John Hood, Artistic Director of Troupe Texas, has pursued a long and diverse career in theatre and performing arts production. After earning his MFA in Drama from Yale University in 1961, he served as Vice-President and Senior Consultant with George C. Izenour Associates, an international design and technology consulting firm, until he returned to the Yale School of Drama to become Professor of Technical Design and Production. At Yale, he also served as Production Coordinator for the Yale Repertory Theatre and as Director of the Electro-me
chanical Research Laboratory.
In 1978, he co-founded, with Bill Warfel,
Systems Design Associates, a leading international performing arts facilities and equipment consulting firm with project management and technical design credits for major projects such as the MIT Advanced Media Research and Development Laboratory and the US Naval Academy Multi-purpose Arena (Eisenhower Hall).
Moving to Texas in 1980, he served as Head of Design and Technology at the UT Department of Theatre and Director of Productions at the UT Performing Arts Center, which involved executive producer responsibilities for opera, dance, music, and drama presentations (approximately 50 full productions and over 400 events per year) in eight performance venues. While at UT, he created and produced
at-random theatre, which developed thirty to forty drama, dance, and musical student-produced projects each year; this series is now a student-driven effort in the Theatre and Dance Department at Texas State University-San Marcos.
In 1992, he left UT to concentrate on publishing, producing, and consulting projects. He has provided development consultation on stage, television, film, and recording projects, has published two music-oriented periodicals, and now serves as executive producer for Mozo City Music recording projects.
He is currently on the boards of two non-profit organizations: The Performing Arts Foundation, which provides management assistance to emerging performers and arts organizations; and the Tri-M Foundation, a performing arts educational and support organization. He previously served as president of The ISPAA Foundation, an international performing arts management organization; the Capitol City Playhouse, an Equity theatre that produced in Austin; and the Central Texas Bluegrass Association, a music promotion organization. He has served on many other non-profit boards, including Tongue and Groove Theatre, the Institute for Performance Innovation, the Oregon Contemporary Theatre, Huron Corporation for the Performing Arts, and the Richmond Festival Theatre.
Although officially retired, he returned to teaching at Texas State University - San Marcos in 2001. A faculty member in the University Honors Program, he also teaches in University College, and the Theatre Department and serves as advisor and mentor to Texas State students who compete for international scholarships and fellowships. His teaching ranges from Shakespeare, to Storytelling to Writing for the Stage and Screen. As an educator for nearly fifty years, he has trained many of the leaders in the for-profit and non-profit performing arts and entertainment industries, and is still an active mentor to young professionals. Spanning education and professional practice, his experience and expertise include producing, design and production management, intellectual property rights, performance facilities design and construction, professional training and course development, non-profit management and marketing, publishing and writing, and computer applications in data bases, budgeting, and scheduling.
In addition to his theatre work, he has been an active musician on cello and bass; he has served as bassist for several Austin performing groups, and is the co-founder of
Hard to Make a Living, an Austin based ensemble that performs swing, traditional jazz, Western swing, and bluegrass music. He was the founder and writer for
Fredericksburg Saturday Night, a live radio performance series of American roots music, and
Bluegrass in the Schools a music instructional series for K-12 students. In addition to teaching, directing, and consulting, he occasionally performs character roles befitting his increasingly mature age.
Living in Lockhart, TX, he is currently restoring a 1930s era home.
Contact John at
john.hood@troupetexas.org