As the fall semester at St. Ambrose University comes to a close, many members of the Theatre Department are preparing for a new year and many quickly-approaching, incredible opportunities.
One of them is the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF) at which SAU theatre students participate annually in a variety of different theatre-based competitions, events, and workshops. Students earn the opportunity to attend by taking part in the Musical Theatre Intensive (MTI) competition.
MTI is an event in which students from schools across the region prepare three-minute musical theatre songs that they perform in front of a panel of judges. This can be a solo or ensemble piece. After the preliminary auditions, the judges select out of a pool of hundreds only 20 individuals and/or groups to advance and earn a spot in the musical theatre cabaret, which helps conclude the festival.
"I enjoy hearing all the talent that everyone has and getting to know the other singers auditioning in the warm-up room because everyone is so supportive and eager to see each other," said senior Christian Colmenares and two-time MTI participant. "I would say the biggest thing that sets MTI apart from other events is if you do make it past the one and only set of auditions, you spend the rest of the week working with professionals to help take your song even further. The benefits of that as a singer is unreal!"
SAU students eagerly await the opportunity to be a part of this process. One individual who is quite familiar with the MTI competition is senior Sarah Goodall. Goodall has participated in the intensive for the past two years and will face the judging panel once again this year.
When asked how she is preparing for the event, she responded, "Sometimes I like to learn the song as a monologue to help with the acting aspect of performing a song."
Colmenares gave some insight into his preparation process as well.
"For MTI, you can sing a song of your choice, but it can only be three minutes maximum, or they cut you off. The biggest part of preparation that I focus on is getting my music cut down enough to make sure I'll never go over the limit. I also listen to my song at least once each day to make sure it's always ingrained in my brain, so I don't forget the words in front of a room full of singers."
This year, for the first time, students who have an interest in being a part of MTI are required to audition in front of SAU faculty the song they hope to perform in competition. This is a way to assure that students who plan to audition are as prepared as possible when it comes time to perform their songs at KCACTF. Also, each school can only take a certain number of performers for the MTI competition.
"I think the new auditioning process is a good idea," said senior Sarah Goodall, "because if I'm going to sing for all these amazing people, I want to know that Cory thinks I can do it! It seems this is one big way that the SAU Theatre Department is preparing its students for a world beyond the university."
Students participating in MTI this year are:
• Fifth-year Christian Colmenares singing "Inútil" from In the Heights
• Senior Sarah Goodall singing "Maybe I Like It This Way" from The Wild Party
• Junior Jessica Karolczak singing "Vanilla Ice Cream" from She Loves Me
• Sophomore Allison Hutson singing "Pretty Funny" from Dogfight
• Sophomore Luke Peterson singing "All My Friends Are Whores" from Good Enough for Now: The Songs of Drew Fornarola
• First Year K Hampton singing "Watch What Happens" from Newsies
• First Year Joe Lasher singing "I Believe" from The Book of Mormon
There are many wonderful ways to be part of KCACTF, and MTI is one event that students anticipate all year. This is an event that allows performers to do what they love. It offers individuals a chance to gain experience in the audition room, have their voice heard and receive feedback from professionals.
We wish our students the best as they prepare to take part in MTI and many other events the festival offers.
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