Fitchburg State College in association with ALPS/Advanced Lighting & Production
Services, Inc., City of Fitchburg, FourPoints Sheraton and Montachusett Regional
Vocational Technical School welcomes you to the
The Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival 41
Region I, January 27-February 1, 2009
Region I is proud to have ALPS/Advanced Lighting & Production Services, Inc., as our
primary 2009 participating sponsor.
The Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival is sponsored in part by:
Stephen and Christine Schwarzman
The Kennedy Center Corporate Fund
U.S. Department of Education
The National Committee for the Performing Arts
Dr. Gerald and Paula McNichols Foundation
KCACTF Region I Officers and Executive Committee
Chair
Kelly C. Morgan
Vice Chairs
Jim Murphy Linda M. Sutherland
2nd Vice Chairs
Raina Ames (Irene Ryan Chair)
Catherine Hurst (Directing Chair)
Playwrighting Co-Chairs
Robert Boles Crystal Brian
Playwrighting Co-Vice Chairs
Brandt Reiter Laurence Tocci
Playwrighting 2nd Vice Chair
Jack Shea
Critics Workshop Chair
Dan Patterson,
Critics Workshop Vice-Chair
Scott R. Gagnon
Design & Technology Co-Chairs
John Paul Devlin F. Chase Rozelle, III
Design & Technology Co-Vice-Chairs
Eric Cornwell Luke Sutherland
Design & Technology 2nd Co-Vice Chairs
Rafael Jaen Elinor Parker
Dramaturgy Chair
Magda Romanska
Dramaturgy Vice-Chair
Sabine Klein
Respondents Chair
Kathleen Sills
Diversity Chair
Mary C. Vreeland
Irene Ryan Chair
Jim Murphy
National Selection Team
Kaleta Brown, Cathy Norgren, Steve Reynolds, and Gregg Henry
Festival Production Respondents
Matt Chapman, Lisa Dalton, Russell Garrett, Jerry Goralnick, Tony Howarth, Melissa
Hurt, Maggie Lally, Lois Kagan Mingus, Bruce Robinson, Rill Roudebush, and Bill Schill
Festival Design/Tech Respondents
John Hill, William Kenyon, Anne Mundell, and Tina Shackleford
Regional Selection Team
Raina Ames. Jim Beauregard, Robert Boles, Crystal Brian, Scott Gagnon, Cathy Hurst,
Kelly Morgan, Jim Murphy, Dan Patterson, Kathleen Sills, Linda Murphy Sutherland
Irene Ryan Judges
Preliminaries: Lisa Dalton, Russell Garrett, Tim Gleason, Gregg Henry, Lois Kagan
Mingus, Mary C. Vreeland
Semi-Finals: Maggie Lally, Austin Pendleton, Bill Roudebush
Finals: Jan Buttram, Mitchell Riggs
Irene Ryan Respondents
Preliminaries: Matt Chapman, Connie Crawford, Erica Hager, Patrica Hawkridge, Melissa
Hurt, Kaia Monroe
Semi-Finals: Maggie Lally, Bill Roudebush
Finals: Jan Buttram, Mitchell Riggs
Dramaturgy Judges
Magda Romanska, Sabine Klein
Irene Ryan Coordinator-Jennifer Ouellette
Festival Director–Kelly Morgan
Festival Technical Director Coordinator–Cap Corduan
Administrative Director–Sharon Bernard
Administrative Staff–Jennifer Ouellette
Management Interns
Andrew Ciaravino and Michael Kent (Quinnipiac University)
Administrative Interns
Jeffrey Brazeau (Westfield State College), Caroline Hill (University of Vermont) Tiffany
Plante (Keene State College), Matt Gagnon (University of Maine at Machais)
Workshop Coordinator–Steven Bergman
Hospitality Hosts–Matthew Nesmith and Robin Stone
Accompanist-Alisa Bucchiere
House Manager–Kelly Stowell
Photographer-Jerry Kean
Supervisors for the Dukakis Center for the Performing Arts
James Dougherty (Middlebury College)
Supervisor for Weston Auditorium
Luke J. Sutherland (Community College of Rhode Island)
Matt Babcock (Fitchburg State College)
Supervisor for McKay Auditorium
Jo Nazro (Fitchburg State College)
Supervisor for Sheraton Events
F. Chase Rozelle III (Eastern Connecticut State College)
Drivers, Guides and additional services
Coordinator–Michael J. Babineau
Fitchburg State College Students
Fitchburg State College Floating Technical Crew
Craig Allen
Shannon Creedon
Jessie Hoyer
Stage Managers and Time Keepers
Administrative Interns
Jeffrey Brazeau–Westfield State
Caroline Hill-U of Vermont
Tiffany Plante-Keene State
Matt Gagnon-U Maine at Machais
Technical Scholarship Support Crew
Dukakis Center for the Performing Arts
Kristin Nicole Durinick-Roger Willaims U
Crystal Czaja-U Maine Machais
Kim Powe-Western CT State U
Trevor Reid Bates-Roger Williams U
Ryan Gearity–Eastern Ct State U
McKay Auditorium
Annah Rozelle-Salem State
Kasey Sheehan-Westfield State
Danielle Varcasia-U. of Vermont
Andrew Barber-Castleton State
Mike Altieri–So. Ct. State U
Weston Auditorium
Jason Wadecki–Eastern Ct. State U
Andrew Silverman-Westfield State
Tim Lesniak-Westfield State
Lauren Glover-U. of Vermont
Samuel Hewett-Bates College
Special Thanks to:
ALPS
Actors’ Equity Association (AEA)
Alcone
ATHE
Barbizon
Boston Illumination Group, Inc.
Deborah Morgan
Enterprise Rent-A-Car
Fitchburg State College Press
Focal Press
Jamie Roger
Johnson Brother’s Painting, Boston
Mehron
National Partners of the American Theatre
New England Section of the United States Institute for Theatre Technology
Rui Alves
SSDC
Festival Website and Program Designed by Visual Fusion
From the president
On behalf of the entire campus community, welcome to Fitchburg State College! We’re
very pleased to be hosting the Region I Kennedy Center American College Theater
Festival for the fourth and final year. It has indeed been an honor.
The previous three festivals were an unqualified success, both in terms of participation
and organization, as well as the professionalism of the work. The quality and variety
were extraordinary, and we all have reason to be proud of our region’s many triumphs.
My thanks go out to our English/Theater, Industrial Technology, Cultural Affairs and
Facilities departments. We at Fitchburg State have become accustomed to hosting
outstanding productions, whether by our own theater groups or national- and world
class visiting performers. All who dedicate themselves to mounting these productions
reflect the larger campus, which has established a reputation for its drive towards
excellence in all that it does.
While North Central Massachusetts is alive with the arts, few institutions can lay claim to
the depth and breadth of the productions offered at Fitchburg State. We are the cultural
center of the region, which dovetails with our larger efforts to reach out to the
community and truly add to the richness of our citizens’ lives.
The festival offers students so many opportunities—the rigors and excitement of
competition, of course, but also the chance to learn from respected guests, faculty and
fellow students, and to grow both professionally and personally. These are noble goals,
and we welcome the chance to assist them.
In closing, I’d like to thank those members of the regional community who have stepped
forward to help us with hosting this year’s Kennedy Center Events: Advanced lighting
Professionals/ALPS, City Of Fitchburg, City of Leominster, FourPoints Sheraton Hotel and
Montachusett Regional Vocational School.
Once again, welcome and best wishes. I look forward to personally greeting many of you
during your stay in our community.
Sincerely,
Robert V. Antonucci
President, Fitchburg State College
General Festival Information
Registration/Information
Festival registration will be held in the lobby of the Four Points Sheraton, the host hotel
for the Festival. The hours for registration/information desk are as follows:
Tues., Jan. 27 11:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m.
Wed., Jan. 28 7:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m.
Thurs., Jan. 29-Fri., Jan. 30 8:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.
Sat., Jan. 31 8:00 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Festival Headquarters–Four Points Sheraton
A contact bulletin board to leave and receive messages will be available in the hotel
lobby.
Nametags
Your registration nametag is your entry to all performances, events, and workshops.
Ushers and workshop coordinators will be checking for these. You must have your
nametag with you at all times.
Transportation and Parking
Fitchburg State College has a strict parking code. All motor vehicles without proper
parking stickers or visitor passes will be ticketed and/or towed during the Wednesday to
Friday day events. For the evening, please obey normal parking rules. Do not park in
marked No Parking spaces, at yellow painted curbs, in front of fire hydrants or
driveways, etc.
Shuttle Service Hours
Wednesday, January 28
8:15 a.m. Leave Marriott for FourPoints
7:30 p.m. Leave FourPoints for Dukakis CPA
9:30 p.m. Leave Dukakis CPA for FourPoints
10:00 a.m. Leave FourPoints for Mariott
Thursday, January 29
8:30 a.m. Leave Mariott for FourPoints
8:45 a.m. Leave FourPoints for Dukakis CPA
9:45 a.m. Leave FourPoints for Dukakis CPA
2:30 p.m. Leave Dukakis CPA for McKay
2:30 p.m. Leave Dukakis CPA for FourPoints
2:45 p.m. Leave McKay for FourPoints
3:00 p.m. Leave FourPoints for McKay
5:30 p.m. Leave McKay for FourPoints
7:30 p.m. Leave FourPoints for Weston
11:00 p.m. Leave Weston for FourPoints
12:30 a.m. Leave FourPoints for Mariott
Friday, January 30
7:30 a.m. Leave Mariott for FourPoints
3:00 p.m. Leave FourPoints for McKay
6:00 p.m. Leave McKay for FourPoints
7:30 p.m. Leave FourPoints for Dukakis CPA
10:45 p.m. Leave Dukakis CPA for FourPoints
12:30 a.m. Leave FourPoints for Mariott
Saturday, January 31
8:00 a.m. Leave Mariott for FourPoints
3:30 p.m. Leave FourPoints for Weston
6:00 p.m. Leave Weston Theater for FourPoints
7:30 p.m. Leave FourPoints for Weston
10:45 p.m. Leave Weston for FourPoints
1:00 a.m. (Sun.) Leave FourPoints for Mariott
Meals
A list of local restaurants can be found at the registration table.
Festival Hotel’s “Warning” Policy is in Effect
We are guests of the hotels and must be sure to respect their property and schedules. If
hotel security, management, or faculty must be called to your room due to any type of
disturbance (i.e. excessive late-night noise, drinking, smoking, etc.), you will be
immediately evicted from the hotel and will lose the privilege to participate in the
festival for both the current year and the next. You and your school will be held liable for
any damage that may occur. As the hotels obey Massachusetts state law, drinking under
the age of 21 is prohibited and will be STRICTLY enforced.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival 41
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
11:00 a.m.–9:00 p.m.
Festival Registration
Host Hotel Lobby
12:30-1:00 p.m.
Irene Ryan Staff Meeting
Amphitheatre
1:00-7:30 p.m.
Design Exhibit Registration
Brahms
2:30–3:00 p.m.
Irene Ryan Judges Orientation
Amphitheatre
2:30–3:00 p.m.
Irene Ryan Call & Orientation for Rounds 1 & 2
Assigned Group Rooms
A-Beethoven
B-Shubert
, Stage Managers
, Stage Managers
, Stage Managers
C-Hammerstein
There is no entry into Irene Ryan Rooms once doors are shut. Be on time if you
want to observe.
3:00–4:00 p.m.
Irene Ryan Round 1: Groups A, B, C
Assigned Group Rooms
4:00–5:00 p.m.
Irene Ryan Round 2: Groups A, B, C
Assigned Group Rooms
4:00–5:00 p.m.
Response Session Round 1
A-Porter
B-Gershwin
C-Berlin
5:00-6:00 p.m.
Response Session Round 2
A-Porter
B-Gershwin
C-Berlin
5:00–6:30 p.m.
Irene Ryan Judges Dinner
Classics Restaurant
FourPoints Sheraton
6:00–6:30 p.m.
Irene Ryan Call & Orientation for Rounds 3 & 4
Assigned Group Rooms
6:30–7:30 p.m.
Irene Ryan Round 3: Groups A, B, C
Assigned Group Rooms
7:30–8:30 p.m.
Irene Ryan Round 4: Groups A, B, C
Assigned Group Rooms
7:30–8:30 p.m.
Response Session Round 3
A-Porter
B-Gershwin
C-Berlin
7:30–9:30 p.m.
Design & Tech Exhibition Set-up
Brahms/Beethoven
, Stage Managers
8:30–9:30 p.m.
Response Session Round 4
A-Porter
B-Gershwin
C-Berlin
8:30–10:30 p.m.
Irene Ryan Judges Meeting with Snack
9:00–10:00 p.m.
1x2, 6x10 Rehearsals Production Meeting:
Writers, Student, Directors, Stage Managers, Mentors
Amphitheatre
10:00-11:30 p.m.
I C No Arrlechino
By David Kaye
University of New Hampshire
Directed by David Kaye
Board Room
Mozart
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
7:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m.
Festival Registration
Host Hotel Lobby
8:30-9:00 a.m.
Audition Announcements for
Shubert/Strauss
Irene Ryans, 1x2s, 6x10s and Odets: Still Waiting Reading
All those interested in auditioning for the 1x2 and 6x10 plays and the Odets: Still
Waiting reading, including Irene Ryan candidates and partners, should attend.
9:00-10:00 a.m.
I C No Arrlechino Response
Porter
9:00-10:00 a.m.
Workshop: Jim Murphy & Kip Shawger
Regional Realignment Discussion
Hamerstein
9:00-10:00 a.m.
Workshop: Elinor Parker
SkyClass 7th Floor
Digital Rendering for Designers: Corel Painter X
No studio? No problem. You can carry a fully equipped artist's studio on your laptop
computer using Corel Painter X program with a Wacom Tablet. Discover how quickly and
easily you can enhance your design renderings—from costumes, to scenic designs, to
lighting storyboards.
9:00-10:00 a.m.
Andrew Dolph Set-up
Amphitheatre
9:00-10:30 a.m.
Workshop: Lisa Dalton
Rodgers
An Actor Repairs: Michael Chekhov's Psychophysical
Techniques
One of the best ways an actor can prepare is to first repair. Come to experience and
practice moving like earth, water, air and light. Sharpen the tools that allow freedom for
natural creative expression. Dress to play freely and read Michael Chekhov's "On the
Technique of Acting". Bring a few lines from a monologue or scene, and for the really
passionate, look for KCACTF Preparation link at
http://www.chekhov.net/store/calendar.html
9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
Design & Tech Exhibition Set-up
Brahms/Beethoven
Rafael Jean and Elinor Parker Coordinators
Exhibitors only.
9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
Auditions for 1x2s, 6x10s and Odets: Still Waiting Reading
Shubert/Strauss
9:00 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Theatre Technology Expo Load In
9:30-11:00 a.m.
