birth_date: 1943-09-24 00:00:00
avg_rating: 3.66
name: Martha Humphreys
about: Martha Mason Humphreys was a native of Washington, D.C., and came to Huntsville to teach speech and theater at Alabama A&amp;M University and UAH. A published playwright and author, her first love was always the theater. She acted and directed in community theater and was instrumental in establishing the Wings Awards for the performing arts.Martha died at home on 8 August 2011 after a long battle with Multiple Sclerosis. Survivors include her husband, John, a retired program manager from NASA."I laughed at something new every night during rehearsals," says Martha Humphreys, Theatre Huntsville's director of The Importance of Being Earnest. This Oscar Wilde classic is only one of many plays that the artistic Humphreys has worked on in Huntsville. Martha Mason Humphreys was a native of Washington, D.C., and came to Huntsville to teach speech and theater at Alabama A&amp;M University and UAH. A published playwright and author, her first love was always the theater. She acted and directed in community theater and was instrumental in establishing the Wings Awards for the performing arts.Martha died at home on 8 August 2011 after a long battle with Multiple Sclerosis. Survivors include her husband, John, a retired program manager from NASA."I laughed at something new every night during rehearsals," says Martha Humphreys, Theatre Huntsville's director of The Importance of Being Earnest. This Oscar Wilde classic is only one of many plays that the artistic Humphreys has worked on in Huntsville. Times have changed and Humphreys's main concern was that people wouldn't listen as carefully as they used to and some of the really witty lines in the play might go by unnoticed. And there are a lot of witty lines in this British farce, as Lady Bracknell comment shows: 'To have lost one parent is understandable; to have lost both parents reeks of carelessness."Martha Humphreys' interest in theatre began with her role of Mrs. Santa Claus in third grade. The acting bug had bit and she continued to follow that interest in high school and college. Martha graduated from Hiram College and the University of Indiana--Bloomington. She moved to Huntsville in September 1969 to teach Speech and English at Alabama A&amp;M for 12 years. Later, she taught part-time for 5 years at UAH. Failing health forced her to quit teaching and devote herself full-time to writing.Martha has had three teen novels published: Side by Side, A Broken Bow, and Until Whenever. She has also had 13 plays produced and continues to write several hours every day. One of her hobbies is being guest director for the local theatre. After serving as Assistant Director in 1971 for the Huntsville theatre, she directed her first play Any Wednesday in 1972. Since then she has directed numerous productions in Huntsville. Some of her own personal favorites include Noises Off, Death of a Salesman, and Other People's Money. ...more
death_date: 2011-08-08 00:00:00