SBU Students, Faculty Member Attend Kennedy Center College Theatre Festival

Nine St. Bonaventure students and a faculty member spent five days immersed in theater productions and workshops during the 43rd annual Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (Region II) at Towson University in Maryland Jan. 11-15, 2011.

They joined 1,200 college students and faculty from across Ohio, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Washington, D.C., and New York at the festival, where they saw student work in acting, directing, dramaturgy, playwriting and design; had the opportunity to audition to rehearse and perform in new 10-minute plays and student directing institute scenes; and participated in various competitions.

They saw student work in acting, directing, dramaturgy, playwriting and design; had the opportunity to audition to rehearse and perform in new 10-minute plays and student directing institute scenes; and participated in various competitions.

Becky Misenheimer, assistant professor of theater in the Department of Visual and Performing Arts and a theater designer, attended the festival with the following students:

· Mary Best, a freshman journalism/mass communication major from Alden;

· Cameron DeOrdio, a senior journalism/mass communication major from Nedrow, N.Y.;

· Mike Dlugosz, a junior English major and theater minor from Orchard Park;

· Monica Edwards, a junior English major from Binghamton;

· Tara Gillis, a freshman theater major from Gowanda;

· Erin Lowry, a senior theater and journalism/mass communication major from Shanghai, China;

· Brooke Perkins, a freshman theater major from Utica, Ohio;

· Ashley Waterman, a senior theater and English major from Dunkirk;

· and Emily West, a sophomore journalism/mass communication major and theater minor from Vestal, N.Y.

DeOrdio, Waterman and West also attended last year’s festival, hosted by Indiana University of Pennsylvania.


Misenheimer, a member of the regional festival’s Design, Tech and Management (DTM) task force, was invited to present a workshop at the festival titled “Dying for the Art: Health and Safety in the Theater.” She is also a regional respondent for Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF) and served on the play selection committee, which chose the productions presented at the festival.

As a result of their work in the fall SBU Theater production “Dracula,” several of the St. Bonaventure students were invited to compete in various ways at the festival:

· Erin Lowry and Tara Gillis were invited to compete in the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship competition. They chose Mike Dlugosz and Ashley Waterman, respectively, to compete with them as their scene partners.

· Emily West entered her costume design for “Dracula” in the Regional Costume Design competition, and Monica Edwards entered her stage management materials in the regional Stage Management competition. Both students’ materials were on display in the Design/Tech Exhibits for the length of the festival, and both students received personalized feedback from a panel of professional theater designers and technicians.

“Dracula” was presented on campus in October as a KCACTF Associate Production.


“It was wonderful to be surrounded by theater workshops and shows for five straight days, especially from other universities because it showed the other types of talent and styles of (theater) programs in our region have,” said Lowry.

Freshman Mary Best agreed.

“My favorite part about the festival was the opportunity to see a multitude of high-quality student productions. I saw six plays and an original musical, all of which were performed by talented actors and actresses. I learned more about acting in theater simply by observing their performances. Interacting with them offstage provided a great chance to share stories and indulge in camaraderie,” said Best.

“... My experience at the festival was one I will never forget,” added student Ashley Waterman. “The opportunity to go to shows, workshops, and meet other people who are involved in theatre is amazing. In the time we spent there, I was able to attend acting workshops and see more plays then I've been able to see in a long time. I also feel like we're a closer group of students now. The time spent there really let us get to know each other pretty well.”

Several of the students participated in a cattle call audition held on the first full day of the festival. As a result of these auditions, Emily West and Brooke Perkins were cast in Student Directing Institute (SDI) scenes. Throughout the week of the festival, West and Perkins participated in daily rehearsals with SDI student directors, culminating in a performance of their scenes on the final day of the festival.

Perkins played the role of Steph in a scene from Neil LaBute’s “Reasons to Be Pretty,” directed by Kelly Weatherald of James Madison University. West played the role of Sonya in a scene from Anton Chekhov’s “Uncle Vanya,” directed by Chris van Patten from the University at Buffalo.

The St. Bonaventure students attended a variety of workshops, including Accents and Dialects, Cold-Reading Auditioning Techniques, and Special Effect and Fantasy Make-up Techniques for Stage and Film.

Each student also had the opportunity to see as many as nine fully produced plays presented from schools from across the region, including a brilliantly hilarious production of Michael Frayn’s “Noises Off,” performed by an entirely deaf cast from Gallaudet University.

More information about the festival is available on the Region II website at www.kcactf2.org.

Pictured, Emily West’s “Dracula” Costume Design Display at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (Region II) at Towson University in Maryland