Workshop: Molly Trainer
Gershwin
Costume Design & The Art of Juggling: Tips Never Taught
in School
Mozart
Presentation and discussion: one professional free-lance costume designer's experience
of real-world costume design in the trenches discussing risks and rewards, watch-outs
and tips for success and survival.
10:00-11:30 a.m.
Workshop: Jim Murphy
To Hold or Not to Hold, That is the Question
Porter
What merits holding a production or not? For faculty and directors who have entered
participating productions, those who are considering entering a participating production
and those who are curious.
10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
Workshop: Andrew Dolph
Amphitheatre
Introduction to Show Control & Way Should You Care
Explore the integration of control and cuing of lighting, sound and projection systems in
live theater. We'll cover the basics of how to get different types of equipment to talk to
each other reliably and how and when that's useful in live productions. We will also
examine the range of software choices that are available for different needs, and how to
implement them in a production process. Bring your questions!
10:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Critics Workshop Session 1:
Dan Patterson & Scott Gagnon
Board Room
This intense and time-consuming workshop lasts the entire four days of the Festival and
frequently involves late night writing sessions. This is for serious students who want to
work on writing skills, evaluative sense, and critical eye. Critics are almost universally
hated, because there are so many bad ones. Our goal is to help to train good critics who
can encourage creative artists to hone their art and craft by providing skillful, objective,
and constructive criticism.
11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
Workshop: Jerry Goralnick and Lois A. Kagan Mingus
A Day in the Life of the City (1)
Rodgers/Hammerstein
Learn and practice the techniques that The Living Theatre uses to create text,
movement and staging. Participants will be exposed to the work of Artaud, Piscator,
Brecht’s idea of political theatre and Meyhold’s Bio Mechanics as a form of expressive
movement through exercises, performance and the idea of non-fictional acting. The
Living Theatre history will be covered and related to the practical aspects of performing
in traditional as well as experimental forms. Participants must be available all three
days.
12:00-1:30 p.m.
Workshop: Rafael Jaen
Amphitheatre
Using Photoshop to Create Costume Renderings
Make a successful sketch using computer software. For the beginner and the
experienced; explore Word imaging and basic painting techniques using Photoshop,
adding light, texture, environment and other exciting details.
1:00-2:30 p.m.
Workshop: Lisa Dalton
Rodgers
Who’s Got the “It Factor”? Michael Chekhov Techniques
With Michael Chekhov's tools of Radiation, the Five Guiding Principles and the Four
Brothers of Beauty, Ease, Entirety and Form, you can build your “IT FACTOR” powers of
charisma and sparkle. Come dressed to play fully and read the recommended
preparation for the Actor Repairs workshop.
1:00-3:30 p.m.
Andrew Dolph Set-Up
Amphitheatre
1:00-4:00 p.m.
Design Exhibits Open to the Public Beethoven/Brahms
See what student designers are producing in our region.
1:30-3:00 p.m.
Off
Workshop: Melissa Hurt
Schubert
Go with the Flow: Yogic Acting for Presence Onstage and
Explore the eight limbs of yogic philosophy and learn how to incorporate them into your
acting practice and life. Engage in a short yoga practice and explore acting with these
presence-enhancing tenets in mind, specifically attitudes, physicality, breath, and
meditation. Please wear movement clothes.
2:00-4:00 p.m.
Workshop: Jerry Goralnik
Living Theater Workshop
Berlin
A discussion and demonstration of the techniques The Living Theatre Workshops offer to
teach to theater departments. A discussion of how The Living Theatre’s creative
development from Judith Malina’s work with Piscator to the Beck’s discovery of Artaud
and the Bio Mechanics of Meyerhold as well as many other influences have shaped our
work. Faculty Only.
1:30-3:00 p.m.
Workshop: Tony Howarth
Tearing a Play Apart for the Stage
Gershwin
Close reading and discussion of a couple of one-act plays and scenes/monologues from
full-length plays to explore dramatic action behind the words—finding the character’s
objectives (short- and long-range), identifying the arc of the story, isolating its turning
points—to help bring the text of the play to life on the stage.
1:30-3:00 p.m.
Workshop: PeggyRae Johnson & Wil Kilroy
How To Become a Respondent (1) SkyClass 7th Floor
Designed to assist all who are interested in becoming a respondent. Learn how the
process works, attend festival productions, meet each day and try out the skills learned.
All who complete this workshop will become eligible to respond to regional productions.
Participants should attend all 4 sessions.
2:30-4:30 p.m.
Workshop: William Roudebush
Acting by Mistake
Strauss
Based on his book, Acting By Mistake is designed for immediate use at an audition,
rehearsal or performance. This is not an acting technique but an application to whatever
techniques you already employ. Learn to trust your instincts, utilize your fears and find
your way towards the most positive process. Especially useful for early career directors
who wish to improve their skills working with actors.
3:00-4:30 p.m.
Workshop: Jim Beauregard & Thom Devanthal
Give Me Something & I Will Hit You With It!
Shubert
A hands on approach to fighting with found objects. Grab a rope, a clipboard, an
umbrella, maybe even a shoe, and learn how to pummel someone without really hurting
them.
3:00-4:30 p.m.
Workshop: Cathy Hurst & Company
Hammerstein
Student Directing Roundtable Discussion
Discuss student directing opportunities, programming and outcomes. An informal
discussion about the nature, challenges and rewards of exploring “student directing” in
Region I and its institutions. How could/should/do student directors explore or discover
directing opportunities? What strategies are used in YOUR program to integrate student
directors? How can KCACTF enhance the growth and development of student directors?
OPEN TO STUDENTS.
3:00 -5:00 p.m.
Workshop: Crystal Brian
Rodgers
Whitewash: A Collaborative Devising of a Social Justice
Production, Part 1
A multi-session workshop in which an ensemble of actors/writers/directors will devise,
create and perform a piece focused on political and social issues relevant to the concerns
of the participants and the context of the festival. Must be able to attend all three
sessions, rehearsals and performance. (Thurs. 12:30-2:30 p.m. and 10:45 p.m.12:30 a.m., Fri. 3:00-5:00 p.m., Sat. 11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m.)
3:30-5:00 p.m.
Workshop: Matt DeLong
Scenic Textures
Mozart
Textures can play an extremely important role in theatre design. A designer may wish to
create a sense of strong realism or use texture, on its own, to add visual interest and
impact. For both scenic artists and lighting designers, a textured set, whether it has had
the techniques of carving or plaster type material applied, will literally be brought to life
by lighting, as the three-dimensional qualities will be brought into play by the use of
light and shadows. Learn some techniques in texture innovation in a hands-on
environment.
3:30-5:30 p.m.
Workshop: Andrew Dolph
Projections for the Rest of Us
Amphitheatre
Come and learn how to escape PowerPoint and create effective projections on a small
budget. Explore a variety of relatively inexpensive tools and learn how they can be used
effectively in a variety of productions including musical theater, dramas, and a concert
choir performance using equipment that's easily available, and inexpensive software
tools.
3:30-5:30 p.m.
Workshop: Tony Howarth
Gershwin
One-Minute Plays—From Page to Stage, Part 1
Create and produce one-minute plays. In Part 1, “Getting Organized,” we’ll discuss the
parameters of a one-minute play then fan out to write plays in private. Bring copies of
any one-minute plays you have written. Playwrights (no experience necessary) and
actors, sign up in the lobby ahead of time. Participants must be available for all
four sessions.
4:00-5:00 p.m.
Design Exhibitors Reception
Brahms/Beethoven
5:00-7:30 p.m.
V.I.P. Dinner
Classics Restaurant
Sheraton FourPoints
By invitation only.
5:30-7:30 p.m.
1x2, 6x10 Rehearsals
Shubert
Strauss
Rodgers
Gershwin
Spaces as assigned
Hammerstein
Board Room
Porter
Berlin
6:00-7:30 p.m.
Odets: Still Waiting Rehearsal
Amphitheatre
8:00 p.m.
451
By: Richard Lawson
Franklin Pierce University
Directed by Richard Lawson
Jim Dougherty – Festival TD
Dukakis Center
9:30 p.m.
(Or after performance)
Irene Ryan Semi-finalists announcement Dukakis Center
and Awards ceremony
10:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m.
1x2, 6x10 Rehearsals
Hammerstein
Rodgers
Gershwin
Shubert
10:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m.
Preliminary Presentation
SSDC (Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers)
Amphitheater
Spaces as assigned
Board Room
Porter
Strauss
Berlin
Closed Session
The three student directors being evaluated are: Frank-Thomas Grogan (Eastern Connecticut State
University), Doug Oliphant (Central Connecticut State University), Matt Silver (Southern Connecticut
State University).
10:30 p.m.-1:00 a.m.
(or after show)
Hospitality Suite for Faculty and Guests
Presidential Suite
Thursday, January 29, 2009
7:30-8:00 a.m.
Irene Ryan Stage Managers Meeting
8:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.
Festival Registration
8:30-9:30 a.m.
SSDC Preliminaries Response Session
Closed Session
Berlin
9:00-10:00 a.m.
451 Response
9:00-10:00 a.m.
Workshop: William Schill
What To Do After You Get Off The Bus
Berlin
Host Hotel Lobby
Strauss
Strauss
The Business of The Business covers the following: Making the transition from academic
to professional theater; Establishing yourself in the New York theater community;
Meeting Casting Directors; Seeking and Obtaining Agency Representation; The role of a
Professional Manager; Understanding the Unions; Working in Regional Theatre;
Performing in Television Commercials; Finding Success in Daytime Television; Audition
Process and Conduct and “Tools of the Trade.”
9:00-10:30 a.m.
Workshop: Lisa Dalton
An Actor Repairs: Michael Chekhov's Psychophysical
Techniques
One of the best ways an actor can prepare is to first repair. Come to experience and
practice moving like earth, water, air and light. Sharpen the tools that allow freedom for
natural creative expression. Dress to play freely and read Michael Chekhov's "On the
Technique of Acting". Bring a few lines from a monologue or scene, and for the really
passionate, look for KCACTF Preparation link at
http://www.chekhov.net/store/calendar.html
9:00-10:30 a.m.
Irene Ryan Semi-Final Call and Rehearsal
Dukakis Center
For the Performing Arts
9:00-11:00 a.m.
Workshop: Tony Howarth
Gershwin
One-Minute Plays—From Page to Stage, Part 2
In “The First Draft,” a continuation of the morning’s workshop, we’ll read each other’s
plays and offer a critique of each play. One-on-one conferences available. Participants
must be available for all four sessions.
9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
Programming Concepts
Workshop: Rui Alves, Ed Hyatt, Thomas Ladd Mozart
Introduction to Moving Lights: Parameters and
Use the ETC Ion / Eos Consoles along with a selection of moving lights. Expect to have
hands-on time with the console and follow along with the instructors on how to use
moving lights and make several moving light cues.
9:00 a.m.-12:45 p.m.
Design Response
for National and Regional Entries
Beethoven/Brahms
Round One of professional designers’ response to student work presented for the Region
I, Mehron and Barbizon awards competition. Student designers must be present at their
pre-assigned response time in order to qualify for award consideration. Quiet observers
are welcome.
9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
Theatre Technology Expo Open
Mozart
Exhibits and workshops by Boston Illumination Group, Rosco, Rosco Textures, Focal
Press, Barbizon, Thematics and ALPS.
9:30-11:30 a.m.
Workshop: Claudia Traub
Zen and the Art of Acting
Strauss
Use meditation, relaxation, Alexander technique, yoga and being in the now to support
your text work, creativity, power, vulnerability and awareness.
10:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
10:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
Critics Workshop Session 2
Dan Patterson & Scott Gagnon
Workshop: Kaia Monroe
Contact Improv for Actors
Board Room
Shubert
A step-by-step exploration of contact improv fundamentals and accompanying Barteneiff
principles for beginners and intermediates. Expand your personal movement vocabulary,
kinesthetic intelligence, range of motion, and innate dance skills. Very physical. Come
dressed to sweat.
10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Workshop: Jerry Goralnick and Lois A. Kagan Mingus
A Day in the Life of the City (2)
Rodgers/Hammerstein
Continue work begun on Wednesday. Participants must be available all three days.
10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
Irene Ryan Semi-Finals
Stage Managers
Dukakis Center
11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
Workshop: Elinor Parker
SkyClass 7th Floor
Digital Rendering for Designers: Adobe Photoshop
Use Adobe Photoshop as a design tool in costume, lighting, and scenery. Hands-on.
11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
Workshop: Melissa Hurt
Strauss
It’s Soooo Easy!: Lessac’s Kinesensic Voice and Body for
Everyday Living
Move through Lessac Body and Voice explorations to tap into your optimal and most
healthful self. Lessac work extends beyond stage clarity, tone and physical agility, but
encourages continual discoveries for the actor’s body and voice in everyday life. Please
wear movement clothes.
12:00-1:30 p.m.
Workshop: F. Chase Rozelle III
Porter
Getting Your Start as a Professional Designer
Established professionals who have found and explored some of the many career paths
available to someone interested in a career in technical theatre discuss how they got
their starts. Learn strategies for your start and discover career directions you might
have never considered.
12:30-2:00 p.m.
Workshop: Larry Nye
Creativing Movement
Shubert
Join a movement workshop that incorporates the use of the alphabet, shapes, colors and
emotions to help the actor discover ways to motivate their characters through
movement. Excellent for teacher's looking for new ways to instruct theatre and dance
classes for all ages.
12:30-2:30 p.m.
Workshop: John Hudson
Hammerstein
Part One: Shakespeare: A New Paradigm
After a presentation of the evidence for a new leading candidate as a solution to the
‘authorship controversy’, the so-called ‘dark lady,’ a 'black,' Jewish/Marrano woman,
from a family of Venetian Jews of Moorish origin, Aemelia Bassano Lanier (1569-1645)
will be a panel discussion with Mr. Hudson, Mitchell Riggs and guests.
12:30-2:30 p.m.
Production, Part 2
Workshop: Crystal Brian
Amphitheatre
Whitewash: A Collaborative Devising a Social Justice
Continuation of Wednesday’s workshop.
12:45-1:45 p.m.
Design Exhibits Open to the Public Beethoven/Brahms
1:00-2:00 p.m.
Workshop: Rich Dale
Gobos and Projections for the Stage
Mozart
Learn about products available to create unique and exciting atmospheres on the stage.
Discover the appropriate time or opportunity to use an effect and to create the right
amount of effects to NOT upstage the performers or action. Various motion effects will
be shown and discussed. The discussion will also show how to create new effects using
existing equipment available in most theatres.
1:00-2:30 p.m.
Workshop: Lisa Dalton
Rodgers
Who’s Got the “It Factor”? Michael Chekhov Techniques
With Michael Chekhov's tools of Radiation, the Five Guiding Principles and the Four
Brothers of Beauty, Ease, Entirety and Form, you can build your “IT FACTOR” powers of
charisma and sparkle. Come dressed to play fully and read the recommended
preparation for the Actor Repairs workshop.
1:00-3:00 p.m.
