passion with the skills and knowledge provided to her by UT’s dance program. Erica Saucedo ENCORE SPRING 2014
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