Walt Meissner

[Editor’s Note. Walt was given an opportunity to provide factual background. As our deadline approached and no such factual information arrived, certain aspects of this article have been, shall we say, unconfirmed by independent sources. It’s a great deal like making it up.]

Way back in the old days, we formed a student club. The Aggie Players had already been the production arm of the theater arts section since the 50s, but we wanted to be able to reserve space on campus, and to enjoy some of the other benefits that other student organizations were receiving.

So we started a student organization called the Aggie Players. I remember a meeting at Mac’s apartment, and working on the "constitution." Mac was good at this, he knew how to say "malfeasance" and we used that like crazy. When we elected officers, the 1st President of Aggie Players was Walt Meissner.

Walt’s stage credits included Devil’s Disciple, Glass Menagerie, and Story Theater. He did the sets and acted in Here Comes the Rain. He and Nancye Gorman were the first theater graduates at A&M - Walt’s degree came with a double major in Geology. Can you still name a rock, Skeet?

Walt left A&M and worked at Houston Stage Design for a while, then went to grad school at Boston University. I still remember the trip to New Orleans for the interviews. Well, Old Walt never left BU. He got his Master’s in Theater Management and Directing, and they hired him to manage the theater. After several years of that, he started getting calls at the VP Administration’s office. That went on for a long time. He married Ro. Kids came. They moved out to the suburbs, where Walt learned a new phrase, "Train Car." It’s like a work car, but instead of driving it to work, you drive it from your house to the train station.