Workshop: Jerry Goralnick and Lois A. Kagan Mingus
Living Theater Workshop for Faculty
Strauss
A discussion and demonstration of the techniques The Living Theatre Workshops offer to
teach to theater departments. A discussion of how The Living Theatre’s creative
development from Judith Malina’s work with Piscator to the Beck’s discovery of Artaud
and the Bio Mechanics of Meyerhold as well as many other influences have shaped our
work. Faculty Only.
1:00-3:00 p.m.
Workshop: Bonnie Baggeson & Deb Acquavella
Stage Management Tips and Techniques
Berlin
Discuss and explore professional stage management in today’s theatrical industry. We
will cite differences in styles and techniques depending upon the venue within which we
are employed.
1:30-3:00 p.m.
Workshop: PeggyRae Johnson & Wil Kilroy
How to Become a Respondent (2) Skyclass 7th Floor
Continuation of workshop begun on Wednesday.
1:45-5:30 p.m.
Design Response
for National and Regional Entries
Beethoven/Brahms
Round One (continued) of professional designers’ response to student work presented
for the Region I, Mehron and Barbizon awards competition. Student designers must be
present at their pre-assigned response time in order to qualify for award consideration.
Quiet observers are welcome.
2:00-5:00 p.m.
Workshop: Rui Alves, Ed Hyatt, Thomas Ladd
Advanced Moving Light Techniques
Mozart
Intended for someone who has experience with moving lights either from a previous
class or from actual use. We will go into more detail with the function of palettes, effects
and other more advanced functions. Participants will work on consoles with the
instructors to create moving light effects.
2:30-3:30 p.m.
Workshop: Stephanie Dean
Hammerstein
Powering Vocals: Movement in Musical Theatre
Performance
Explore how movement can help connect the voice and the body during performance.
2:30-3:30 p.m.
Judges Meeting for Irene Ryans Semi-Finals
Gazebo Restaurant
Four Points Sheraton
2:30-4:30 p.m.
Workshop: Nicolas Roesler
Restorative Movement Theater
Shubert
A movement workshop that uses focus exercises to help an ensemble at the beginning
of developing a piece, or one that just needs to get out of it's head. Through acting
displacement and story/character building techniques that originate from the National
Theater Institute, the Wooster Group, the SITI Company and the FullStop Collective
there are other ways to work a piece of text, or to create a new piece entirely. Come
prepared to move!
2:30-4:30 p.m.
Workshop: Brianne Beatrice
Sanford Meisner Workshop
Rodgers
Basic 'Meisner' terminology, understanding 'repetition exercises,' Students present
monologues or scene work and will be coached 'moment to moment' keeping the actors
on their ACTION.
3:00-5:00 p.m.
Workshop: Jerry Goralnick and Lois A. Kagan Mingus
Living Theatre Workshop for Students
Strauss
An overview of The Living Theatre history and an introduction to various techniques we
use in our creative process for creating movement, text and staging. Learn how the
work of Piscator, Artaud and Meyerhold have influenced and been applied in our creative
work.
3:00-5:00 p.m.
Workshop: Tony Howarth
One-Minute Plays, Part 3
Gershwin
In “The rewrite,” a continuation of Wed. sessions, we’ll read the rewrites and offer a final
critique. Participants must be available for all four sessions.
3:30-5:30 p.m.
SSDC Rehearsals
Closed Session
Porter, Berlin
Gershwin
3:30 p.m.
Public Speech/Private Thought
by Craig Handel
Dean College
Directed by Craig Handel
Jo Nazro – Festival TD
McKay Theater
Fitchburg State
5:30-7:30 p.m.
1x2, 6x10 Rehearsals
Shubert
Rodgers
Porter
Berlin
Spaces as assigned
Strauss
Board Room
Gershwin
Hammerstein
5:30-7:30 p.m.
Odets: Still Waiting Rehearsal
Amphitheatre
Amphitheatre
5:30-7:30 p.m.
V.I.P. Dinner
By Invitation Only
Bangkok Hill
8:00 p.m.
An Ideal Husband
Weston Theater
By Oscar Wilde
Fitchburg State
Bridgewater State College
Directed by Dr. Suzanne Ramczyk
10:45 p.m.
(Or after performance)
Awards ceremony
Weston Theater
11:15 p.m.-12:15 a.m.
Faculty Showcase
, Stage Manager
Shubert/Strauss
If your teacher is an actor, you students would LOVE to see them up on the stage. See
them practice what they preach! About a month before the festival, faculty received a
scene to study and memorize without knowing who their partner would be. All is
revealed at the Showcase, where they meet their partner and dive into the scene
together at the moment of performance – which gives a whole new, literal meaning to
playing a scene as if “for the first time!” Take it from those who’ve done it – it’s a great
adrenaline rush and a really good time!
10:45 p.m.-12:30 a.m.
1x2, 6x10 Rehearsals
Hammerstein
Rodgers
Gershwin
Amphitheatre
Spaces as assigned
Board Room
Porter
Berlin
Classics (Back room)
10:45 p.m.-12:30 a.m.
Whitewash Rehearsal
Skyclass 7th Floor
10:45 p.m.-1:00 a.m.
(or after show)
Hospitality Suite for Faculty and Guests
Presidential Suite
Friday, January 30, 2009
8:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.
Festival Registration
Hotel Lobby
8:00-9:00 a.m.
Public Speech Response
Amphitheatre
8:00-9:30 a.m.
Region I Faculty Meeting
Classics Restaurant
FourPoints Sheraton
Faculty from all colleges and universities in Region I are strongly encouraged to attend
this informational breakfast session with Region I officers. Bring questions, concerns,
and ideas. Participate in making your Regional Festival and activities more accessible to
you, your program and your students. This will be followed by Creative Conversation
with Gregg Henry, National KCACTF Artistic Director, in Amphitheatre, 9:30-11:00 a.m.
8:00-11:00 a.m.
Irene Ryans Semi-Finals Response
Hammerstein
8:30-9:30 p.m.
Workshop: Carrie Ann Quinn
Method for a New Millennium
Shubert
How to apply traditional method acting techniques, such as sense memory, to
contemporary non-realistic and avant-garde theatre. A fun, unique way to approach
scenes and characters! Acting exercises and scenework on feet and discussion
afterwards.)
9:00-10:00 a.m.
Ideal Husband Response
Board Room
9:00-10:00 a.m.
Workshop: John Forbes and Mark Evancho
Lighting Designers’ Paperwork Trail
Porter
A discussion of paperwork useful to the lighting designer centers around types of
paperwork collected by the Workshop Leader from designers around the country and
provided to the participants on a CD or online.
9:00-10:30 a.m.
Workshop: Dana Yeaton
Rodgers
Going Solo: Writing and Performing the One-Person Show
Get wild and practical all at once. Going solo offers the writer-performer limitless
theatrical possibilities; it’s also cheap to produce, easy to tour, and—like a good audition
monologue—it allows you to showcase your particular talents.
9:00-11:00 a.m.
Workshop: Tony Howarth
One-minute Plays—From Page to Stage, Part 4 Gershwin
In “Putting the play on its feet,” a continuation of the previous sessions, interested
actors will receive scripts and have a chance to rehearse. Playwrights will be able to
make last-minute adjustments based on actor feedback, then we’ll have script-in-hand
readings, followed by response. Participants must be available for all four
sessions.
9:00 a.m.-12:45 p.m.
Design Response
for National and Regional Entries
Brahms/ Beethoven
Round One (continued) of professional designers’ response to student work presented
for the Region I, Mehron and Barbizon awards competition. Student designers must be
present at their pre-assigned response time in order to qualify for award consideration.
Quiet observers are welcome.
9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
Theatre Technology Expo Open
Mozart
Exhibits and workshops by Boston Illumination Group, Rosco, Rosco Textures, Focal
Press, Barbizon, Thematics and ALPS.
9:00 a.m.-10:30 a.m.
Workshop: Matt DeLong
Using Color in Light
Mozart
Learn the basics of using color as an effective design tool. The interaction between
lighting, scenery, and costume design is vital. We focus on and demonstrate interaction
between these elements and different methods of creating color.
9:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Moving Lights Open Console Time Mozart
Technical assistance on the moving light consoles in the Theatre Technology Exposition
Hall will be available for anyone who would like to try what they have learned or ask any
questions that were not answered in the classes.
9:30 a.m.-11:00 p.m.
Workshop: Gregg Henry
Creative Conversation
Amphitheatre
Come discuss your issues interests, and ideas with the Artistic Director of KCACTF.
9:30-11:30 a.m.
Workshop: Orestes Mihaly
Career Opportunities in Technical Theater
Berlin
This is a practical and informative workshop that covers the wide range of job
possibilities in Technical Theatre. Learn first hand how many people with different skill
sets it takes to run an effective scenic organization which caters to Broadway, corporate
industrials, theme park attractions, tours and much more. Production Resource Group
(PRG) is the world’s leading entertainment technology company with work that spans
the globe. Techies and actors will also learn about PRG Scenic Technologies summer
internship program which helps students decide what career path is right for them, as
well as possibilities of employment at other PRG divisions.
10:00-12:30 p.m.
Love Drunk (World Premiere) Reading
Shubert/Strauss
By Romulus Linney
Directed by Kelly Morgan
With Austin Pendleton and Rebekah Jones
"An older man picks up a much younger woman in a bar and brings her to his retreat, an
Appalachian palace. Her littered past collides with his need and what follows is an
inspired dance of sexual tension." This production will run March 28-April 19, 2009, at
The Abingdon Theater in NYC.
10:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Critics Workshop Session 3: Dan Patterson & Scott Gagnon
Board Room
11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
SSDC Final Presentation
Open to the public
Amphitheatre
KCACTF respondents attended regional productions (associate or participating) and
nominated outstanding student directors for the Society of Stage Directors and
Choreographers (SSDC) National Fellowship Audition. Those directors who were selected
to compete at the regional festival chose 5-minute scenes to direct using the KCACTF
national guidelines and then rehearsed at home colleges. SSDC judges have examined
the students' prompt books, judged preliminary round auditions, engaged in interviews
and attended rehearsals at the regional festival. The final scene competition will
determine the regional winner who will go to the national festival in April 2009.
11:00-12:15 p.m.
Workshop: Brenda Shepard & Larry Zoll Mozart
Future of Lighting Controls
What is the future of theatrical controls, and why should you care? Different applications
require different controllers and control protocols. We’ll help demystify the present and
future of control while exploring some of the more popular desks and controllers and
discuss how computer and networking technology are affecting the way we communicate
with our lighting equipment.
11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
Workshop: Jerry Goralnick and Lois A. Kagan Mingus
A Day in the Life of the City (3)
Rodgers/Hammerstein
Continue work begun on Wednesday. Participants must be available all three days.
11:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Workshop: Cathy Hurst & Company
Porter
Faculty Directing Roundtable Discussion
Designed as an opportunity to discuss student directing opportunities, programming and
outcomes. An informal discussion about the nature, challenges and rewards of exploring
“student directing” in Region I and its institutions. How could/should/do student
directors explore or discover directing opportunities? What strategies are used in your
program to integrate student directors? How can KCACTF enhance the growth and
development of student directors? OPEN TO FACULTY.
12:00-1:30 p.m.
Carleton
Workshop: John Forbes, Greg Ramos, Mark Evancho, and Sarah
Berlin
Collaboration: Directors and Lighting Designers
Discuss the collaborative process between directors and lighting designers, including
comparative script analysis and preparation, translation of general production concepts
into lighting approaches, adaptation of the lighting approach during tech and dress
rehearsals, and post production evaluation.
12:30-2:00 p.m.
Workshop: Larry Nye
Shubert
W.W.F.D.—What Would Fosse Do?
Introduces the students to Bob Fosse's unique approach to dance. Explore, jazz dance,
isolations and the creative movement dialogue recognized as Fosse. Learn individual
steps along with a short choreographed piece. No previous dance training required.
Wear movement clothes
12:30-2:00 p.m.
Workshop: Katie Kohler Amory
Somatic Movement for the Actor
Strauss
Learn to use somatic movement as a way to engage the sensitive dialogue between
inner experience and outward expression of the actor.
12:45-1:45 p.m.
Design Exhibits open to the public Beethoven/Brahms
1:00-2:15 p.m.
Workshop: Brenda Shepard & Larry Zoll Mozart
Alternative Light Sources
What is the future of theatrical controls, and why should you care? Different applications
require different controllers and control protocols. We’ll help demystify the present and
future of control while exploring some of the more popular desks and controllers and
discuss how computer and networking technology are affecting the way we communicate
with our lighting equipment.
1:00-2:30 p.m.
Workshop: Bill Mootos, Dona Sommers, Tom Miller
Career in the Theater: The Role of the Theatrical Unions
Board Room
If you want to act, learn more about the three professional actors’ unions—Actors'
Equity Association (AEA), Screen Actors Guild (SAG), and American Federation of
Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) This informative discussion will cover how and
when to join a union and the variety of contracts and benefits that affect members. Q &
A driven with take home materials. Designed to ease the transition from an academic
environment to a professional career.
1:00-3:00 p.m.
1x2 Presentations
Amphitheatre
This Is Family Money
By William C. Fancher (Boston University)
Tim Gleason, Director
Jamie Steffen (Southern Connecticut State University), Stage Manager
Hard Rain
By Steven Barkhimer (Boston University)
Bill Roudebush, Director
Molly Kaufhold (Rhode Island College), Stage Manager
1:00-3:00 p.m.
Workshop: John Hudson
Rodgers/Hammerstein
Part Two: Performing Shakespeare’s Hidden Allegories
After his presentation on the Bassano theory that suggest that many of the allegorical
features make sense if the plays were written as Jewish religious allegories, by England’s
Marrano/Jewish poet Aemelia Bassano Lanier, there will be a panel discussion with Mr.
Hudson, Mitchell Riggs and guests.
1:00-4:00 p.m.
Stage Management Interviews
Tina Shackleford
Gershwin
1:30-2:15 p.m.
Moving Lights Open Console Time Mozart
Technical assistance on the moving light consoles in the Theatre Technology Exposition
Hall will be available for anyone who would like to try what they have learned or ask any
questions that were not answered in the classes.
1:30-3:00 p.m.
Workshop: Alexander Bagnall
Porter
Theater Planning and Construction
Ever wonder how your performance space got built? An overview of the complete
construction process, from initial concept through owner training. Learn about the key
players in the process, how the architectural design process is typically phased and how
end users can fit into the process. Discover the many professional opportunities within
the architectural design and construction industry for those with theater training.
1:30:-3:00 p.m.
Workshop: PeggyRae Johnson & Wil Kilroy
How to Become a Respondent (3) Skyclass 7th Floor
Continuation of workshop begun on Wednesday.
1:45-5:30 p.m.
Design Response
Beethoven/Brahms
for National and Regional Entries, if needed
Round One (continued) of professional designers’ response to student work presented
for the Region I, Mehron and Barbizon awards competition. Student designers must be
present at their pre-assigned response time in order to qualify for award consideration.
