Keene State theatre students took the stage at the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF) from January 28 to February 1.
The Region 1 (New England) festival took place at Central Connecticut State University and hosted around 50 colleges and 600 students from the New England area and New York.
The festival features a number of competitions and workshops, including the Irene Ryan scholarship which recognizes and honors student performers who wish to pursue further education by providing financial assistance, according to the Kennedy Center website.
The nominations for the scholarship happen through respondents who attend college shows and sit down with the cast afterwards, said senior Wilson Hines, a scholarship competitor.
“The purpose of that is just for them to know more about us and how the show came to be and how it all happened,” Hines said. “And of course, they come to see some great work.”
According to Hines, production nominations arrive via email a few weeks after the production. Nominations can be for actors, as well as technical personnel.
“Everyone has the chance to be nominated and has the chance to go to KCACTF,” Hines said.
The performance aspect of Irene Ryan consists of a package with a monologue and a short scene with a partner, according to Hines. He only made it to the finals of the competition but said that it was an honor just to be nominated.
“It’s a competition, but at the end of the day, it’s just in service of the art,” Hines said. “If you’re doing anything live on stage, even if you’re just at the festival, it’s a true honor to be there, because you’re surrounded by all these people who have common interests of making live performance happen in some way, shape or form.”
Hines also received the Voice and Speech Trainers Association (VASTA) Award. Hines said he received this award “because they recognized that apparently I have some prolific voice quality that stands out.”
“I’m going to be receiving an email for a year’s worth of voice and speech training from this association,” he said. “As an actor, that’s very flattering to receive an award like that.”
Hines’ advice to students interested in KCACTF is to never stop trying.
“Whatever you can do to be involved and stay involved, you won’t regret it,” he said. “Like everything else in college, saying yes is often more important than saying no.”
Senior Julia Stearns said she participated in a number of workshops as well.
“I did a few movement ones, I did some lecture ones,” Stearns said. “I did a Shakespeare one where they talked to you about Shakespeare and other ones where they talk to you about different principles of acting and how that works.”
Stearns also performed in the National Playwriting Program (NPP), where a number of festival students took part in readings of 10-minute and one-act plays. She said the audition took place on Tuesday, with the rehearsal taking place over two days.
“It all happens super, super fast, very whirlwind,” Stearns said. “It felt like I was being picked up and moved along. It was very fast.”
This was Stearns’ first year attending the festival and she said she enjoyed it.
“It was really interesting to see how the festival works and hearing about previous people who have gone in previous years,” Stearns said. “It seemed much more organized than what I had heard of it being in previous years. I really enjoyed it.”
“It was a really eye-opening experience to see how other schools operate and what they do and what theatre is like in other places,” Stearns later said.
Stearns’ advice for students wanting to attend KCACTF is to, “be a student, be open to learn and be open to collaborate.”
Emily Sloane can be contacted at
esloane@kscequinox.com
