Bill Text: TX HR660 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: In memory of Sarah Frances McMullan, founder of the Lamp-Lite Theatre in Nacogdoches.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2023-03-30 - Reported enrolled [HR660 Detail]
Download: Texas-2023-HR660-Enrolled.html
H.R. No. 660 |
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WHEREAS, Members of the East Texas theater community were | ||
profoundly saddened by the passing of Sarah Frances McMullan on | ||
November 15, 2022, at the age of 89; and | ||
WHEREAS, The daughter of Thelma and Milton McMullan, Sarah | ||
McMullan was born in Newton, Mississippi, on May 5, 1933; she made | ||
her first appearance on stage in a Christmas play at the age of | ||
five, and her career path was set; while still in high school, she | ||
began directing, and after studying theater at Mary Baldwin | ||
College, she went on to earn a bachelor's degree in the subject from | ||
the University of Mississippi; she founded the Hattiesburg Little | ||
Theatre and served as arts/entertainment editor of the Hattiesburg | ||
American before settling in Nacogdoches; and | ||
WHEREAS, In 1971, Ms. McMullan launched a theater company in | ||
the parish hall of Christ Episcopal Church, where she had been | ||
teaching young children; the Lamp-Lite Theatre soon moved to the | ||
City Spirit Arts Center in a former warehouse, but the site was | ||
flood-prone; offered a land lease by the city, the troupe and its | ||
supporters helped disassemble the warehouse and rebuilt it at the | ||
present-day location; Ms. McMullan's five children, Frank, Amanda, | ||
Annabel, Melanie, and Paul, assisted in this project; and | ||
WHEREAS, Ms. McMullan directed more than 320 productions for | ||
the Lamp-Lite Theatre, and her resourcefulness kept it flourishing | ||
for over a half century; gracious, kind, and frank, she served as a | ||
mentor to many, pushing veteran actors to do their best while | ||
recognizing sparks of talent in the inexperienced and offering them | ||
opportunities to learn; at her urging, historian Bobby Johnson | ||
assembled interviews into plays, resulting in two Lamp-Lite debuts, | ||
A Texas Tragedy and Voices of East Texas, that earned recognition | ||
from the Theatre Network of Texas; she traveled to New York City | ||
regularly to scout new works and brought On Golden Pond and Crimes | ||
of the Heart to East Texas playgoers before they were adapted as | ||
movies; over the years, she acted in a number of productions and | ||
performed in summer stock at the Southern Playhouse; she was also a | ||
guest director for the Stephen F. Austin University Summer | ||
Repertory Theatre program and directed Nacogdoches: Gateway to | ||
Texas in the city's sesquicentennial celebration; and | ||
WHEREAS, Through her vision, leadership, and love of the | ||
theater, Sarah McMullan contributed enormously to the vibrancy of | ||
the arts scene in Nacogdoches, and those she left behind will | ||
forever remember her with admiration and affection; now, therefore, | ||
be it | ||
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 88th Texas | ||
Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of Sarah Frances | ||
McMullan and extend sincere condolences to all who mourn her | ||
passing; and, be it further | ||
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be | ||
prepared for her family and that when the Texas House of | ||
Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Sarah | ||
McMullan. | ||
Clardy | ||
______________________________ | ||
Speaker of the House | ||
I certify that H.R. No. 660 was unanimously adopted by a | ||
rising vote of the House on March 30, 2023. | ||
______________________________ | ||
Chief Clerk of the House | ||