Quiet observers are welcome.
2:15-5:15 p.m.
Programming Concepts
Workshop: Rui Alves, Ed Hyatt, Thomas Ladd Mozart
Introduction to Moving Lights: Parameters and
Use the ETC Ion / Eos Consoles along with a selection of moving lights. Expect to have
hands-on time with the console and follow along with the instructors on how to use
moving lights and make several moving light cues
3:00-4:30 p.m.
Workshop: Matt Chapman
Strauss
The Living Performer: Actor’s Tools at Work
Very physical exploration of the power of the actor in time and space! Using ensemble
awareness, honesty, availability, and a ferocious sense of play, investigate what it
means to be alive onstage. Be prepared to move, laugh, and see. Grounded in the
perspectives of the Dell'Arte International School of Physical Theatre
3:00-4:30 p.m.
Workshop: Kaia Monroe
Yoga for Singers
Hammerstein
A beginning to intermediate level session focusing on the asanas (poses) and pranas
(breath work) that specifically enhance the singer's technique. Special attention will be
given to the core and alignment. Come dressed appropriately. A yoga mat is highly
desirable.
3:00-5:00 p.m.
Production, Part 3
Workshop: Crystal Brian
Rodgers
Whitewash: A Collaborative Devising of a Social Justice
Continuation of Wednesday’s and Thursday’s workshop.
3:00-5:00 p.m.
Workshop: Jerry Goralnick and Lois A. Kagan Mingus
Living Theater for Students
Shubert
An overview of The Living Theatre history and an introduction to various techniques we
use in our creative process for creating movement, text and staging. Learn how the
work of Piscator, Artaud and Meyerhold have influenced and been applied in our creative
work.
3:00-5:00 p.m.
Workshop: Crystal Tiala
Model Building Techniques
Board Room
Hands-on workshop building basic items for theatrical models in 1/4" scale. Look at
techniques for walls, furniture, and texture and practice some ideas of your own.
4:00-5:30 p.m.
Workshop: Michael Maynard
Selected Topics in Audio
Amphitheatre
Hands on workshop for anyone interested in live audio includes a wide list of topics,
from basic acoustic principles to audio special effects to system setup and measurement.
We will have gear to put your hands on including a variety of loudspeakers,
microphones, a console or two, and loudspeaker modeling and measurement software.
3:30 p.m.
3 Pope Joan
By Michelle Poynton
McKay Theater
Fitchburg State
Boston University
Directed by Tara Matkosky
Jo Nazro – Festival TD
4:30-5:00 p.m.
Workshop: We are USITT
l
Classics Backroom
5:00-7:00 p.m.
USITT Reception
Classics Backroom
5:30-7:30 p.m.
6x10s Rehearsals
Shubert
Strauss
Porter
Spaces as assigned
Hammerstein
Rodgers
Berlin
5:30-7:30 p.m.
Odets: Still Waiting Rehearsal
Amphitheatre
6:00-7:30 p.m.
V.I.P. Dinner
Slattery’s Restaurant
8:00 p.m.
The Matchmaker
By Thornton Wilder
Keene State College
Directed by PeggyRae Johnson
Jim Dougherty – Festival TD
Dukakis Center
10:30 p.m.
(or after the show)
Irene Ryan Finalists Announcement
and Awards ceremony
Dukakis Center for the
Performing Arts
11:00 p.m.-12:00 a.m.
Second Scene Showcase
Shubert/Strauss
Second chances pay off too! Irene Ryan Nominees not selected for the semi-finals get
the opportunity to strut their stuff and present either their second prepared scene or
monologue. Signup for these few slots is on a first come, first present basis! “Rejection”
is not a word for the truly professional. The process will be announced Wednesday
immediately following the production.
10:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m.
6x10 Rehearsals
Hammerstein
Porter
Spaces as assigned
Rodgers
Berlin
Amphitheatre
11:00 p.m.-1:00 a.m.
(or after show)
Gershwin
Hospitality Suite for Faculty and Guests
Presidential Suite
Saturday, January 31, 2009
8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
Festival Registration
Hotel Lobby
8:00-9:00 a.m.
3 Pope Joan Response
Amphitheatre
9:00-10:00 a.m.
Matchmaker Response
Amphitheatre
9:00-10:00 a.m.
Workshop: James Rone
Rodgers
CLIMB Theater: The Actor as Creator, The Actor as
Educator
Catch a glimpse of a style of interactive theatre that engages the actor as a creator, a
performer, and a facilitator of dialogue. Led by the Teaching Company Director of CLIMB
Theatre, a touring educational theatre company, based in the Twin Cities of Minnesota,
that offers undergraduate semester-long internships and post-graduate employment to
young actors. Ashley Heaston assists.
9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
Workshop: Rui Alves, Ed Hyatt, Thomas Ladd
Advanced Moving Lights
Mozart
Intended for someone who has experience with moving lights either from a previous
class or from actual use. We will go into more detail with the function of palettes, effects
and other more advanced functions. Participants will work on consoles with the
instructors to create moving light effects.
9:00 a.m.-12:45 p.m.
Design Response – Finalist Round
Beethoven/Brahms
Professional designers respond to student work presented for the Region I, Mehron and
Barbizon awards competition. Student designers must be present at their pre-assigned
response time in order to qualify for award consideration. Quiet observers are welcome.
9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
Theatre Technology Expo Open
Mozart
Exhibits and workshops by Boston Illumination Group, Rosco, Rosco Textures, Focal
Press, Barbizon, Thematics and ALPS.
10:00-10:30 a.m.
Auditions: James Rone
Rodgers
Climb Theater Auditions Session 1
Group auditions of no more than 10 people at a time. Sign up at the information desk in
the lobby. Wear sensible shoes!
10:00-11:00 a.m.
1x2 Response
Porter
10:00-11:30 a.m.
Irene Ryan Finalists Rehearsal
Weston Theater
Fitchburg State
10:00 a.m.-11:30 p.m.
Workshop: Meron Langsner
Advanced Stage Combat
Strauss
An advanced unarmed stage combat workshop exploring choreography styles meant to
simulate popular perceptions of the martial arts for stage or screen. Limit of 12 students
who should have prior stage combat experience.
10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
Workshop: Sheryl Stoddley & Daniel Morbyrne
Physical Theatre in An Ensemble Setting—Serious Play!’s
Actor Training Process
Shubert
Physical discipline, concentration, artistic ensemble collaboration are stylized acting
techniques of the Serious Play! Acting Process, drawing on the exercises of Tadashi
Suzuki and Anne Boagart's Viewpoints vocabulary and compositional work—combine in a
unique way to empower the actor to embody a play's physical action and to clarify the
communication of content.
10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
Workshop: Orestes Mihaly
Career Opportunities in Technical Theater
Berlin
This is a practical and informative workshop that covers the wide range of job
possibilities in Technical Theatre. Learn first hand how many people with different skill
sets it takes to run an effective scenic organization which caters to Broadway, corporate
industrials, theme park attractions, tours and much more. Production Resource Group
(PRG) is the world’s leading entertainment technology company with work that spans
the globe. Techies and actors will also learn about PRG Scenic Technologies summer
internship program which helps students decide what career path is right for them, as
well as possibilities of employment at other PRG divisions.
10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
Workshop: Magda Romanski
Working with a Dramaturg
Gershwin
Examine the three main tracks of dramaturgical careers--Production Dramaturgy,
Institutional Dramaturgy, and Dramatic Criticism. Informative and useful for
dramaturges, directors, designers and actors.
10:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
Workshop: Crystal Tiala
Beginning Vectorworks
SkyClass 7th Floor
Try a sample version of Vectorworks drafting for scenic designers. Intended for
beginners, however, all questions will be welcome. (Not intended for lighting designers.)
Bring your laptop or use ours.
10:30-11:00 a.m.
Auditions: James Rone
Climb Theater Session 2
Rodgers
Group auditions of no more than 10 people at a time. Sign up at the information desk in
the lobby. Wear sensible shoes!
11:00-11:30 a.m.
Auditions: James Rone
Climb Theater Session 3
Rodgers
Group auditions of no more than 10 people at a time. Sign up at the information desk in
the lobby. Wear sensible shoes!
10:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
Workshop: Dana Yeaton
Rodgers
Going Solo: Writing and Performing the One-Person Show
Get wild and practical all at once. Going solo offers the writer-performer limitless
theatrical possibilities; it’s also cheap to produce, easy to tour, and—like a good audition
monologue—it allows you to showcase your particular talents.
11:00 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
Critics Workshop Session 4: Dan Patterson & Scott Gagnon
Board Room
11:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
Auditions: James Rone
Climb Theater Session 4
Rodgers
Group auditions of no more than 10 people at a time. Sign up at the information desk in
the lobby. Wear sensible shoes!
11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
Production
Whitewash: A Collaborative Devising of a Social Justice
Amphitheatre
An ensemble of actors/writers/directors present the piece they devised and created
during this festival. The piece focuses on political and social issues relevant to the
concerns of the participants and the context of the festival.
11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
Workshop: Jim Beauregard
Illusions of Violence
Strauss
Stage Combat workshop where participants will work on basic hand-to-hand skills. Learn
how to punch, kick and choke someone without really hurting them. Dress to Move!!!
12:00-1:00 p.m.
Workshop: Meron Langsner
Writing the Fight
Gershwin
Stage combat, for playwrights and dramaturges, addressing both stagecraft and
dramatic structure. Major topics will include plot structure, character dynamics, and
production concerns.
12:00-2:00 p.m.
Workshop: Jerry Goralnick and Lois A. Kagan Mingus
Living Theater for Students
Shubert
An overview of The Living Theatre history and an introduction to various techniques we
use in our creative process for creating movement, text and staging. Learn how the
work of Piscator, Artaud and Meyerhold have influenced and been applied in our creative
work.
12:00-5:00
Stage Management Interviews
Tina Shackleford
Berlin
1:00-2:30 p.m.
Workshop: Matt Chapman
Strauss
Living Performer: The Actor’s Tools at Work
1:00-2:30 p.m.
Workshop: John Hill & Tom McCabe
Quick Change Frogs and Other Oddities
Porter
Youth theater presents unique design challenges that aren’t always encountered in other
theatrical forms. This conversation and exploration of specific solutions for working in
this genre will spark inspiration and creative options for your next project.
1:00-3:00 p.m.
Balancing Act
1:00-3:00 a.m.
Workshop: Emmanuel Chaulet
Hammerstein
Post-Performance Blues and Pre-Performance Jitters: A
Dramaturgy Response Session and Discussion
Matthew Wilson Smith and Bridget Frey Gershwin
LMDA (Literary Managers and Dramaturges of the Americas), ATHE (Association for
Theatre in Higher Education), and KCACTF offer an award year to recognize a student
dramaturge. Professional dramaturges will respond to this year’s entries and offer a
discussion on the responsibilities and duties of a dramaturge. Welcome quiet observers.
1:00-3:30 p.m.
Odets Still Waiting (World Premier) Reading
By Josh Perlstein
Amphitheatre
Written as a companion piece to Waitng for Lefty, this original piece is based on the life
of its writer Clifford Odets. Best known as the voice of the working class during the
1930´s, Odets struggled in the second half of his life to master the ways of Hollywood
and never lived down his testimony in front of the McCarthy committee. This open
workshop will continue to develop the play which is scheduled to have its premiere in
April. Open to students and Faculty to work the piece here at the festival, there will be 3
rehearsals and a public reading/discussion.
1:30-3:00 p.m.
Workshop: PeggyRae Johnson & Wil Kilroy
How to Become a Respondent (4) Skyclass 7th Floor
Continuation of workshop begun on Wednesday.
1:30-3:30 p.m.
Workshop: William Roudebush
Acting by Mistake
Strauss
Based on his book, Acting By Mistake is designed for immediate use at an audition,
rehearsal or performance. This is not an acting technique but an application to whatever
techniques you already employ. Learn to trust your instincts, utilize your fears and find
your way towards the most positive process. Especially useful for early career directors
who wish to improve their skills working with actors.
1:30-4:30 p.m.
Tech Olympics
Crystal Tiala
Mozart
All college and university students may sign up o- site to participate in the Tech
Olympics sponsored by New England Section of USITT. Events will include: Hanging and
focusing a lighting instrument; driving a screw into wood; knot tying--bowline and clove
hitch; reading a blueprint; fast costume changing and sewing. Judges are professionals
from the New England area. Winners will be determined by their speed, accuracy and
care. First prize is an award certificate, $50 and a package from Barbizon and second
prize is a package from Barbizon.
2:00-2:15 p.m.
2:00-3:00 p.m.
A Day in the Life of the City Actors Call
Shubert
Workshop: Peter Sampieri
Amphitheatre
Director/Designer Collaboration
Seminar/discussion between theatrical designer Sara Ossana and Mr. Sampoeri about
the process, struggles and opportunities that arise between directors/designers when
collaborating on a play/text. We will use our process on "The Pillowman" at Gamm
Theatre as a jumping off point, and share photos and models/versions of our production.
2:15 p.m.
A Day in the Life of the City Performance
2:30-3:30 p.m.
Workshop: William Schill
What To Do After You Get Off The Bus
Concourse
Strauss
The Business of The Business covers the following: Making the transition from academic
to professional theater; Establishing yourself in the New York theater community;
Meeting Casting Directors; Seeking and Obtaining Agency Representation; The role of a
Professional Manager; Understanding the Unions; Working in Regional Theatre;
Performing in Television Commercials; Finding Success in Daytime Television; Audition
Process and Conduct and “Tools of the Trade.”
3:00 -3:30 p.m.
Irene Ryan Finals Call
Weston Theater
Fitchburg State College
3:30-4:00 p.m.
Irene Ryan Finals Judges Orientation
4:00-6:00 p.m.
Irene Ryan Finals
, Stage Manager
5:00-7:00 p.m.
Strike Design Exhibition Displays
6:00-7:30 p.m.
Tech 6x10s
Weston Theater
Fitchburg State
6:00-7:30 p.m.
Irene Ryan Finals Judges Dinner
Bootlegger’s
6:00-7:30 p.m.
V.I.P. Dinner
By invitation
Bootlegger’s
Weston Theater
Fitchburg State
Weston Theater
Fitchburg State
8:00-9:30 p.m.
6x10 Presentations
Weston Theater
Fitchburg State
Mirror Image by Allison Cirbus (Stonehill College)
Nicholas Bussett (Western Connecticut State University, Stage Manager
Brandt Reiter, Director
Last Call by Robbi D'Allessandro (Lesley University)
Michael Block (Boston University), Stage Manager
Melissa Hurt, Director
Snap by Olivia Demeter (Suffolk University)
Kat Bernhard (Castleton State College), Stage Manager
Kathleen Sills, Director
Deer Crossing by Mary Conroy (Lesley University)
Gilly Clarke-Moon (Keene State College), Stage Manager
Tony Howarth, Director
Bob's Car by Gillian Durkee (Middlebury College)
Stacia Saniuk (Bates College), Stage Manager
Bruce Robinson, Director
Who You Got To Believe by Charlene A. Donaghy (Lesley University)
Robin Fontaine, Stage Manager
Sulochana Dissanayake, Director
Tony Howarth, Mentor
9:30-10:30 p.m.
