
Is there no play, to ease the anguish of a torturing hour?
- William Shakespeare
Upcoming Production
This classic novel originally written by Charlotte Bronte has been turned into a musical masterpiece by Paul Gordan (Music and lyrics) and John Caird (Book and additional lyrics). This production will be presented in the Memorial City Hall in Marshall, Texas from April 18th until April 21st, 2024.
Directed by Rouba Palmer, the cast of incredibly talented singers and actors are all current students of East Texas Baptist University.
Musical Direction: Judith Shelton.
Set and Lighting Design: Jake Yenish
Costume Design: Melanie Hudson
Stage Manager: Moriah Armstrong
Latest News
Rouba Palmer wrote and directed the first version of The Jewelry Box back in 2011, raising $10,000 for the A21 Campaign. Recently, one of her former students, Luke George, was approached by Destiny Rescue, another anti-human trafficking organization, to see if he knew of a performance they could present at their annual fundraising event in Melbourne. After liaising with Rouba, Luke was commissioned to direct an edited version of the play with a cast of 5 Sydney performers. They have been in rehearsal for a couple of months and will be flying to Melbourne to present The Jewelry Box for the Destiny Rescue fundraiser on August 2nd, 2024.
For her thesis production of the MFA in Directing degree undertaken at Florida State University, Rouba directed Mary Zimmerman’s The Secret in the Wings which takes a collection of lesser-known, dark fairytales and presents them in such a way that their telling evokes the fanning out of a wing. All but one of the fairytales is split in half and their conclusions occurs in the 2nd half of the show.
At the end of the Fall Semester of Rouba Palmer’s final year doing an MFA in Directing at FSU, she directed Ionesco’s The Lesson.
As part of the Shakespeare Shorts, Rouba Palmer collated and directed A Middle Eastern Night’s Dream, setting Shakespeare’s Dream in the Middle East.
At the end of her first year in the MFA Directing program at FSU, Rouba Palmer devised and directed The Human Circus, a social issues pieces about the atrocities of human trafficking.
Our Artistic Director, Rouba Palmer has been accepted into the MFA Graduate Directing program at FSU in Tallahassee.. So for the next three year she will be taking classes, directing shows and teaching under grads. Quench Theatre will take a break, however there may be an opportunity for some Quench related work throughout the summer so stay posted.
Over the summer, Rouba was thrilled to attend two summer courses with America’s top Improv school, The Second City in Chicago. The first course, Improv Level 3 built on her already rich improv experience but also challenged her to take the improvisations created in class and use them to create comedy skits. The Stand Up Comedy course was extremely challenging but also very rewarding and Rouba even took the set she created to one of Chicago’s Open Mic nights in the city.
As of June 2018, Quench Theatre has a new home - Ocala, Florida. Being an international and portable Theatre Company, Quench Theatre is able to operate anywhere in the world, taking it's talents and treasures to any community that will embrace it. We are excited to build a team here in sunny Florida and see what takes off theatrically in this lovely part of the world.

Testimonials
Rouba is an amazing teacher. Having previously studied impro and Theatresports® I was sceptical BUT Rouba brings a whole new level of learning to the mix. I am excited to go to class each week and look forward to improving my skills during her Level 2 course.
As a Drama teacher it is so important I keep up my training and stay fresh. Theatresports® - Level 1 with Rouba was exactly what I needed. It is a challenging and fun environment which supports every student in finding their voice and connecting to their creativity. I'm definitely signing up for Level 2.
Rouba creates such a safe and fun environment that I find myself doing things that seem totally outrageous and thrilling. With a wonderful repertoire of warm-ups, games and tasters we are well prepared. Each week something new is learnt, our inhibitions are gone, we laugh and laugh and our minds and creative souls get a great work out. You may even leave each lesson feeling a little lighter, a little younger and a lot happier!
I would definitely recommend these classes to anyone wanting to start, develop and improve their drama skills. The weekly two-hour workshops lead by the energetic and knowledgeable Rouba Palmer, takes you step-by-step through performative exercises, building your knowledge, confidence and ability in acting and improvisation. Thank you for helping me to free my imagination and allow me to find enjoyment in play!
Rouba Palmer, MFA - Director, Producer, Writer, Actor and Theatre Educator.
