One alumna is living the dream of any young actress—living and working in New York City with a recurring role on a hit television show.

Roberta Colindrez plays Tako on HBO’s series Girls. Tako is friends with the protagonist Hannah Horvath’s boyfriend Adam. She first meets Hannah in a bar and accidently outs Adam as a member of Alcoholics Anonymous.

Before she found her place on television, Colindrez was a Texas State undergraduate trying to figure out what to do with her life. She originally came to Texas State as a double major in sociology and theatre, hoping to transfer to UT and then an Ivy League school.

During the first few months she had a rough time with the style-specific acting classes.

“The acting styles just felt unnatural to me, and I have a hard time compromising what I value for just a grade,” Colindrez said. “Laura Lane’s interest in me, my main professor, is what kept me here.”

Check out the final results from Election Day 2012

Lloyd Doggett supporters breathed sighs of relief in Austin Tuesday night, while Susan Narvaiz was consoled with hugs in San Marcos.

James Barnes consoles Susan Narvaiz Nov. 6 at the San Marcos Conference Center.

Doggett, long-time District 25 congressman, defeated former San Marcos mayor Narvaiz in the race for the newly drawn District 35. The district spans from San Antonio to Austin and had 20,794 constituents cast their vote in Hays, Travis, Comal and Guadalupe counties.

Doggett took 56 percent of the vote with 11,651 votes, and Narvaiz trailed with 39.5 percent and 8,218 votes.

A diversity of ideas will converge on  Nov. 7 when playwright Del Shores comes to campus to participate in the philosophy dialogue series.

The dialogue event will take place  at 2 p.m. in Derrick 111. Shores will touch on the theater industry, his LGBTQ activism and anything else students bring up.

Shores is most known for his play, Sordid Lives, which tells of a family's trials after the matriarch's death. Over the years his play has been turned into a TV show and movie.

“We wanted him for the theater students because he covers the creative entertainment spectrum,” honors and theater professor John Hood said. “He is a performer, writer, producer; he is a professional.”

The play also reflects his life growing up homosexual is a small, conservative Texas town. His experiences growing up in that situation led to his activism in the LGBTQ community, and attracted universal human rights professor Catherine Hawkins.

A small collection of acting students will bring a story about love, tragedy and serious afflictions to the PSH Foundation Studio Theatre this November.

“Gruesome Playground Injuries” chronicles the relationship of Kayleen and Doug, whose interactions always seem to be tagged with a serious injury.

Each new injury builds off the last. As they get older, Kayleen goes into a coma, while Doug ends up electrocuting himself.

Director Julian Verner said while the set and script circle around the characters’ injuries, the physical events aren’t the focus of the story.

“This play seems like a red herring in a way,” Verner said. “They grow up, fall in and out of love together. It is more about the milestones, love and friendship shared by Kayleen and Doug.”

The play presents a dark sense of humor, Verner said. The characters go five to 10 years without any contact, only to see each other in a hospital or life-threatening event.

After a long road of commissions and odd jobs, Thomas Schneider found his calling.

Schneider, lecturer in the School of Art and Design, found his passion for teaching art after bouncing from major to major during college and working in the film industry.

A run of sculpting commissions led to his landing a job on a movie set. He sculpted scenes for “The Dark Knight,” “The Bourne Legacy” and “True Grit.”

Schneider decided to move into teaching after working in the movie industry for five years.
“I’ve always been drawn to teaching,” Schneider said. “I like helping people and seeing that spark when a student gets a great idea.”

Instead of trying to “fit in” with her work, one alumna strayed from the norm, following her interests and letting her voice shine through in her experimental poetry.

Michelle Detorie, Texas State alumna, has published a selection of her poem collection titled “Fur Birds.”

Michelle Detorie has been working on a collection of poems called “Fur Birds,” a portion of which was recently published. Her journey to becoming a poet began at Texas State.

“I was more interested in stories, but then I saw how you could play with words in poetry,” Detorie said. “I had the freedom of how to use the page and language to affect the reader in a certain way.”

English majors, history buffs and book lovers gathered to hear journalist and author S.C. Gwynne read excerpts from his latest book Friday at the Katherine Anne Porter House.

S.C. Gwynne, award-winning journalist and author, reads selections from his latest book, “Empire of the Summer Moon.” The book outlines the rise and fall of the Comanche tribe throughout history.

Gwynne’s book, “Empire of the Summer Moon,” takes an in-depth look at Comanche history and culture.

Gwynne, who has written for the New York Times, TIME magazine, Texas Monthly and other publications, said he approached this book like an article for publication.

Texas State will get a blast from the past when students perform the big band music of the 1920s Monday.

Martin McCain, assistant professor with the School of Music, directs the Jazz Lab Band Oct. 17 in preparation for Monday’s performance.

The School of Music’s Ensemble Series will present the Jazz Lab Band on Oct. 22 in Evans Auditorium at 7:30 p.m.

The Jazz Lab Band is one of three jazz ensemble classes in the School of Music. Students will be performing in the first of two concerts for the class. Professor Martin McCain, who has instructed the course for three years, will direct it.

Animals of all shapes and sizes turned out for the annual Pet Fest Oct. 6 in the San Marcos Plaza Park.

Pet Fest is an annual event created by Prevent A Litter. It serves to educate people and help them take care of their pets. The event started in the early morning with a 5K run/walk.
Participants ran along the river trails with their dogs, and there were Fun Runs for families and younger pet owners. At the end of the race, the winning dogs and their owners received awards.