(or after the 6x10s)
Awards ceremony
Weston Theater
(Fitchburg State)
11:15 p.m.-12:45 a.m.
(or after the awards)
Closing Dance Party
Ballroom
11:15 p.m.-2:00 a.m.
(or after show)
Hospitality Suite for Faculty and Guests
Presidential Suite
Sunday, February 1, 2009
9:00-1:00 a.m.
Irene Ryan Finals Response
Hammerstein
9:00-10:00 a.m.
6x10 Feedback
Amphitheatre
10:00-11:00 a.m.
Executive Committee Meeting
Board Room
Debra A. Acquavella (Workshop Leader) is Production Manager of Emerson Stage and
Co-Head of the BFA Stage/Production Management program at Emerson College.
Broadway: PSM of the Metamorphoses at Circle in the Square; Master Harold... and the
boys with Danny Glover; Jane Eyre, The Musical. Off-Broadway: Falsettos at Playwrights
Horizons; The Thing About Men at the Promenade; and Metamorphoses at Second Stage
Theatre. Regional Theatre: Actors Theatre of Louisville; Baltimore’s Centerstage;
Contemporary American Theatre Festival; Trinity Rep; Studio Arena; The Shakespeare
Theatre.
Rui Alves (Workshop Leader) has been the Rental Manager for A.L.P.S/Advanced
Lighting & Production Services for the last three years. He attended U-Conn as a
Technical Theatre major and worked at regional and summer theatres as staff and as a
freelance electrician, before moving to Boston. He has been with A.L.P.S. for over 8
years.
Raina Ames (Region I 2nd Vice Co-Chair, Irene Ryan Chair) is Director of Theatre
Education at University of New Hampshire. Ames has also served as Director of
Education at Theatre Virginia. Regional direction includes A Midsummer Night's Dream,
Palace Youth Theatre. On campus directing credits include: And Then They Came For
Me: Remembering The World Of Anne Frank; The Nastiest Drink In The World; The X
Factor; Midwives. This spring Ames’ original family musical The Boy Who Stood Still will
debut at UNH.
Kate Kohler Amory (Workshop Leader) has performed in many off-Broadway
productions including the role of Spider in the critically acclaimed The Life of Spiders,
Einstein's Dreams (Culture Project), Twelfth Night and Much Ado About Nothing (Lincoln
Center's Rose Theater). She has performed with many regional theaters including
Shakespeare & Company and New England Shakespeare Festival. She holds an MFA
from Naropa University, Masters from RADA/Kings College London and is a certified
Somatic Movement Educator.
Matt Babcock (Technical Assistant Weston), a 2007 graduate from Fitchburg State
College, is currently working at Foxwoods Resort and Casino with Entertainment and
PSAV as a Stagehand, and lead lighting technician. In his spare time he is a technical
consultant for Griswold High School Drama Department. Matt Started with KCACTF while
still a student where he won the National Meritorious Achievement Award in Scenic
Design. He also has nominations for the Barbizon Award in lighting.
Bonnie Baggesen (Workshop Leader) is the co-head of the BFA program in
Stage/Production Management at Emerson College. Professional stage manager for over
20 years for regional and commercial theatre. Credits include 9 seasons at Trinity
Repertory Company. Production stage manager for Playmakers Repertory Company and
Rites and Reason Theatre. National tours of Damn Yankees and Sunset Boulevard. While
earning an MFA in Theatre Management and Producing at Columbia University she
substituted on The Lion King and Search for Signs of Intelligent Life.
Alexander G. Bagnall (Workshop Leader) is currently a Staff Consultant at Cavanaugh
Tocci Associates, Inc., and specializes in the area of sound system design. Alex’s
background includes work at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia
and at the theater consulting firm Auerbach Pollock Friedlander. He has a B.A. in Theatre
from Oberlin College and an M.F.A. in Technical Design and Production with a
concentration in theater planning from the Yale School of Drama.
Brianne Beatrice (Workshop Leader) is a "Sanford Meisner Expert" who received her
BFA in Acting from Salem State College and her MFA in Acting from The Pennsylvania
State University. Brianne is Professor of Acting at Salem State College and Umass
Boston. She also teaches Film Acting at The Actors Workshop Boston. As a Finalist at
ACTF four consecutive years in a row, and winner of the 'Best Classical Actor' award,
Beatrice is pleased to bring "Meisner' and 'Truthful behavior in imaginary circumstances'
to Region I.
James T. Beauregard (Region I Immediate Past Co-Chair; Regional Selection Team) is
Assistant Professor of Theatre and Dance and Technical Director at Dean College,
Franklin, MA. Directing resume includes: Thoroughly Modern Millie, The Three
Musketeers, Much Ado About Nothing, and Scapino! Stage Combat is Jim's specialty and
has toured and taught extensively with an elite performing troupe and he continues to
teach and choreograph. Jim has spent the past seventeen years as a featured performer
at the Medieval Manor in Boston. For ten years Jim served as Artistic Director.
Steven Bergman (Region I Festival Workshop Coordinator) is Performing Arts
Instructor for the Littleton (MA) Public Schools. His published plays include: Have a
Seat, Please, Marvin and Julius (Heuer Publishing), History, At The Buzzer (Brooklyn
Publishers), and Cutting the Leash (JAC Publishing and Promotions). Composer: The
Curse of the Bambino, Jack The Ripper, scores for Comedy of Errors, and Book of Days.
Musical Director: over 100 productions throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Sharon Bernard (Region I Executive Assistant) has performed in several productions at
FSC. Her most recent performances have been The Rimers of Eldritch (Mavis) at FSC
and A Christmas Carol (Mrs. Cratchit) with Cornerstone Performing Arts Center. She was
a member of the FSC company which took The Laramie Project to the Edinburgh Fringe
Festival. Sharon has directed short plays for AmeriCulture Arts Festival and Stratton
Players including Heart Smart by Linda Eisenstein and Samuel Beckett’s Ohio
Impromptu. She’s a graduate of FSC and holds an MS in Library and Information Science
from Simmons College.
Dorisa S. Boggs (??) is professor of design and technical theatre at Roger Williams
University, has served as the chair of the Performing Arts Department for the last five
years. She has served as the resident set and lighting designer and production manager
since 1988. She freelances design for theatre, dance companies and commercial
installations throughout the region. Recently, she directed, designed, and acted at the
Barn Summer Playhouse, and produced and designed a film, Children of Providence.
Robert Boles (Region I Playwriting Co-Chair) is the director of the University of New
Haven theatre program. His production of Columbinus was performed at last year's
festival. Bob spent most of the last 30-odd years as an actor and director, working both
on and off Broadway, in many regional theatres around the country, as well as film and
television. He was awarded the Lipkin Prize for playwriting in 2005. He is a member of
Actors Equity, Screen Actors Guild, Dramatists Guild, and the Society of Stage Directors
and Choreographers.
Kate Braidwood ???
Crystal Brian (Region I Playwriting Co-Chair, Workshop Leader) is Professor of Theater
and Chair of the Department of Visual and Performing Arts at Quinnipiac University and
founded the Quinnipiac University Theater for Community, producing and directing
original plays and adaptations that have won critical acclaim. Brian has published articles
on the subjects of theater and community and theater and social and has also published
chapters in several anthologies on the work of Horton Foote, and is currently completing
a critical biography of the playwright. Brian received MFA and PHD degrees in theater
from UCLA.
Kaleta Brown (KCACTF National Selection Team) is a retired dean and professor
emeritus of theatre from Cypress College. She is a past president of the California
Educational Theater Association and the Legislative Action Committee for Arts in
Education. Kaleta has been honored with the Region VIII Lifetime Achievement Award,
two Kennedy Center Medallions for Theater Excellence, the CETA Medallion for dedication
to theater and CETA’s Outstanding Theatre Educator Award. She has served as an Irene
Ryan respondent nationally and directed the Irene Ryan Festival of Scenes at the
Kennedy Center.
Alisa Helene Bucchiere (Accompanist) received her BM degree from the University of
Lowell, MM from Westminster Choir College and is pursuing her PhD in Music Education
at Boston University. She is on the music faculties at Northern Essex Community College
and Fitchburg State College. Alisa was the music director/madrigal singer in A Christmas
Carol, music director/accompanist for Olympus on My Mind; music director/Juno in The
Tempest at the Newburyport Firehouse Center for the Arts and music
director/accompanist for The Pirates of Penzance, also at the Firehouse.
Jan Buttram (Workshop Leader) is Artistic Director and founding member of Abingdon
Theatre Company began her acting career at New Orleans Repertory Theatre. She was
touring with The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas when she began writing plays.
Performed across the U.S., Abingdon introduced Glory Girl; Zona, the Ghost of
Greenbrier; Private Battles, The President and Her Mistress, The Parker Family Circus
and Texas Homos. Backwoods won a Roger L. Stevens Award from the Kennedy Center’s
Fund for New American Plays; she is published by Samuel French, Smith & Kraus and
Heinemann Books.
Matt Chapman (Workshop Leader, Ryan Prelim & Production Respondent) plays with
physical theatre and clown. He is Artistic Director of Under the Table, a Brooklyn-based
ensemble, and he teaches and performs with Dell'Arte International. Matt has worked in
South Africa, England, Holland, Denmark, and the US, where he teaches at Marymount
Manhattan. He has taught workshops at the Kennedy Center, NYU, Vassar, Sarah
Lawrence, Towson, Luther, the University of Iowa, and UND. Matt is a graduate of
Dell'Arte International and KU.
Emmanuelle Chaulet (Workshop Leader) is Adjunct Theatre Faculty at the University
of Southern Maine, director/founder of Starlight Acting Institute, who trained with the
Michael Chekhov technique and a was a Fulbright Scholar at the Lee Strasberg Institute
in New York. She is a certified RYSE III, and Reiki practitioner who developed a unique
method Energize! A Holistic Approach To Acting. Her recently published book, A
Balancing Act explores recovering your highest creative self, the essence of your
character and true emotional balance.
Cap Corduan (Region 1 Host Technical Director) is currently head of the Technical
Theatre Program at Fitchburg State College and earned a BFA from Central CT State
University and an MFA from University of Illinois. Cap was assistant TD at the Empire
State Institute for Performing Arts, head of Design & Technical Theatre at Walnut Hill
School of Performing Arts and ATD and Lighting Supervisor at Mohegan Sun Casino.
Eric Cornwell (Region I Co-Vice Chair of Design and Technology) is the technical
director and lighting designer at Southern Connecticut State University. For the 20 years
prior to that he was a free-lance designer based in New York City. His touring work has
taken him to five continents and several islands. He has coordinated the KCACTF
national festival’s lighting project for seven years, working with the 24 top regional
lighting, sound, and stage management students during the festival week at the
Kennedy Center.
Connie Crawford (Workshop Leader) teaches acting and directing in the Department of
Theatre, Speech and Dance at Brown University. She is the Marsha Z. West Director-inResidence for Rites and Reason Theatre in the Africana Studies Department and a
resident instructor and director at Perishable Theatre in Rhode Island. Connie has
performed on and off Broadway, on daytime TV, on Saturday Night Live, in independent
films and as a member of the Acting Company.
Rich Dale (Workshop Leader) is the Lighting Design Representative at Apollo Design
Technology, providing creative, technical, and product training assistance on Apollo
products to lighting professionals and students within the entertainment and academic
arenas. At Walt Disney World Company, Rich worked as lighting designer, lighting
director, lighting crew chief, production manager, and resort and cruise line project
manager. He holds an AS from the Art Institute, Fort Lauderdale, and an Undergraduate
Certificate in Technology & Management from the University of Maryland.
Lisa Dalton (Workshop Leader, Irene Ryan Prelim Judge) specializes in teaching Michael
Chekhov’s technique for actors, writers, directors and teachers. She is the owner of
www.chekhov.net and has produced various DVD’s for Actor Training. Lisa has taught in
London, Paris, Moscow, Brussels, NY and LA; judged Emmys, Cable Ace, Independent
Spirit Awards, and KCACTF. Acting credits include ER, Melrose Place, Carnivale, Dr.
Quinn plus many commercials; co-founded the National Michael Chekhov Association,
offering its 16th Annual Actor/Teacher Certification Intensive this summer.
Stephanie Dean (Workshop Leader) is an Assistant Professor at Roger Williams
University. She teaches musical theatre, acting, voice and movement. She completed
her undergraduate work in musical theatre at Emerson College, and holds an MFA in
acting and directing pedagogy from Virginia Commonwealth University. She is an
actress, a director and a vocal coach. Most recently, she has worked on Ragtime, The
Fantasticks, Fortress and Smokey Joe’s Café.
Matt DeLong (Workshop Leader) is the North Eastern Sales Manager for Rosco
Laboratories, a major manufacturer of entertainment products including gel, gobos,
paint, and fog. Matt holds a BFA in Design & Technical Theatre and is a member of
I.A.T.S.E. Previous to Rosco, Matt has experience in touring, lighting design, and
rigging. In his free time Matt still designs and works with a number of regional theatre
companies.
Thom Delventhal (Workshop Leader) has choreographed, executed or captained fights
for over 70 productions at various educational and professional institutions including The
Hartford Stage Company, Carnegie Mellon University, The Boston Ballet Theatre, The
Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, The Pittsburgh Public Theatre, The Royal Shakespeare
Company, The 3 Rivers Shakespeare Company. Productions include Hamlet, Romeo &
Juliet, Macbeth, Richard II, Cymbeline, Othello, The Grapes of Wrath, Cabaret, The
Philadelphia Story, Woyzeck. An Associate Professor at Central Connecticut State
University, he teaches Acting, Voice, Improv, Stage Combat, Mask and Dialects. His
production of Fuddy Meers was invited to the Region I Festival.
John Paul Devlin, (Co-Chair for Design and Technology) has been the Resident
Designer and Technical Director for Saint Michael's College, and Resident Designer and
Production Manager for the Saint Michael's Playhouse since returning to New England in
2001. The Playhouse was recently recognized by the Drama League of New York for our
efforts by membership in its "Theatre Excellence in America" program. John has
designed regionally for Vermont Stage, Lost Nation Theatre, Northern Stage, Milwaukee
Chamber Theatre, Next Act, Black Hills Playhouse, Milwaukee Children's Theatre and
Milwaukee Repertory Theater.
Andrew Dolph (Workshop Leader) is the Special Events Coordinator for AV Services at
UNH. He provides sound, lighting and projections for events that range from Traditional
Jazz to symposia. He has mixed for Clark Terry, Branford Marsalis and many others as
well as 3 US Presidents. He is Technical Director for the ORHS Auditorium, a freelance
designer of sound, lighting and projections and an educator for the Christa McAuliffe
Planetarium where he flies the DefinitHD projection system.
