Theatre students of Northwestern had the opportunity to go to the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival this past week.
This is a festival that focuses on all things theatre and encompasses many of the midwestern states. At this festival, students were able to showcase their designs for shows, participate in workshops, perform in acting competitions and even watch invited performances put on by other colleges.
For the design showcases from “Sense and Sensebility,” Jack MacGregor took his scenic design and puppetry design, Ellie Zerr took her costume design and Raquel Yoder took her dramaturgy presentation.
For “The Perfect Dog,” Emily Espinoza took her costume design.
Espinoza won honorable mention for her costume design, Macgregor won the national reward for his puppetry design, and Zerr and Yoder received certificates of merit for their designs.
One notable workshop that students participated in was “Bricolage” which worked with taking trash and repurposing it to create a set.
MacGregor stated that “It was fun to learn from somebody how to take garbage, trash and leftover materials and make props and scenery and find ways to give it new life and save on goods and materials while helping the environment.”
This is something Macgregor wants to focus on more with his future in theatre, so this was a fantastic workshop to attend.
Another workshop that students found interesting was called the “Neutral Mask” which dealt with acting without the use of the face. This basically meant that the actions that were performed used more of the body while relying less on the personal aspect of the performance.
Ruthie Zimmerman said that it “dehumanized you in a good way to break your own patterns of movement.” This helps to have actors take a neutral state that characters can be put onto.
Along with workshops at this festival were the different plays that the students went to. A few of these were “American Girls,” “Fuddy Meers,” “Ride the Cyclone,” “Night Witches” and “The Gull.”
These shows allowed students to talk on different topics that spurred discussion amongst those who saw them. Some were humorous while others tackled difficult topics that are important to talk about.
Some students had the opportunity to bring their own works to the festival, such as Dana Sorenson who brought a full-length play that she wrote with somebody from her high school where she received feedback for their work.
Other students such as Zimmerman, Sorenson, Lexi Squier, Anna Frangenberg and Lili Twaddle wrote poetry for a poetry slam showcase.
Many students were able to show their work to people from across the region, getting feedback on the creative work.
Students were also able to participate in something known as the Irene Ryan Acting Competition. Students who participated in this were Rhea Cutler and Ailee Moquist, as each other’s partners, Anna Frangenberg with her partner Zeke Stansbery, Mackenna Thurman with his partner Marissa Leraas and Micah De Young with his partner Mackenna Thurman.
Within this competition, De Young made it to the semifinals of the competition. This is an impressive achievement as it took the competition from over 200 competitors to around 60.
Overall, this was an impressive showing from NW as they had an entire week of showcasing their work as well as seeing other schools from the area showcase their talents.
Many of these students have so many stories to tell, so feel free to ask them about their experiences.
