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Printer-Friendly ModeSVSU set to host national festival
January 21, 2008 —
For the last few years, early January has been a somewhat dull time for me. I would work or relax, waiting for the next semester to begin. This year was different, however. In October, I was chosen as an Irene Ryan nominee for my performance in SVSU's production of Frankenstein and attended ACTF, Region Three, two weeks ago (Jan. 8 through Jan. 13). And even more exciting, the festival will be at SVSU for the next two years.
ACTF, essentially, is hundreds of theater undergraduates from five mid-western states gathering to compete, attend theatrical workshops, and watch plays produced by various colleges and universities from the region. Every year, two Ryan's are sent from each of SVSU's fall productions, who then chose partners to compete with them at the festival. SVSU often sends students to compete in stage management, sound design and lighting design as well.
ACTF always runs within the first two weeks of January, and the last two years has been hosted by Cardinal Stritch University and Marquette University in Milwaukee. While I won't personally be around when festival is at SVSU, I am still extremely excited to know that our whole department can participate in such an educational and eye-opening event.
This year, there were 11 plays chosen to perform at the competition. Seating is often limited for most of the productions, while three larger-scale shows--Thoroughly Modern Millie, Dracula and Arts or Crafts--were put on in the Pabst Theater, which seats over 1,200, for all to attend. While I didn't see all 11 shows, these three were the most entertaining for me.
Millie, about a small-town girl trying to make it in 1920's New York City, had some of the most impressive dance numbers and singing I've seen at the college level. Dracula was a new adaptation and had some amazing visuals and technical effects. Crafts--a collection of scenes about the nature of art, criticism and pop culture--proved to be quite insightful and thought-provoking.
The festival also held over 50 different workshops for students to attend. They ranged from open forums discussing issues with the festival itself to those based around improvisation.
Colleen Cartwright, an SVSU senior selected as a Ryan for her performance in Pippin, attended a fair amount of the workshops and found them to be extremely interesting.
Regarding a workshop on performing Shakespeare unrehearsed, Cartwright said, "It was a great experience--very insightful and a lot of useful information."
Adding to the already-exciting news of ACTF being at SVSU next year, this year was made even more memorable because a fellow SVSU Acting Ryan and his partner (junior Tyler Frank and senior Kurt McCool, respectively) and both of our stage management competitors (senior Patrick Konesko and junior Brett Elliot) made it into finals. The last, and only, time that SVSU students made it into acting finals was 2004, and SVSU has never made it to Stage Management finals. While none moved on to nationals, Frank and McCool were awarded Best Comedy Scene.
"It felt like we didn't belong back there," Frank said about waiting backstage during the final round.
This was Frank's third trip to ACTF, and he still feels that the festival is humbling.
"It was the most nervous and excited I'd ever been."
"He didn't even eat lunch," McCool adds regarding Frank's anticipation.
In the end, though, they both agreed that it made them feel more confident as actors. The competition started out with more than 300 Ryan nominees in the preliminary round and only 16 in the final round, so while I and two other of the Acting Ryans (and our partners) didn't move on, we watched our Frank, McCool, Konesko and Elliot with high hopes.
"I was crying when they left the stage," Alyssa Kindy, a SVSU senior said about seeing Frank and McCool in the finals.
Konesko and Elliot both competed in the finals on Saturday and the judges were impressed by innovations that both had made--Elliot with a new way of recording blocking for Pippin and Konesko with a word-processor produced prompt book and detailed scenic overviews of every scene for Frankenstein.
Still, the big news for SVSU remains its hosting of the festival in 2009 and 2010. Kelly Helmreich, the SVSU theater and communication department's administrative secretary, attended the festival this year to get an idea of challenge the university faces. All in all, Helmreich feels that SVSU is well suited for the festival.
"Comparing SVSU with Milwaukee," Helmreich said, "I feel we're well prepared. Almost everything will take place right here in Curtiss, with the bigger shows taking place at the Temple."
In Milwaukee, there was a good 15-minute drive between Cardinal Stritch and Marquette for the various events.
Both SVSU and the Saginaw Business Bureau are working with the Kennedy Center Foundation already in preparation for next January, as it will mean an increased amount of business for local hotels and restaurants.
Still, I feel what makes it most exciting is the experience it will give to my fellow students, as it was an extremely enlightening one for me. Helmreich agrees."Having to compete with all of these other universities and seeing what they can do is such a good learning experience for our students, which is what it's all about."