Another year, another activity-packed theatre festival for St. Ambrose University's Theatre Department!
Each year, the Theatre Department participates in the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival in events such as the Stage Crew Showdown, Stage Directors and Choreographers scenes, Institute for Theatre and Journalism Advocacy intensive, Stage Management Fellowship competition, Design Expo entries, 10-minute scene directing, and more. In all events, the students represented St. Ambrose well.
Junior Anthony Duckett, senior Mel Maylum, and sophomores Sam Lange and Andres Garcia competed in the Stage Crew Showdown. For returning members Maylum and Lange, this was their second year competing in the event. For Duckett, it was his third year competing.
Ambrose's Tech Team is known for their tight bond, and this year they returned to the competition with the Spirit Award, which was won last year. Still, they were hungry for the coveted Golden C-Wrench, which is the trophy for the fastest, safest tech team.
The teams competed in knot tying, light hang, props placement and strike, border hang and costume quick change. The tech team, known as Redbeard's Deck Hands, started practicing for the competition in November by holding weekly practices led by team captain Duckett.
While they didn't make it into finals this year, Redbeard's Deck Hands still showed up to support the three teams who made it. They showed tremendous spirit and made new friends from other schools. Tech Team will be back at it again next year with a bigger appetite to redeem themselves and take the trophy back to Ambrose.
Meanwhile, junior Luke Peterson and senior T.J. Green competed in the Stage Directing and Choreography (SDC) competition. Green chose a scene from A Map of Virtue by Erin Courtney. His cast members included sophomores Becky Meissen and Andres Garcia, juniors Anthony Duckett and Ellie Larson and seniors Halie Osborn, Jeremy Mahr, and Christian Colmenares. Peterson chose a scene from Phoebe in Winter by Jen Silverman. His cast members included seniors Kiara Thomas and Sarah Goodall and junior Tyler Hughes.
Peterson's scene was one of six chosen to move onto finals, where he incorporated the judges' feedback and enhanced his scene. This was Peterson's first time directing an SDC scene, so making it into finals was a huge honor for him.
"It was a major surprise. While I worked very hard on my scene, I knew that a lot of my competitors have been doing this for years. So, I was incredibly proud of the work that my actors and I put in, and I was happy to see all that work pay off. I'm looking forward to next year because I have a feel for what finals tastes like, and I'm more determined than ever to put forth outstanding work. I plan on going all the way to the Kennedy Center, baby!" Peterson said.
While Peterson has had a few previous directing experiences, including directing the fall studio theatre production of Time Stands Still, he said, "competing in this event has reinvigorated my passion for the art of directing. While I didn't come out on top, I learned so much helpful advice from watching my other peers. Ultimately, this event reassured me that I'm on the right track to having a successful directing journey, and there's no better feeling than that." The Department is immensely proud of him and can't wait to see his work again next year.
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In keeping with the trend of great honors, senior Jaren Schoustra was selected as the Regional Winner for outstanding writing for the Institute for Theatre Journalism and Advocacy (ITJA) intensive. Throughout the week-long festival, Schoustra attended each invited production and then wrote a review by a specific deadline. She honed her skills as a writer by meeting with the other students in the intensive to discuss and share ideas.
Schoustra's award will send her to Washington, D.C.'s Kennedy Center to compete at the national festival. The Department looks forward to cheering her on and supporting her while she's competing in April.
Senior Mel Maylum competed in the Stage Management Fellowship competition this year. She submitted her prompt book to the Design Expo where festival participants and patrons could peruse it, and adjudicators could look through the book to make comments and critiques. As part of the fellowship, stage managers are assigned different events to stage manage at the festival. Maylum was assigned to the Design Expo.
"My job was to follow the judges around and make sure they were staying on time during their feedback sessions with the students who submitted projects anywhere from costume design, set design and lighting design projects," Maylum said. "The experience was great, although my feet were absolutely killing me by the end of the day because I had to stand all day! Besides that, my interview with the Fellowship judges went really well, and I enjoyed the feedback I got from them. It was comforting to hear that my stage management style was unique and easy to follow because that has always been something I was unsure about."
Maylum is anxious to find a place where she belongs after graduation because she hopes to stage manage.
Wrapping up this recap of KCACTF is the 10-minute scene director, junior Erika Seabloom. After taking Dr. Corinne Johnson's directing class, Seabloom was given the opportunity to participate in directing a 10-minute staged reading of another student's play. Seabloom went through a casting process, followed by rehearsals in which she worked with the playwright. Then, she showcased the finished product.
"It was an extremely collaborative experience to work directly with the playwright on his new play. I learned what it was like to do a staged reading for the first time, and I've never done anything like that," Seabloom said.
Each year, the Theatre Department makes it possible for a large group of students to attend KCACTF for an educational, immersive experience. SAU's talented students make the most of the trip every year, and the results certainly show that. The Department is looking forward to returning to the festival next year and hopes to have another successful year.
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