SMU alumnus Jeffrey Colangelo (BFA ’13) stands as a testament to the quality of both Meadows arts degrees and the Dallas art scene.
“The SMU Meadows program provided me with a number of awesome resources that I definitely attribute to me being the artist I am today,” said Colangelo.
He cites the help of his teachers, connections with artists who challenged him to hone his artistic lens and the funding and support Meadows fosters for collaboration across the artistic disciplines as a few of those resources.
Colangelo also participated in “countless” SMU Student Theatre (SMUST) productions.
“I believe the SMU student theatre program is probably the most incredible and vibrant part of the Theatre program at SMU,” he said.
SMUST provides students with funds, space and production services to enable them to put up their own work, be it a published script or an original piece.
For Colangelo, it provided a place for him to develop new experimental work and be able to fail completely, “without serious repercussions.”
This freedom allowed him to develop his own particular brand of fight choreography, for which he has been sought after in the Dallas area.
He has served as fight director at the Dallas Theater Center (Oedipus el Ray, Sherlock Holmes, Les Miserables), Second Thought Theatre (Booth), Cara Mía Theatre company (Romeo and Julieta, Magic Rainforest),and Theatre Three (So Help Me God!), to name a few.
In addition to his work at established companies, Colangelo is also building up his own theatre company, Prism Co., which he co-founded at SMU with current student Katy Tye (BFA ‘15). The company’s recent production Galatea was well-received at the Green Warehouse in Trinity Groves this spring.
“The story unfolds in delightful, surprising and fantastical ways,” read one review of the revival. “Here’s why you need to make plans to see it ASAP.”
Galatea was developed while Colangelo was a senior at SMU, and it was originally performed in the Greer Garson Theater.
In the future, look forward to Prism Co. projects that explore shadows and sand. Next year, the company plans to revive its very first show and its namesake, Prism, which also started as a SMUST production.
Colangelo said he would love to see more Meadows graduates staying in Dallas and contributing to the city’s art scene.
“I want to see more people find ways to make a living doing what they’ve gone to school for, and I think the best way to do that is to remain connected and help each other,” he said. He attributes much of his success to the connections he made while in school in Dallas.
Colangelo said Dallas needs “a willingness to learn and to grow and develop the native talent here rather than outsourcing.” He believes that his education at SMU and the connections he made in school have allowed him to be consistently employed since graduating last spring.
“When I graduated last year, I promised myself that I would only stay in Dallas as long as I had enough work to justify my staying. I am happy to say that I am most definitely planning on staying in Dallas,” he said.
