Every year, the St. Ambrose University Theatre Department attends the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF). While the festival's location changes every two years, as with everything recently, the COVID-19 pandemic has changed up the way the festivities will be offered. This year, the SAU Theatre Department will still be participating at the Festival.
However, the long road trip to attend to the festival has gotten much shorter: the entire festival will be held virtually.
Unfortunately, due to shifting KCACTF online, not every event will be offered this year. While everyone awaits specifics as to what events are still happening, current SAU students have already begun preparations for the events they know will be offered.
Thus far, KCACTF Region 5 has announced that the Irene Ryan Acting Competition, Musical Theatre Intensive (MTI), and Society for Directors and Choreographers (SDC) Intensive will all be held virtually this year. While many of the events have slightly different rules because of the online format, such as no partners for Irene Ryans and only a 60-second cut for the preliminary round of the MTI, many SAU students are eager to participate.
This year, the Irene Ryan Acting Competition is open to anyone who was either nominated in a Spring 2020 registered production or participated in a Fall 2020 registered production. Additionally, the Musical Theatre Intensive and the SDC Directing Intensive are open to any students who receive approval from the theatre faculty at SAU.
With many video submissions due mid-November, SAU students have begun the work of choosing which events to participate in, and what pieces they would like to perform. Competing in the Musical Theatre Intensive are first-year Elena Vallejo, sophomore Katie Link, and seniors Allison Hutson and Ellie Larson. Additionally, senior Tyler Hughes is competing in the Irene Ryan Acting Competition.
However, students are encouraged to participate in more than one event if they have the time and energy to dedicate themselves to it. Therefore, sophomores Quinnie Rodman, Peyton Reese, and junior K. Hampton are competing in both the Irene Ryans and the MTI competition. Additionally, junior Joseph Lasher is participating in both the MTI and SDC Intensives; senior TJ Green is doing both Irene Ryans and the SDC Intensive; and senior Luke Peterson is competing in all three.
One thing that has remained unchanged is that if a student is to receive first place in their respective event, they will be able to represent Region 5 at the National Festival that is held at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Last year SAU senior Jaren Schoustra wowed Region 5 by winning first place in Theatre Journalism. Also, Rodman, Reese, and Lasher were finalists for the Musical Theatre Intensive, and Peterson was a finalist for the SDC Directing Intensive. Read about the January 2020 results
All-in-all, the department wishes these students luck on polishing their performances and cannot wait to see their final products. Stay tuned for future editions of the Newsletter to see how all of our students did at Festival!
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