Just six years ago, Ethan Beam graduated from Tyler Junior College with a theatre degree.
Today, his alma mater is now his workplace — and he’s directing Theatre TJC’s next play, which he also wrote.
“Sir Gawain and the Green Knight,” his original play based on a 1300s poem set in the time of King Arthur, runs 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday, Nov. 13-16, in Jean Browne Theatre on the TJC central campus.
The production also serves as a full-circle moment for Beam, who earned a theatre degree from TJC in 2018.
From the top
Even before he graduated from Bullard High School in 2016, Beam was already sold on TJC as the perfect place to continue his education.
“My parents both graduated from here, so it seemed a natural progression that I would come here, too,” he said. “It made too much sense, in terms of the money and the theatre program.”
Beam was a regular fixture on the TJC stage, often cast leading roles including Bert the chimney sweep in “Mary Poppins,” The Black Stache in “Peter and the Starcatcher,” and Ichabod Crane in “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.”
As a TJC sophomore in 2017, Ethan Beam played the leading role of Ichabod Crane in the Theatre TJC’s production of Washington Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.”
After graduating from TJC in 2018, he continued his theatre studies at Texas Tech in Lubbock.
“It was ridiculous how much TJC prepared me for the next step,” he said. “Traditionally, when you transfer, it can be a bit difficult in the theatre world because they often don’t give transfer students the time of day when auditioning for things. They sometimes feel you need to prove yourself there, even though you’ve just spent two years at another school.”
Beam quickly put any initial misgivings to rest when he was cast in two productions during his first semester at Texas Tech.
“Also, the advisor there who works with TJC knew a lot about the transfer process, so she made it easy on the academic side and gave me great advice on what to expect in their theatre department. Socially, it was a bit difficult to transfer because you’re coming in as a junior. But, in terms of the education and the preparation, it was the easiest thing in the world.”
He graduated from Tech during the pandemic era in 2020, and then moved home to East Texas a year later.
A return engagement
Even as a TJC student, Beam had thoughts of someday returning to TJC as a theatre professor — but a different opportunity arose, and it came faster than expected.
In 2022, he was hired to assist with running TJC’s performing arts facilities, including the Rogers Palmer Performing Arts Center, which houses multiple performance and event spaces, and Jean Browne Theatre. Two years ago, he was promoted to facilities director, which involves managing the schedule for shows and events, running the box office, working with housekeeping and maintenance to keep the facilities in proper order, overseeing full- and part-time workers, and making sure the shows run smoothly.
Bringing ‘Sir Gawain and the Green Knight’ to the stage
It has also given him a chance to occasionally dip his toe back into the performance side of the house.
Last month, Beam starred as The Creature in the theatre department’s production of “Frankenstein,” and now, he’s directing his first TJC mainstage show, “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.”
“I adapted this poem that was written in the 1300s by an unknown poet,” he said. “The original manuscript of the poem was part of a collection that was in a fire that the original ‘Beowulf’ manuscript was singed in. So, this poem survived a fire with ‘Beowulf,’ which is kind of amazing.
Written and directed by Beam, “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” will show 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday, Nov. 13-16, in Jean Browne Theatre on the TJC central campus.
“It’s an Arthurian legend about a giant green knight who enters their hall on Christmas Day and challenges the group of knights to a game. The game is that you can land a strike on his body, with the promise that the Green Knight can return a year later to land the same strike on you. So, you have a year to come to terms with the damage you did to him because you know it will come back to you. So, Sir Gawain takes him up on his offer and he cuts the Green Knight’s head off. The Green Knight reaches down, picks his head up off the floor and basically says, ‘Alright, I’ll be back in a year to cut off your head.’ That is the thrust of the story.”
All of that happens in the first 10 minutes, so there’s much more to the story.
“I’m not revealing a lot of spoilers by saying that,” he said. “To me, what’s most interesting is everything that happens after that — plus the overall lesson. And to find that out, people will have to come and see the show.”
Being the playwright and director has been an exciting new challenge, as has working with his former TJC professors who are now his colleagues.
“When you are a playwright, you are basically giving this part of yourself to a group of people in a really personally way, because you’ve spent all of this time on this project,” he said.
“At first, I was really nervous. There’s some added stress in knowing that other people are trying to help you be successful. This is my first time doing a mainstage production with an actual budget, fully staged, with lighting, sets and costumes, with a team of designers who are asking me questions about what I want. But it feels good.
“That’s the thing about people at TJC: They all want you to do well and be successful. It was that way when I was a student here, and it’s the same today.”
Show times and ticket info
Performances are 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday, Nov. 13-16, in Jean Browne Theatre on the TJC central campus. Due to mature themes, parental discretion is advised.
Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for seniors ages 65 and up, students and active military. The TJC Box Office hours are 3-5:30 p.m. weekdays. To purchase tickets online, go to TJC.UniversityTickets.com. For reservations, call 903-510-2212.
The cast and crew
The cast includes: William Kinsel of Lindale as Gawain; Kayden Loudermilk of Forney as Lord Bertilak; Emily Titlow of Cushing as Lady Bertilak; Jonny Rood of Tyler as Arthur; Abbey Gipson of Tyler as Morgan; Azalea Strouse of Clarksville as Tristan/Player 1; Halle Dunn of Emory as Bors/Player 2; Rey Martin of Forney and Lexi Brines of Troup as Vagabond/Player 3; Eva Hamlett of Whitehouse as Servant/Player 4; and puppeteers, Jay Steven of Forney, Matthew Hogan of Chapel Hill, and Colby Crawford of Emory.
Student crew and production staff: Kate Durbin of Tyler, stage manager; Rey Martin of Athens, understudy/director’s assistant; Bailey Thornburg of Anna, box office; Ash Fisher of Forney, costume master; Sydney Quintana of Forney and Kema Amine of Forney, costume dressers; Tuong Do of Forney, head usher; Lexi Brines of Troup, lighting controls; Chris Johnson of Elkhart, hair and makeup; Kyler Littlejohn of Union Grove, properties master; Josh Ortiz of Long Beach, California, sound board operator; and puppet master, Jay Stevens of Forney.
Faculty production staff: Beam, director and sound design; Jacob L. Davis, scenic/lighting design; Denise Weatherly-Green, costume/makeup design, properties; Katie Weatherly, scenic artist; Ryan Stewart, technical director; Dr. David W. Crawford, theatre management; and Lara K. Smith, theatre department chair.
For more information on upcoming events, or to download the current TJC Cultural Arts publication, go to TJC.edu/CulturalArtsDistrict.