Jim Dougherty (Technical Director Dukakis Center) is the Associate Technical Director
and Properties Supervisor at Middlebury College. He received his degree in Architecture
from Princeton University, where he was involved in designing and producing for many
of the theatre organizations there. He also had the opportunity to work with the
McCarter Theater. Jim joined Middlebury's Theatre Department in 1995 after working
with the American Repertory Theatre and as a member of Middlebury College’s Bread
Loaf School of English theater staff.
John Forbes (Workshop Leader) has designed lighting for the Old Globe Theatre
(winning of three Los Angeles Dramalogue awards), the Arizona Theatre Company,
Theatre Aspen, Saint Michael’s Playhouse and the Vermont Stage Company. He is one
faculty at the University of Vermont, and his design for Metamorphoses there was
displayed at the World Stage Design Exhibition in Toronto. While teaching at the
University of San Diego he served as the technical liaison between the University and
the Presidential Debate Commission for the final Presidential Debate of 1996 held there.
Bridget Frey (Dramaturgy Respondent) was the Literary Manager and Resident
Dramaturge of Boston Theatre Works from 2002-2008. She was production dramaturge
on many shows, including the Elliot Norton Award-winning productions of Angels in
America and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. She produced BTW Unbound, the annual new
play festival. Her work in new play development includes tenures at the American
Repertory Theatre, Trinity Repertory Company and American Stage Festival. She was
the recipient of the LMDA Residency Grant for her work on Homebody/Kabul.
Scott Gagnon (Region I Critics Workshop Vice-Chair, Regional Selection Team) is cochair of the Performing Arts Dept at Emmanuel College. He completed his postgraduate
study in Theatrical Directing at Emerson College in 1994 and has since directed at Turtle
Lane Playhouse, Savoyard Light Opera, Longy School of Music, Riverside Theater, MIT,
and elsewhere. He is the author of book and lyrics for Black Sox: The 1919 World
Series, and has worked since 2000 on special summer theater programs for young
performers and on weekend theater workshops for mentally handicapped adults.
Russell Garrett (Student Director Fellowship Judge) is the Artistic Director of Foothills
Theatre Company in Worcester, MA, where he has overseen critical and popular
successes such as The Full Monty, The Underpants, and Buddy! as well as having staged
the hit productions Beehive!, The Musical of Musicals, The Rocky Horror Show, and As
Bees in Honey Drown. As a director and choreographer, he has mounted successful
productions around the country. As an actor, Russell has performed in several Broadway
shows and National Tours.
Lisa Gim (Panelist) is an Associate Professor at Fitchburg State College. She received
her Ph.D. from Brown University and her M.A. from University of California at Berkeley.
Her research interests include Shakespeare, Elizabeth I, Early Modern women writers,
and drama. She has essays in Maids and Mistresses, Cousins and Queens, Approaches to
Teaching Shakespeare’s Othello, Resurrecting Elizabeth I in Seventeenth-Century
England, and is revising her book, (Re)presenting Regina: Literary Representations of
Queen Elizabeth I by Women Writers.
Tim Gleason (Ryan Prelim Judge, Ten-Minute Play Director) is the founder and artistic
director of KNOW Theatre, a 76 seat Off-Broadway house in Binghamton, NY. He has
appeared in over seventy shows up and down the east coast, from NYC to Fitchburg
State's AmeriCulture Arts Festival for three consecutive years. He studied at SUNY
Binghamton and with Joanna Beckson in NYC. He continues to provide ongoing
education for actors young and old.
Jerry Goralnick (Workshop Leader; Irene Ryan Finals Judge and Respondent;
Production Respondent) has worked with The Living Theatre for twenty years. His credits
with the company include Ali Sayed in Capital Changes, Brick Blume in Anarchia which
he co-directed, Einstein in Waste, Hitler in I and I, The Answerer in The Tablets, Zev in
Poland 1931 as well as a dozen other productions. He co-directed The Body of God, and
stage-managed the Obie Award winning Living Theatre Retrospectacle. Mr. Goralnick cofounded and co-directs The Living Theatre Workshops and has taught Living Theatre
techniques around the world.
Erica Reynolds Hager (Irene Ryan Respondent) a graduate of Syracuse University's
drama department has been acting, directing and teaching professionally for 15 years.
Acting credits include: Steel Magnolias, Our Town, The Fantastiks, On Golden Pond, The
Oldest Living Graduate, and Round and Round the Garden. Directing credits include:
Beirut, Pippin, Interview, Harvey, Hello Dolly, and Godspell. Erica is Head of Upper
School at Applewild School in Fitchburg.
Patricia Hawkridge (Irene Ryan Respondent) holds an MFA in Dramatic Arts with a
concentration in Acting & Speech from the George Washington University. She is
Chairman of the Department of Theatre Arts at Salve Regina University and Artistic
Director of LA VOCE: Theatre That Speaks, a new theatre company in RI devoted to
producing works that explore the voices of underserved populations. She was recently
awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award in Theatre from Rhode Island College in
recognition of her career in theatre.
Ashley Heaston (Workshop Leader) joined CLIMB Theatre as an Actor-Educator in
2004. Her experiences in the field preceded her appointment as Assistant Director of the
Teaching Company in 2006. She has written and performed countless interactive
workshops with thousands of students of varying backgrounds and abilities all over the
Midwest and has assisted in training Actor-Educators in CLIMB's interactive theatre
methods.
Gregg Henry (Artistic Director KCACTF, Ryan Prelim Judge, SSDC Judge) Upcoming: A
Sleeping Country, Round House Theatre and Teddy Roosevelt and the Ghostly Mistletoe ,
The Kennedy Center. Recent: Girl in the Goldfish Bowl, MetroStage; You Are Here ,
Theatre Alliance; Two-Headed and Scaramouche , Washington Shakespeare Company,
Mermaids, Monsters and the World Painted Purple, Teddy Roosevelt and the Treasure of
Ursa Major, Dreams in the Golden Country , The Kennedy Center. Directed development
workshops for Arena Stage and Centerstage Hosts the MFA Playwrights’ Workshop with
NNPN. Artistic associate for KCTYA for New Works & Commissions. MFA University of
Michigan, member of LMDA, The Dramatists Guild and SSDC.
John Hill (Workshop Leader) is founder and head of the theatre program at Front Range
Community College, Artistic Director of the Front Range Family Theatre Project and was
honored with the 2008 Kennedy Center medallion and the 2002 KCACTF Award for New
Program Development. For more than 18 years, he has served KCACTF as a Regional
Respondent, Board Member and Clinician. Currently he serves Region 7 as the ViceChair for Design & Technology and Festival Scheduling Czar.
Tony Howarth (Workshop Leader, Production Respondent, Ten-Minute Play Director
and Mentor) is a working playwright whose credits include a dozen one-act plays plus
several full-length plays: Thornwood, produced off-Broadway, across the U.S., Europe,
Tanzania, and made into an award-winning independent movie; Sundown, (Sonora
Playhouse, Sonora, CA);Dream City Twosome(off-Broadway); Billy Bubblehead, at the
Axial Theatre, Pleasantville, NY, where he conducts a playwrighting workshop; A Silver
Throne,(AmeriCulture Arts Festival). He has received grants from the Death in America
Foundation and the Drama League, and was playwright-in-residence for the awardwinning, Mint Theatre in New York City.
John Hudson (Workshop Leader) has an M.A. in Shakespeare and Theatre from the
Shakespeare Institute, University of Birmingham. He is Artistic Director of the Dark Lady
Players, and the developer of one of the top Shakespeare theories, recently listed by the
Shakespearean Authorship Trust, and demonstrated in 3-proof of concept allegorical
productions in 2007-8. The home page www.darkladyplayers.com has a video-clip from
a documentary on his work. Download Posner’s review ‘Rethinking Shakespeare’, from
the press section.
Cathy Hurst (Region I 2nd Co-Vice Chair, Regional Selection Team, Directing Chair) has
been a tenured professor and stage director for over twenty-five years. She is currently
on the faculty at Saint Michael's College in Colchester, Vermont. Cathy is the principlestaging director at OperaWorks, in Los Angeles, California. In 2008, she co-developed
and directed and original opera for the company, “ I CANDY”, which featured thirty-one
international singers. Cathy is the KCACTF Directing Chair for Region One.
Melissa Hurt (Workshop Leader, Ryan Prelim and Production Respondent, Ten-Minute
Play Director) is a doctoral candidate at the University of Oregon. Her dissertation
appraises Lessac’s kinesensic work as an acting practice against Merleau-Ponty’s ideas of
the phenomenal body for embodied presence. She has an MFA from Virginia
Commonwealth University in Theatre Pedagogy. Melissa is a Lessac practitioner, actor,
director, dramaturg and 20th century and contemporary American theatre history
researcher. She lives in Sydney and hopes to return to the United States with a faculty
appointment in the fall.
Ed Hyatt (Workshop Co-leader) is President-Boston Illumination Group and worked as
lighting electrician, ME, LD and Rigger with a variety of rock tours ranging from Neil
Diamond to U2. Ed has designed for live and recorded television, enjoyed 6 years of
systems design and sales for Barbizon and later formed Boston Illumination Group in
1996. Member USITT, IES, ESTA, and ETCP Electrician.
Rafael Jaen (Region I Co-Vice-Chair of Design and Technology) Costume Designer;
most recent credits include Speakeasy's The Seafarer, Lyric Stage's Follies, and Publick
Theatre's The Seagull and Hay Fever. He is a USA 829 Member, KC/ACTF Respondent,
and USITT Portfolio Review Chair for USITT Costume Commission. He is a USITT '08
Grant Recipient. He is also the author of the book: Developing & Maintaining a DesignTech Portfolio; Design-Tech Faculty at Emerson College, Boston, MA. Web site:
www.rafaeljaen/biz.
PeggyRae Johnson (Workshop Leader) is a freelance actor and director with more than
200 theatre and television productions, voice-overs, commercials, and industrials to her
credit. She teaches full time in the Theatre and Dance Department at Keene State and
part-time at Franklin Pierce University. PeggyRae coordinated the Region I Irene Ryan
Acting Scholarships and has served as Associate Chair with Wil Kilroy. She was awarded
the Kennedy Medallion in 1999 and honored by the New Hampshire Educational Theatre
Guild with a Lifetime Member Award for service and leadership to NH Theatre.
John Marshall Jones (Workshop Leader) (Northwestern U '84, NAST, ATHE) has been
a successful network television star for many years. His most popular television series,
“Smart Guy,” played to over 21 million viewers per week in the U.S. on the Disney
Channel from 2000-2004. Mr. Jones is also a published author, and successful
theater/film producer. His acting credits include 4 series regular roles, 20 films, and over
100 television appearances. He is presently a nominee for New York's prestigious
Audelco Award for Best Actor in a theatrical performance (2007).
www.imdb.com/name/nm0428426/
Rebecka Jones (Irene Ryan Preliminary Respondent) started as a visual artist until
entering graduate school at Ohio University; there, she trained to be a professional actor
and earned her MFA. She is an adjunct professor of drama at Quinnipiac University in
Hamden, CT, where she teaches acting. A member of the Actors’ Equity Association, she
has performed in professional theatres including Long Wharf Theatre and Hartford
Stage. Last year, with three other professional actors, she founded Theatre 4, a theatre
company based in New Haven, Connecticut.
Jerry Kean (Photographer) likes to work outdoors with natural light. He began doing
photos detailing men’s clothing for Esquire Magazine’s fashion shows, and The Men’s
Fashion Association including Pierre Cardin, Henry Grethel and Calvin among others. He
photographed all of Kristi Yamaguchi’s personal appearances as well as her fashion press
kits. Jerry has photographed seminars and fund raising events for The Museum of
Television and Radio. Some of the people he photographed include Lucille Ball, Bob
Hope, Jackie Gleason, Milton Berle, Walter Cronkite and Carol Burnett.
William Kenyon (Design Respondent) is Head of the Bachelor of Fine Arts Program in
Design & Technology at the Pennsylvania State University. He is the resident designer
for the American Indian Dance Theatre, which performs internationally each year.
Recent performances have included the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, Wolftrap, and
the Qatar International Arts Festival. Professor Kenyon also serves as the CoCommissioner for Education with USITT and is a member of USA Local #829 in the areas
of Lighting and Sound Design.
Wil Kilroy (Workshop Leader) is a Professor of Theatre at the University of Southern
Maine, Co-founder of the National Michael Chekhov Association, Director of the USM
Teen Theatre Academy, and has taught/directed in London and Greece. Wil has worked
professionally as an actor, director, and workshop presenter and is a former chair of
KCACTF. He has studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Art, the Michael Chekhov
Studio, the National Shakespeare Conservatory, URI and U. of I.
Sabine Klein (Region I Vice Chair Dramaturgy) teaches dramatic literature, theory and
criticism, and theatre history at Westfield State College, MA. She holds a Ph.D. from the
City University of New York Graduate Center where she has presented scholarship on
early German drama and theatre at the American Society for Theatre Research, the
Northeastern Modern Language Association, and the German Studies Association. She
has also performed or directed with a variety of professional and semiprofessional
theatre companies, most notably the Los Angeles Theatre Workshop, Glimmerglass
Opera, the Cooperstown Theatre Festival and Orpheus Theatre.
Thomas Ladd: (Workshop Co-leader) Project Manager and Lighting System Engineer
for Boston Illumination Group. Past employment has included positions with Production
Arts and Electronic Theatre Controls in NYC. Thomas has participated in the design and
system engineering of the lighting systems that now operate CNN, Jazz at Lincoln
Center, the United Nations and other theatrical and architectural installations in the
Northeast. Member IESNA, ETCP Electrician.
Maggie Lally (Ryan Prelim Judge, Production Respondent, SSDC Judge) has been
actively involved in developing new works as a director for the past 20 years. Plays
include: Lonely Planet, The Foreigner, The Boys Next Door and Eleemosynary at
Michigan Ensemble Theatre and Killer’s Head and The Dumbwaiter at Barrington Stage
Company. Maggie has directed many readings of new plays at venues including: The
Public Theatre, NYU’s Department of Dramatic Writing, Barrington Stage Company,
Jewish Repertory Theatre and through the Kennedy Center American College Theatre
Festival. Maggie is an associate professor of Theatre at Adelphi University and is a
member of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers.
Meron Langsner (Workshop Leader) was one of three writers in the country to receive
an inaugural National New Play Network Emerging Playwright residency last season. His
plays have been performed around the country and overseas, and he was recently
included in an anthology by Applause Books. As a fight director, Meron has recently
composed violence at Merrimack Repertory Theatre, New Repertory Theatre, Lyric
Stage, Zeitgeist Stage, and Tufts. MFA: Brandeis, MA: NYU/Tisch, Doctoral Candidate:
Tufts University.
