Visual and Performing Arts senior Megan Lemonds found the perfect place to thrive in the Bass School’s theatre program.
Lemonds, a graduating senior and seasoned UTD theatre veteran, is going out with a bang by playing the lead in HEATHERS: THE MUSICAL.
“It’s been my favorite musical since I was 13,” Lemonds said. “So this has been my dream role since I was 13.”
HEATHERS, a dark comedy musical based on the book, music and lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe and Kevin Murphy, is a gripping tale of teenage love, betrayal, and revenge. For HEATHERS, Lemonds steps into the shoes of Veronica Sawyer, a 17-year-old trying to get by in a high school filled with bullies, cliques, and the occasional murder.
Since joining the University in the fall of 2021, Lemonds has played a role in almost every UTD production. She was an assistant stage manager in First Date: The Musical, played Extraordinary Girl in American Idiot, Officer in Dream Play, Maude in Winsor & Gertie, and Katherine in Newsies.
“I joined like the kids’ choir at my elementary school when I was six, and they were like, ‘You should audition for the musical!'” she said. “I did, and I got bitten by the theater bug.”
At the Bass School, Lemonds is pursuing a BA in Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) with a concentration in theatre. Before joining UT Dallas, she studied theater at a university in Pennsylvania. She says she found freedom here that allowed her to explore various aspects of theater that would have been difficult to experience in a different program.
“I didn’t have to audition for the VPA program itself, so from the start, there are fewer barriers,” she said. “I’ve gotten so much experience in tech and performing arts and learning about visual arts through my classes too, which I probably wouldn’t have been able to do if I had chosen a BFA musical theater somewhere else.”
While HEATHERS was the last UTD Theatre production this fall, Lemonds has one final act ready for UTD theatergoers before walking across the stage.
As part of her capstone project, she’s directing a theatrical production of Stop Kiss by Diana Son in the Downtown Plano’s Cox Playhouse on December 12 at 6 p.m. This production will be Lemonds directorial debut.
“I learned to direct by watching hands-on several different directors and they’re vastly different directing styles, and I’ve taken little bits and pieces from each director and inspiration from their styles and made it my own,” she said. “I chose it because I wanted to do a show that tells a queer story told by queer actors and told by a queer director.”
UTD Theatre hosted seven HEATHERS shows from Oct. 24 to Nov 2.
“Our cast is phenomenal, extremely talented,” Lemonds said. “Our set is beautiful. The singing is gorgeous. And we’re going to have a live band perform. The choreography is astounding. A professional costumer does costumes. It’s all going to look like it’s from the 80s. And yeah, the projections and lights and sound design are all outstanding.”
After graduating, Lemonds aspires to work at an equity theater in Dallas, Fort Worth, and do a national tour of a musical. Above every role, she cherishes the friendships and connections she made at UT Dallas.
“I definitely take a lot of time off work when I know I’m going to be in a more demanding show and try to get ahead on my classes before rehearsals start,” she said. “Even though it can be stressful, it’s doable. You might make your lifelong best friends like I did here. You might make big networking connections here and you never know who might see your show and pick you for a production.”
###