Students from Keene State’s Theater and Dance (TAD) department competed in the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF) in Hyannis, Mass. Jan. 31 to Feb. 4. Junior Tyler Nash made it through as one of the 16 Irene Ryan Finalists. The Irene Acting Scholarship is awarded to sixteen regional students and two national students with 500 dollars in recognition of their skills and to provide financial assistance.
“156 people submitted and for the audition, they had to do two monologues and then submitted a video… he made it to the semi-finals which is awesome,” TAD department chair Kirstin O’Brien said. “He had to perform a scene and a monologue and then got amazing feedback and he made it to the final round.” Nash said he enjoyed being surrounded by peers that were going through the same processes as him. “It’s really cool to be in a place of like-minded individuals who are going through similar things, learning and experiencing the same things you are, it’s exciting to be able to talk to people like that and meet others,” Nash said.
Senior Skyla Carrasquillo made it to round two for stage managers for her work with TAD’s fall 2022 production of “Life Sucks.”
“Based on her [stage managing] book and her talking about her experience in the show, how she presented her work in herself, she made it to the second round which is super exciting,” O’Brien said. “That’s really difficult, there were a lot of stage managers.”
Skyla Carrasquillo was unavailable for an interview. Sophomore Chloe Roy and senior Alyssa Herman were both awarded for their work on the fall 2022 production of “Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime,” for costumes and scenic painting, respectively. O’Brien added, “Skye Robicheau auditioned for a play festival that happened at the festival and got cast in a two-person play.”
O’Brien mentioned that KCACTF was a positive experience for the students to have as they pursue their careers.
“If you wanna do acting, if you wanna design or whatever, in the real world, you’re gonna have to interview or audition and showcase why you deserve something over the other,” O’Brien said. “ Nash said that the KCACTF experience overall was a rewarding one.
“The festival itself was probably one of the best experiences I’ve had, I wanna say in my life, but also just in theater,” Nash said. “Just so much knowledge to be gained and I learned so much and I can speak for everyone else that went on the trip, it’s really unforgettable.”
Nash added, “It’s just invaluable, the stuff you take away and definitely changed me as a person and as an artist moving forward, helping further solidify myself in that world of creativity and artistry.”
Nicole Dumont can be contacted at
ndumont@kscequinox.com