Romulus Linney (Playwright – Love Drunk) is the author of three novels, many stories
and forty plays, produced throughout the United States and abroad. He has received two
Obie Awards, one for Sustained Excellence in Playwriting, two National Critics Awards for
Best Plays of the Year, three Drama-Logue Awards, and many grants and fellowships. He
is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, which gave him its Award in
Literature and its Award of Merit Medal for Drama
Michael Maynard (Workshop Leader) is currently a Senior Consultant specializing in
the area of sound systems design for Cavanaugh Tocci Associates, Inc., in Sudbury, MA.
His projects typically involve design consulting and system layout using CAD and
loudspeaker modeling software. Typical projects include: worship spaces, performing
arts and theatre, paging systems, training rooms, and outdoor systems. Mike’s projects
benefit from a broad background of experience, including systems design,
manufacturing, and installation for both sound reinforcement and theatrical lighting.
Orestes Mihaly (Workshop Leader) founder of PRG (Production Resource Group). As
General Manager of Scenic Technologies in New Windsor, NY, Orestes has been tapped
to keep this facility on the cutting edge of live entertainment, scenic fabrication and
mechanization. His focus over the past 3 years has been to develop a strong internship
program for students all over the country and expose them to all aspects of a
commercial scene shop, as well as a backstage pass to the PRG lighting, audio, scenic
and video aspects of NYC Broadway shows.
Tom McCabe (Workshop Leader) is founder and Artistic Director of PaintBox Theatre, a
theatre of imagination and improvisation for all ages based in Northampton, MA. In the
1980’s Tom created and served as Artistic Director of The Children’s Theatre of
Massachusetts which twice garnered NETC’s Moss Hart Award for excellence in the field
of children’s Theatre. A Parent’s Choice Award winning storyteller, Tom has performing
for more than 1,000,000 people across North America and Europe during the last 30
years.
Tom Miller (Workshop Leader), prior to joining the staff of Actors' Equity Association,
was an Actor for over 25 years, performing in National Tours, Regional Theatre, Off
Broadway and Europe. Additionally, he performed with the Atlanta Ballet, Ballet Florida,
Carl Radcliff Dance Theatre and at Opryland USA. He can be seen in the documentary
Show Business-The Road To Broadway hosting a Broadway Gypsy Robe presentation.
For over a decade Tom was honored to serve as a voter for the annual Tony Awards.
Lois Kagan Mingus (Workshop Leader, Production Respondent, Ryan Semi’s Judge), a
member of The Living Theatre since 1988, has appeared in dozens of productions with
the company in New York, Europe and Latin America, also performing regularly with
Dadanewyork and The Wycherly Systers. She is Co-Founder of The Living Theatre
Workshops and Action Racket Theatre and recently spoke at the Nobel Peace Prize
Forum in Minnesota about using theatre as a tool for social change. Lois is listed in
Who’s Who in Entertainment in America.
Jeff Moderegor (Workshop Leader) is Chair of the Department of Theatre at UVM,
teaching classes in technical scenery, scene painting and scene design. Mentored by Jo
Mielziner, Jeff has 300 design productions to his credit. He is represented by the
National Holocaust Museum's exhibit and tour of Remember the Children: Daniel's Story. Most
recently his work was seen at Northshore Music Theatre and Roundhouse Theatre in MD.
Jeff is currently working on Looking Over the President's Shoulder for Vermont Stage
Company.
Kaia Monroe (Workshop Leader, Ryan Prelim Respondent) is a professor at SCSU, and
actor/singer/dancer. Regional credits: Geva Theatre, the Fulton Opera House, Missouri
Rep, Weston Playhouse, Texas Shakes and the Kennedy Center. National tours:
Swingtime Canteen, Joseph. Directing: Glasslight Theatre, Perry-Mansfield Performing
Arts Camp, Goodspeed. Recordings: “Sacred Harp” with NYC’s Ephraim’s Harp.
Teaching: School for Film and Television (NYC), Cornell College, and Long Wharf
Theatre. Training: MFA from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, certified yoga
instructor, and the Dell’Arte School.
Bill Mootos (Workshop Leader) is an actor based in Boston and New York. Most
recently, he appeared with Metropolitan Playhouse in NYC, the Hanover Center in
Worcester, and the Huntington Theatre Company in Boston. Bill is a member of AFTRA,
the Boston Actors’ Equity Liaison Committee, served on the Board of Directors of
StageSource, and is a National Board Member of the Screen Actors’ Guild. He has also
appeared in a number of commercials and independent films.
Daniel Morbyrne ??
Kelly Morgan: (Region I Chair) Founder-Mint Theater, NYC. Directing: Abingdon
Theater, (Another Vermeer); Steppenwolf Theater, (Uncle Bob); Mint Theater
(Thornwood, Jeremy Rudge); The Long Wharf/Theater for Community-Quinnipiac
University (Medea); Contemporary American Theater Festival (Baby Dance);
AmeriCulture Festival (A Raisin in the Sun, Oldest Living Graduate); Edinburgh Festival
(The Laramie Project). Received the Commonwealth Commendation for Service to The
Arts and KCACTF Directing Fellowship. Will direct premiere of (Love Drunk) by Romulus
Linney this spring.
Anne Mundell (Workshop Leader) is a Scenic Designer and Head of Design at Carnegie
Mellon University School of Drama. Anne is Director of Carnegie Mellon’s Growing
Theater Outreach and is a founding partner with CMU’s Robotics Institute of The
Roboceptionist Project. She is a member of USAA in Scene Design and Scenic Art and on
the Boards of Pittsburgh City Theatre and The Marilyn G. Rabb Foundation’s Murals
Project. Anne earned her BA from Kenyon College and MFA from Brandeis University.
Jim Murphy (Region I Co-Vice Chair) is a faculty member at Northern Essex
Community College. He and his wife, Susan Sanders, have collaborated as director and
designer on many productions, both at NECC and professionally. Jim is a past recipient
of a faculty fellowship in directing at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. This past
summer he received an NEH grant to study Shakespeare at the American Shakespeare
Center in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.
Matt Nesmith (Region I Hospitality Co-Chair) is an assistant professor and director of
the music theatre program at the University of New Hampshire, a designated
practitioner of Lessac Kinesensic voice and movement training, and continues to act and
direct professionally. He earned a B.A in music from South Dakota State University, an
M.M. in vocal performance and an M.F.A. in Theatre from The University of South
Dakota.
Cathy Norgren (National Selection Team) is Professor and Associate Chair of Theatre &
Dance at the University at Buffalo and also teaches KC Summer Intensives in Playwriting
each July. She is a member of USA, Local 829 and as a freelance designer has designed
costumes for a number of regional theatres including Theatre for Young Audiences at the
Kennedy Center, Actors Theatre of Louisville, and the Cleveland Playhouse to name only
a few. Cathy holds a BA cum laude from Mount Holyoke College, and a MFA from
Carnegie Mellon University.
Larry Nye (Workshop Leader) is an Assistant Professor at SCSU and Director of Dance
at Stagedoor Manor where he directed and choreographed the world premiere of High
School Musical. He has directed and choreographed numerous productions including How
to Succeed in Business… and receiving a KCACTF Meritorious Award for Dance
Choreography. At the Barn Theatre he directed and choreographed the first regional
release of The Producers. Larry received his B.F.A. from the University of Arizona and his
M.F.A. from The University of Oklahoma and is a member of A.E.A
Jennifer Ouellette, (Region I Irene Ryan Coordinator) earned her B.F.A. in Theatre
from Central Connecticut State University in May, 2000, graduating Summa Cum Laude
and with Theatre Department Honors. Following graduation, she studied at the British
American Drama Academy in Oxford, England. She is presently taking time off from the
theatre to focus on her new full-time position as Visual Lead with Coldwater Creek.
Elinor Parker (Region I 2nd Co-Vice Chair of Design and Technology) is the Assistant
Professor of Costume Design at Westfield State College. With her fine arts background, a
BFA from The Cooper Union School of Art, and an MFA in Scenography from the
University of Kansas, she enjoys working as both a costume and scenic designer. She's
designed for a wide arrange of shows including: Camelot, Steel Magnolias, A Midsummer
Night's Dream, The Cherry Orchard, and Tom Stoppard's Voyage: Coast of Utopia, Part
I.
Daniel L. Patterson (Region I Critic’s Chair) is Chair of Theatre and Dance at Keene
State College in NH. Professor Patterson chairs the Critics Institute and is a member of
the executive board for KCACTF Region I. He has been a festival respondent and
consults on the Critics Institute for several other regions in KCACTF. Professor Patterson
graduated from the University of Texas. He is most proud of the fact that he has
performed in fourteen of Shakespeare’s plays.
Austin Pendleton (Irene Ryan Semi-finals Judge and Respondent; Staged Reading and
Q&A) is a gifted actor, director, and writer who has appeared in over 100 films and
television shows. He made his off-Broadway debut in 1962 in Oh Dad, Poor Dad,
Mama's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feeling So Sad. Mr. Pendleton is an alumnus of
Yale University and was nominated for a Tony Award as Best Director for his 1981
production of Lillian Hellman's The Little Foxes. He is associated with the Williamstown
Festival Theatre, the Steppenwolf Theatre Ensemble, and is a Professor at the HB Acting
studio in New York.
Josh Perlstein (Director/Playwright—Odets:Still Waiting) is associate professor of
Theatre at CCSU where he has taught for the last 15 years. He has an MFA from the
University of Massachusetts in Directing and acted and directed in the Boston area in the
1980's. His productions of Keely and Du in 2002 and Lebensraum in 2003 were regional
finalists for KCACTF. Josh most recently appeared as Oberon in Boston in Theatre
Omnibus’ A Midsummer Night’s Dream directed by Jack Cory.
Carrie Ann Quinn (Workshop Leader) is a professional actor, teacher and director of
stage and screen. She is Assistant Professor of Theatre at U Mass Boston and has taught
Method for a New Millennium Technique at Boston University and the University of Notre
Dame in Australia. She earned an MFA in Theatre Education and a BFA in Acting from
NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, studying at the legendary Lee Strasberg Theatre
Institute. She is a member of SAG, ATHE, KCACTF, AEA.
Brandt Reiter (Region I Co-Vice Chair of Playwriting) is a Manhattan-based director,
playwright, journalist and teacher. He has worked in stage, film and television in New
York and Los Angeles, and was jazz critic for the "LA Weekly" from 2000-2004; currently
he contributes to the Village Voice and All About Jazz New York. Brandt teaches Acting
and Dramatic Literature at the University of New Haven, and Rhetoric and Composition
at CUNY Bronx. His first full-length play, End of Play, premieres at NYC's Center Stage
Theater in April 2009. MFA, Theatre (Directing & Playwriting), Sarah Lawrence College;
BA, American Studies, Temple University; Certificate, Film Theory and Criticism,
Sorbonne, Paris.
Steve Reynolds (National Selection Team) is professor of theatre at Wittenberg
University in Springfield, Ohio, and teaches directing, acting, playwriting and
contemporary American drama. He has served as Region III National Playwriting
Program Chair and received a Kennedy Center Gold Medallion Award for Excellence in
College Teaching. This past November he directed a Julie Harris tribute production of
The Member of The Wedding for Cape Rep Theatre on Cape Cod. He completed his MA
and Ph.D at the University of Michigan.
Mitchell Riggs (Workshop Leader, Irene Ryan Finals Judge) has produced several
feature films, over 50 original theatrical events, and nine plays. He has performed as an
actor in dozens of productions including the North Carolina and Illinois Shakespeare
festivals, and is a founding member of three Manhattan theatres including The Signature
Theatre Company. He has most recently been a lecturer at NYU and Stony Brook
University teaching Understanding Theatre and Acting. Watch the trailer for his
documentary The Dark Lady Discovery:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4gxt2zdp0w.
Bruce J. Robinson (Workshop Leader) writes mainly for theatre and television. The
first of many productions of the play, Byrd’s Boy opened at Primary Stages, Another
Vermeer was instrumental in his winning the Berrilla Kerr Award and was a finalist at the
O’Neill. A workshop production starring Austin Pendleton was presented at HB
Playwrights. Readings of his work have been performed at Ensemble Studio, Westbeth,
Denver Center, and the John Houseman. Among the many TV shows for which he’s
written are Gary Goldberg’s Brooklyn Bridge and Glenn Caron’s Showroom.
www.brucejrobinson.com
Nick Roesler (Workshop Leader) is a proud member of the FullStop Collective, to which
he brings his talents as actor, and director. Nick's recent credits include Howard
Blackburn in The Morgan Theater Project (Mystic Seaport), Macbeth in 3 Kings and Their
Dead (Are the Fish Happy?). Current work includes the FullStop Collective's new
adaptation of Oliver Saks' Muiscophilia. He is currently the Associate Director of the
National Theater Institute's TheaterMakers Summer Advanced Program and the Senior
Admissions Officer for NTI.
Magda Romanska (Region I Dramaturgy Chair) is an Assistant Professor, Head of
Theatre Studies and Dramaturgy Advisor at Emerson College's Department of
Performing Arts. She holds a Ph.D. from Cornell University, a B.A. from Stanford
University and was an exchange scholar at the Yale School of Drama’s Department of
Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism. She served on the editorial board of Theater
Magazine, Palimpsest: Yale Literary and Arts Magazine, the Yale Journal of Law and
Humanities, and Diacritics. She is a research associate at Harvard University’s Davis
Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies and member of LMDA.
James Rone (Workshop Leader) has been an Actor-Educator, resident playwright and
Teaching Company Director for CLIMB Theatre since 2001. Eleven of his plays have been
included in CLIMB Theatre’s repertory for the 2002-2009 seasons. He has facilitated
interactive theatre workshops for Minnesota Office of Higher Education, the Minnesota
Autism Society, the Minnesota Teachers’ Association, and the National Get Ready!
Conference, among dozens of other organizations and K-12 schools. He has studied with
Michael Rohd and Augusto Boal.
William Roudebush (Workshop Leader, Production Respondent, One-Act Play Director)
Bill has directed over 250 productions at such theatres as Actors Theatre of Louisville,
Cleveland Play House, Walnut Street Theatre, Syracuse Stage Company, Theatre
Virginia, Queens Theatre in the Park, Florida Studio Theatre, GeVa Theatre, Ensemble
Studio Theatre, Mint Theatre Company, Miami Opera Guild, Palm Beach Opera and many
others. His book Acting By Mistake is available at bookstores or online at
www.xlibris.com.
F. Chase Rozelle III (Region I Co-Chair of Design and Technology; Tech Olympics
Coordinator) is a member of the performing arts department faculty at Eastern
Connecticut State University. He is also the Technical Director of the Harry Hope
Theatre. His professional experiences include engineering scenery for Broadway, Off
Broadway, regional theatres, and international trade shows as well as world wide,
national, and local television.
