Houston, Texas
Robert Singleton became an active Thespian at Balboa High School in the former Panama Canal Zone. He was later elected president of his Thespian troupe. He continued in theatre at the Canal Zone College, only taking a break to study music in southern Germany. After returning to the United States, he picked up his theatre studies at the University of Texas at Austin, earning a B.A. and an M.F.A. in drama education. The High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (HSPVA) in Houston, after noticing his work at Austin’s Anderson High School, recruited him to revamp their theatre program.
He continued at HSPVA with an active Thespian program for the next twenty-seven years. During that time, he also served on the summer theatre faculty of the University of Texas drama department. Now retired, he works on the executive board of the Texas Thespians and serves as a Thespian Festival adjudicator. He also judges play contests throughout Texas.
Mr. Singleton’s honors and awards include the Texas Excellence Award from the University of Texas, Houston Independent School District Teacher of the Year, City of Houston Mayor’s Teacher’s Day Excellency Award, Rotary Club of Houston’s Teacher of the Year, the Founders’ Award from the Texas Educational Theatre Association, and the Texas Thespian Hall of Fame. He is a board member of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards and an award recipient and emeritus member of the Texas Educational Theatre Association. He was honored with a City of Houston Proclamation naming August 10, 2004 (the day of his retirement) Robert M. Singleton Day.
