The Director’s Cut: A conversation with Priscilla Santana, Stage Director for “Curtains”

Temple College Department of Fine Arts takes the main stage of the Mary Alice Marshall Performing Arts Center this Friday and Saturday (March 13-14) with their Spring musical “Curtains”, the Musical Comedy Whodunit.

Tickets are $15 for adults and students are free. Tickets can be purchased at Central Texas Tickets.

Priscilla Santana, the interim Dean of Fine Arts, Co-Director of Temple College Musical Theatre Program and Stage Director for “Curtains”, has directed over 25 musicals in the Central Texas area.

“I chose Curtains because when I consider musicals, I look at what will best highlight our student population. Curtains offers a wide range of roles and opportunities”, Santana said. “I also try to expose students to many different genres within the musical world. So “Curtains”, even though it is contemporary and produced in the 2000’s, the show itself is set in 1959. It is in the golden era of Broadway with big Broadway traditional music.”

With the broad spectrum that the musical covers, it gives the students plenty of exploration of characters, musical numbers, and plot twists.

“It gives our students equal opportunities to have solos, not to concentrate on one person,” Santana said. “It allows students to gain experience in supporting roles with intricate stage work and character relationships. With so many musical and theatre majors, that exposure is invaluable.”

When a modern day production revisits times gone by, the students can become involved with character study and living out the experience on the stage.

“It is fulfilling for the students because of the modern-day element,” Santana said. “With having acting classes with Dr. (Derek) Mudd they engage and study their characters through other courses within their degree pathway. It is enriching to experience styles and roles in different time periods. The students have to really dig in with being a character in the 1950’s as a opposed to being themselves, as a young adult in 2026.”

A show-within-the-show is the premise of “Curtains”.

“Director Belling is a British director. The student who portrays him had to work diligently on the accent,” Santana said. “Also, the director is older and has a more mature presence about him. So, that also changes the dynamics of character presence.”

One little known fact about theatre and musicals: you must have permission to perform the show. Permissions have to be requested, in some cases, a year in advance.

“We had to request permission to perform “Curtains” last summer through Theatrical Rights Worldwide. The whole process can take up to a year,” Santana said. “First, you request musical rights, select a production team, cast the show, contract the musicians, and progress through an intensive production calendar . For the actors in the fall semester, they explore the music first through a preview concert. The character development evolves through character and script analysis work and is then embodied through physical staging.”

David Perez-Guerra, who is the orchestra pit director, has a fascinating role in the musical.

“David has unique role,” Santana said. “He is the music director, pianist, conductor, and has an actor role in the show. He is the character Sasha, the conductor in the show, and he has a solo in the show, so he has the most multitasking complicated role.”

Being a musician in a musical is no easy task. It takes special talent to be able to pair a score and script. The musicians of “Curtains” fit the bill.

“With the musicians, we have been very fortunate to have TC faculty, professional musicians, high school directors in the area, and Texas A&M Central Texas music majors. We are able to give our students the experience of what it is like to play in an orchestra pit.”

Technical lighting and props, when it comes to a period-specific musical, is very important to create the feel of authenticity.

“It takes a unique and detailed team,” Santana said. “We have a company that comes in for lighting design. Our PAC blueprint is designed like a concert hall. So, we do not have the structure of a traditional theatre stage and requires creativity in how we use the space . We have a partnership with another designer that works with the Cultural Arts Center and sets the design. Our technical director, Mr. (Michael) Morris, oversees technical operations . Our Students also have opportunities to participate in backstage production. They are involved in a Theatre Practicum class, which is in correlation with the degree requirements for an AA in Theatre and Musical Theatre. At any given moment, practicum students may submit over 80 hours of additional work towards a production.”

So, what can attendees of “Curtains” expect?

“Attendees can expect a “whodunit” comedic murder-mystery with over-the-top-characters,” Santana said. “You can compare it to something like the game Clue—a show within a show with a ton of funny roles, unexpected plot twists, and entertaining parts.”