CONWAY, Ark.
(August 12, 2013) – After graduating from Hendrix in 2012, Charles Wallace returned
to his home state of Texas and began working as the production assistant at
Theatre Three, one of the two highly profitable, self-producing theatrical
houses in Dallas.
While working
at Theatre Three, Wallace has found himself being contracted for multiple jobs
and opportunities around the Dallas and Fort Worth area.
“I have designed lights, sets,
props, been a master carpenter, and acted in professional productions,” he said.
“Over the next year, I have been contracted to manage, design, and direct a
handful of professionally-produced shows in Dallas, all of course while
juggling the acting, film, and technical theater classes I teach, the birthday
parties I entertain at, the LA-based caroling company I manage, the Toadies and
Polyphonic Spree music videos and the new sci-fi series I have been cast in,
and my new job as the talent division assistant at Kim Dawson Agency, known as
the most prolific and renown talent agency in the Southwest.”
In addition to his
exposure to directors, producers, designers, and actors like himself, Wallace’s
first feature-length film that he had written premiered at the Texas Theater in
downtown Oak Cliff in the Dallas area this July.
With the
support of Your Hendrix Odyssey: Engaging
in Active Learning, Wallace traveled between Los Angeles and Dallas to
shoot the film he had written over the past year. After scouting locations,
signing contracts, purchasing equipment and hiring actors, Wallace began
filming the movie with a budget just under $23,000.
Titled A Road Trip Story, the film follows four Booker T. Washington High
School theatre students traversing the country in an attempt to save their
recently jailed friend amidst a hectic schedule of submitting a film to a
nationally recognized film festival, attending a bogus talent-search audition,
and breaking up with all their girlfriends.
Looking back on
the premiere night, Wallace says he felt overwhelmed by the amount of support
he received.
“I am very
proud of my work, and I hope to share my story with others in the film festival
circuits,” he said. “Though the film I
premiered at the Texas Theater was not ‘production quality,’ the amount of
heart and truthfulness that came across in the writing, editing, and acting was
enough to instill a relatable and meaningful vibe into my audience.”
“My strengths were in
envisioning and capturing moments on film, but by understanding the underlying
mechanics of a film's deeper meaning, I was able to delve deeper in my writing
and cinematography and make a film that was truly a work of art,” said Wallace,
attributing his strength and training to his background at Hendrix. “I owe all
of this deeper meaning and significance to what I learned in [Hendrix film
studies professor] Dr. Kristi McKim's film classes. It was enough to make my
own creation an appreciated and valued work of art.”
Founded in 1876, Hendrix College is a national leader in
engaged liberal arts and sciences education. For the fifth consecutive year,
Hendrix was named one of the country’s “Up and Coming” liberal arts colleges by
U.S. News and World Report. Hendrix
is featured in the 2012 edition of the Princeton Review as one of the country’s
best 377 colleges, the latest edition of Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change
the Way You Think about Colleges, Forbes magazine's annual
list of America's Top 650 Colleges, and the 2013 edition of the
Fiske Guide to Colleges. Hendrix has been affiliated with the United Methodist
Church since 1884. For more information, visit www.hendrix.edu.