Susan Sanders (Poster Design Coordinator) is a professor of English and Theater at
Northern Essex Community College. She is the advisor to the Top Notch Players, the
college theater company, which has been active in KCACTF since the 1970’s. The players
brought a new play Home to the festival in 1979. In 2002 she was awarded the Kennedy
Center Medallion for service to Region I as a respondent, member of the selection team,
and hospitality coordinator.
Peter Sampieri (Workshop Leader, Region I Directing Committee) is a professional
freelance director and college professor who lives in Providence, Rhode Island. He has
taught and directed at Brown University, NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, New England
Conservatory, Roger Williams University, Providence College, OperaWorks, in
Northridge, California, and Northwestern University’s National High School Institute. He
has directed Off-Broadway at The Cherry Lane Theatre, as well as many regional equity
theatres all over the New England.
William Schill (Workshop Leader; Production Respondent) heads a New York City
management firm providing talent for motion picture and daytime television dramas
including All My Children, Guiding Light, and One Life to Live. He is a faculty member
and adjudicator for The American Musical and Dramatic Academy, served on the Board
of the National Association of Talent Representatives, Inc., is the Casting Director for
The Abingdon Theatre Company in NYC and on the Board of the Black Bear Film Festival
in Milford, PA.
Tina Shackleford (Stage Management Fellowship Judge) teaches stage management at
the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama. Her professional credits include work with La Jolla
Playhouse, Seattle Group Theatre, Saint Michael’s Playhouse, Zachary Scott Theatre
Center, Actors Theatre of Louisville, and the Dallas Theater Center, as well as
collaborations with Theatre de la Jeune Lune and the Latino comedy group Culture
Clash. Directing credits include work with the Iowa Playwrights Festival and the David
Mark Cohen New Works Festival. She holds an MFA from the University of California-San
Diego.
David C. (Kip) Shawger, Jr. (National Chair of Design and Technology; Design
Respondent) is the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival National Chair of
Design and Technology. A native of New Jersey, he is an award wining designer with
over 300 design credits and 30 years experience in education, community, professional
theatre, television and film. Kip was a member of the KCACTF National Selection Team
in 2008 and in 2001 he received the Kennedy Center Gold Medallion of Excellence for his
work with ACTF. He has also worked on a Kennedy Center Fellowship with Ming Cho
Lee.
Jack Shea (Region I 2nd Co-Vice Chair of Playwriting) is the Coordinator of the Theatre
Arts Program at Westfield State College. He teaches acting, directing, playwriting, script
analysis, and directs the Program’s productions. He earned a BA in History from
Stanford and an MA in Critical Studies and MFAs in Acting and Directing from UCLA. He
was formerly an Assistant Professor and Guest Artist in Residence at The University of
Memphis where he taught acting in the B.F.A. program and directing in the M.F.A.
program. He is a member of Equity, SAG, and AFTRA.
Brenda Shepard (Workshop Leader) is a Systems Integrator with Barbizon Light of
New England developing and integrating Lighting and Rigging Systems. Project work
includes Jordan’s Furniture IMAX Theatre and Jordan’s Furniture Beantown, The Boston
Opera House, The Fine Arts Center Concert Hall and Rand Theater at the university of
MA/Amherst, Emerson College Tufts Performance and Production Center and the Cutler
Majestic Theatre. Brenda serves as President of I.A.T.S.E. Local 232 as well as being an
active stagehand. She has a Masters Degree from Boston University in Broadcast
Production.
Matthew Wilson Smith (Dramaturgy Respondent) is Assistant Professor of English at
Boston University. He is the author of The Total Work of Art: From Bayreuth to
Cyberspace (Routledge, 2008), and his articles on theatre and film have appeared in
Theater, Modern Drama, Modernism/Modernity, and other journals and anthologies. He
is editor of the Norton Critical Edition of the works of Georg Büchner, and is writing a
book on melodrama.
Dona Sommers (Workshop Leader) is the Executive Director of the Boston office for
American Federation of Television Artists (AFTRA) and Screen Actors Guild (SAG). Dona
served for five years as the Executive Director of StageSource, the Alliance of Theatre
Artists and Producers. She has an extensive background in theatre and film production
working as an Equity stage manager and company manager throughout New England
and as a production manager for Boston-based film companies producing educational,
documentary, and dramatic programs for distribution and broadcast on PBS.
Robin Stone (Region I Hospitality Co-Host) is an Assistant Professor of Theatre at
Roger Williams University in Bristol, Rhode Island and works professionally as an actor,
director, and lighting designer in his spare time. Robin has degrees from Willamette
University, Minnesota State University, and the University of Missouri. Robin began his
involvement with KC/ACTF as a student and has participated in several regional festivals
around the country before moving to New England. He is currently a respondent and cochair for festival hospitality.
Sheryl Stoodley (Workshop Leader), Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Serious Play!
Theatre Ensemble, is on faculty at Holyoke Community College with an MA in Theatre
from Smith. She has performed, taught and directed with regional and academic
theatres throughout New England as well as with women in prison. She leads the
ensemble’s unique physical acting training and has directed over 18 productions with
Serious Play! The ensemble has toured to New York City, Boston, Athens, and London
and to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Presently she is developing a new script Milosevic
at the Hague for a February opening.
Kelly Stowell (House Manager, Festival Dir. Assistant) is a 2008 graduate of Fitchburg
State College, was in college productions of The Laramie Project (which also went to the
Edinburgh Fringe Festival), The Purple Breast, helped mount a student production of
Eleemosynary, and is active in community theater. KCACTF has been very important to
Kelly, and the Irene Ryan competition has helped to prepare her for the world of the
"cattle call." In 2008, Kelly worked on Kelly Morgan's productions of Medea at the Long
Wharf Theatre in New Haven, and also Another Vermeer at the Abingdon Theatre in
NYC. Kelly is a life-long Appaloosa horse enthusiast, and spent last summer showing in
Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama.
Linda Murphy Sutherland (Region I Co-Vice Chair) is Associate Director of Academic
Programs at Emerson College, a free-lance Director and Teaching Artist. She is a
Talkback Leader at Trinity Repertory Company and teaches at Boston University's
College of Arts Administration and at Emerson College. Linda was Associate Director of
Education at the Huntington Theatre Company, Past President of the New England
Theatre Conference (NETC), is a member of NETC's College of Fellows and recipient of
the 2008 Marie Philips Volunteer Award.
Luke Sutherland (Co-Vice Chair Design & Technology) is Technical Director/Scenic
Designer at the Community College of Rhode Island. Luke works professionally in Film,
Television, Opera and Theatre credits which include: Spoleto Festival USA, Virginia
Opera, La Jolla Playhouse, Paper Mill Playhouse, and Trinity Repertory Company. Luke is
Guest Faculty/Scenic Designer at Quinnipiac University and teaches Stagecraft at Rhode
Island College. He’s a member of USITT and a Set Dresser for IATSE Local 52 in NYC.
Crystal Tiala (Workshop Leader) is an Associate Professor at Boston College and a
professional scenic designer who has designed over 90 productions for regional theaters
throughout the east coast and as far away as Rybinsk, Russia. Crystal serves as Chair of
the United States Institute of Theater Technology/New England Section and is the
Director of a new initiative at Boston College to create the Center for the Arts and Social
Responsibility. She is a member of the United Scenic Artists local 829 union with an MFA
from the University of Connecticut.
Molly Trainer (Workshop Leader) has designed and fabricated costumes for over 25
years for theaters, museums, and advertising. She has received two IRNE nominations,
and designed three Elliot Norton award-winning productions. She earned a BS in
Management from Northeastern University, trained at the School of the Museum of Fine
Arts and The School of Fashion Design in Boston, and studied art and photography at
the University of the South.
Claudia Traub (Workshop Leader) has been teaching acting, voice and movement at
the University of Rhode Island for the past eight years. She most recently was the
Managing Director for Perishable Theatre in Providence and Director of Social and
Cultural Arts programming for John Hope Settlement House. She has created,
implemented and supervised three different minds, body therapeutic arts programs for
populations to include, but not limited to: gang kids, mentally ill, people living with
dementia, formerly homeless, corporate execs and persons in drug rehab.
Mary C. Vreeland (Region I Diversity Chair, Ryan Prelim Judge) is an award-winning
actor and has performed such roles as: Lydia -Children of A Lesser God (Broadway);
Katrin- Mother Courage and Her Children/Helen Hays Award (Folger Shakespeare
Theatre); Frances-The Debutante Ball (Manhattan Theatre Club); Medea- Medea
(Quinnipiac Theater for Community). Ms. Vreeland is the recipient of the Los Angeles
Media Access Award and the Loreen Arbus Award from the Los Angeles Women in Film
Foundation for Outstanding Performance. She has taught at Rochester Institute of
Technology and Virginia Commonwealth University where she received her MFA.
Dana Yeaton His play Redshirts was nominated for a 2008 Charles MacArthur
Outstanding New Play or Musical Award. He is the recipient of the “New Voice in
American Theatre” award from the William Inge Theatre Festival and the Heideman
Award from the Actor’s Theatre of Louisville. Midwives, his adaptation of Chris
Bohjalian's best-selling novel, has been produced professionally and at colleges around
the country. Dana’s newest play is My Ohio, a musical for two performers.
Adam Zahler (Region I Directing Committee). International: Edinburgh (Scotland)
Fringe Festival 2008; Volkov Theatre (Yaroslavl, Russia). Boston area: New Repertory
Theatre; Lyric Stage; Speakeasy Stage; Stoneham Theatre; Boston Playwrights; The
Nora Theatre. New York: Wonderland Festival; Manhattan Punch Line Theatre. Elliot
Norton Awards: Outstanding Production (Stonewall Jackson’s House); Outstanding
Director (Permanent Collection). He is Professor of Theatre at Worcester State College
and a member of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers.
Larry Zoll (Workshop Leader) has been with Barbizon’s Systems division for over a year
and a half where he has worked on dimming and control projects including Patriots Place
at Foxboro, and Control Systems at Symphony Hall in Boston. Larry is also a freelance
Lighting Designer working mainly on the east coast from Washington, DC to Boston. He
holds an MFA in Lighting Design from The University of Maryland, and is a contributor to
Live Design Magazine.
RESPONDENTS
This festival could not happen without our volunteer respondents who go to the
productions in our regions and provide feedback. You are invited to become a
respondent. Attend the How To Become a Respondent workshop on WednesdaySaturday, January 30-February 2, 1:30-3:00 in Skyclass on the 7th Floor of FourPoints
Sheraton, lead by PeggyRae Johnson and Wil Kilroy. Participants should attend all four
sessions.
Thank you to these 2008 respondents.
Tatsuya Aoyagi
Aynne Ames
Raina Ames
Celena Sky April
Jim Beauregard
Sharon Bernard
Kathryn Blume
Bob Boles
Laura Chakravarty Box
Crystal Brian
Ted Clement
Bill Cunningham
Jim Fallon
Scott Gagnon
David Allen George
Craig Handel
Arthur Hill
Tony Howarth
Cathy Hurst
PeggyRae Johnson
Rebekah Jones
Gina Kaufman
Wil Kilroy
Justin McCoubry
Harry McEnerny
Kaia Monroe
Kelly Morgan
Jim Murphy
Matt Nesmith
James Nicola
Jennifer Ouellette
Dan Patterson
Josh Perlstein
Cathy Plourde
Carrie Ann Quinn
Brandt Reiter
Patricia Riggin
Susan Sanders
Myron Schmidt
Ann Marie Shea
Kathleen Sills
Nancy Stone
Robin Stone
Linda Murphy Sutherland
Luke Sutherland
Laurence Tocci
Dana Yeaton
These are the shows responded to in Spring and Fall, 2008.
Bates College
A Lie of the Mind
Boston College
Hotel Paradiso
Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes Part I
Boston University
Fishbowl, Backroom, Margaret LaRue, Baptism of St. Genesius
Pope Joan
Bridgewater State College
Androgynes’ Sex
Stop/Kiss
How I Learned to Drive
The Magic Flute
An Ideal Husband
Castleton State College
Once on this Island
Philadelphia, Here I Come
You Can’t Take it With You
Central Connecticut State University
The Tempest
The Birds
Betty’s Summer Vacation
Water
Community College of Rhode Island
Romantic Fools
Mary Brigit Poppleton Is Writing a Memoir
Dean College
Public Speech/Private Thought
Sweet Charity
Laughing Stock
Eastern Connecticut State University
Oklahoma!
The Women
The Pot of Gold
Emerson College
Lady Windermere’s Fan
The Hundred Dresses
Emmanuel College
Oklahoma!
The Frogs
Fitchburg State College
The Baltimore Waltz
Othello
Runner Stumbles
The Rimers of Eldritch
Franklin Pierce College
451
Holyoke Community College
Anna in the Tropics
Fuddy Meers
Johnson State College
Noise Off
Keene State College
The Rolling Collections
The Hot House
Fat Men in Skirts
The Matchmaker
Lesley University
Returnees
The Sinker
Merrimack College
Dracula
Middlebury College
St. Crispin’s Day
Lysistrada
Jumpers
Uncommon Women & Others
Twelfth Night
Tiny Geniuses
North Essex Community College
The Diary of Anne Frank
Student Directed One Act Plays
The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940
Quinnipiac University
Medea
White Washed: A Community Diversity Project
The Girls Next Door (adapted from The Boys Next Door)
Rhode Island College
Antigone
True West
No, no Nanette
Lost in Yonkers
Anna in the Tropics
Roger Williams University
The Fantasticks
Dead Man Walking
The Women of Lockerbie
Saint Michael’s College
Closer Than Ever
The Heiress
Salem State College
Lady of the Larkspur
Night Sky
Mother Courage and Her Children
Proof
Pink Panther Strikes Again
The Tempest
Salve Regina University
Mousetrap
Hay Fever
The Laramie Project
Southern Connecticut State University
Anything Goes
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Chicago
Student Directed One Acts Evening 1
Student Directed One Acts Evening 2
Stonehill College
Picnic
University of Maine at Machias
Evening of Theresa Rebeck Short Plays
University of Maine, Orono
The Marriage of Figaro
Cloud 9
Scapin
University of Massachusetts, Boston
House of Blue Leaves
University of New Hampshire
Ubu Roi
Night of Comedy
Little Women, The Musical
The Last Five Years
I C No Arrlechino=
University of New Haven
Zombies from the Beyond
Two Rooms
Elm City Theater Company Presents: American Gangbang
University of Rhode Island
Amadeus
True West
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
Small Tragedy
Oklahoma!
University of Southern Maine, Gorham
To Gillian on her 37th Birthday
City of Angels
Last Easter
Fool for Love
The Fantastiks
The Man Who Came to Dinner
University of Vermont
Eurydice
Cabaret
Wellelsey College
Vietnam 101: The War on Campus
Western Connecticut State University
The Who’s Tommy
Cabaret
Westfield State College
Interview
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Voyage: The Coast of Utopia, Part I
Wheaton College
An Inspector Calls
Worcester State College
All in the Timing
Lysistrata