Two weeks ago, a handful of Le Moyne theater majors and minors made the trek down to Hyannis, Mass. to take part in a number of competitions and workshops at the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF, or ACTF for short). The festival is held each year and gathers together theater students from across the region to demonstrate their skills in the theatrical craft.
“I loved the opportunity I had to collaborate with students from other schools and see their process,” said sophomore theater arts and peace and global studies major Travis Milliman. “It’s an opportunity that can be hard to get in college, ACTF can get it for you. I took away so much that’s only going to make me a better director, and I met so many wonderful people that I intend on staying in touch with.”
Milliman, aside from participating in Play Slam, a 48-hour devising project, was interviewed by two heads of the festival as a promising young artist. Meanwhile, sophomore theater arts major Vincent Randazzo was invited to compete for the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship.
“Although we didn’t make it to the next round, we got great feedback from those who were purely offering their critiques as educators as well as other students who happened to watch,” he said.
Randazzo also took part in a devised theatre project with several other students, as well as Play Slam with Milliman.
“It was an amazing week of just taking in knowledge from all angles,” Randazzo said. “The most important thing you can take with you from a festival like this is what you learn from people who are doing it too and from educators who are willing to take the time to give you their honest critique.
“That’s when the conversation just starts flowing and you find some really useful things to hold on to,” he continued. “And with something like theater…the conversation and things you can learn are endless.”
Senior English major Christina Huffaker, who put together the lobby display and program notes for Boot and Buskin’s fall production, “A Tempest,” was encouraged to enter her work in the festival’s Dramaturgy Initiative competition.
“At the conference, I gave a brief presentation on my dramaturgical work for the seven other student dramaturgs and the professional dramaturg responders,” explained Huffaker. “The responders gave us all feedback on our individual projects, and asked us many questions about why we made the decisions we did, as well as how we could improve our work in the future.”
Though she didn’t advance to the national competition, Huffaker still received an award for “Excellence in Installation Dramaturgy.” She also worked as a dramaturg on a play development project and attended many workshops throughout the week.
“The students were able to have tea with professional dramaturgs, which was a wonderful opportunity to connect with people who have succeeded in the field,” Huffaker noted. “I realized what a warm-hearted community dramaturgs have in this region. Their friendliness and genuine love for their work encouraged me not to abandon dramaturgy after I graduate. There are other people who love this little, obscure, nerdy field!”
After a five-day workshop in theater criticism, senior communications major James Barcomb was named the winner of the Region 1 Institute for Theatre Journalism and Advocacy. As a result, he will get to attend the KCACTF National Festival at the Kennedy Center in April for a week of workshops with theater professionals, attending professional theatrical productions and working with professional critics.
“There was a great feeling of accomplishment by the end of the week,” Randazzo said. “And I think that it means so much more because we are a small school in comparison to other schools who participate and we had a serious drive not only to accomplish our own individual tasks but also as a collective to learn as much as we could from anyone and anything we encountered.”
