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Theatre & Dance Alumni News |
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Recent ACTF Success for WCU: At the 2008 KC/ACTF Region II Conference held at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA, several WCU Theatre students won awards for acting, dramaturgy and technical production: Andrew Lowy '09 won the Award for Dramaturgy for Gypsy and will be presenting at the Kennedy Center in March. Pat Kane '08 won Regional Awards in both Sound Design and Graphics for Bent. Sara Clerico won a Regional Award in Make-up for her designs for Wit. Zoi Ginneas '07and her partner Melissa Costello advanced to the finals round in the Irene Ryan Competition and Zoi won the award for Outstanding Classical Acting for her scene from Romeo and Juliet. Congratulations to all! Megan Pisors '07 will be playing Johanna in the Wilmington Drama League's production of Sweeney Todd this January and February. S. Tyler Hoffman '08 was an understudy in the Arden’s Theatre production of Assassins this past fall. Jason Stump ’10 performed in this year’s Philly Fringe Festival in a production of The Jingle Man, a fun, 1950's tap musical about love, hard work, and toothpicks written and composed by Christopher M. Tolomeo and choreographed by John Curtis. Jillian Glace ‘08, a Liberal Studies major and Dance minor, attended the White Mountain Summer Dance Festival in Springfield, MA. The goal of the WMSDF is to provide students with a more comprehensive and cohesive learning experience where the connections of mind, body, and theory are interwoven into every class. She took classes in modern & ballet technique, yoga, Laban Movement analysis, anatomy & repertory. She performed in a two-day showcase at the end of the festival and describes her experience as an amazing opportunity to delve into the art of dance in such a concise way, while still enjoying a laid back and supportive learning environment where the teachers encourage students to explore their creative, intellectual, kinesthetic, and intuitive self. Anna Karas, an Elementary Ed major/Dance minor and secretary of the University Dance Company, spent her summer as a counselor at the James and Rachel Levinson Day Camp, a camp run the by the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh. This experience gave her the opportunity to incorporate her dance training by leading creative movement sessions several times a week. She found that the structured movement taught her campers patience, discipline, and a way to control their high energy. WCU’s Dept of Theatre & Dance was well-represented in the production of Seussical performed with the Ocean City Pops Orchestra in Ocean City, NJ this past August. Current students included Laura Giknis, Billy Kametz, and Andy Truscott. The production was directed & choreographed by alum Michael Hartman, scenic designed by Kristin Cook, and other alums performing included Alicia Kelly, Liz McFarlane, and Chad Parsons. In July 2007, Michael Durkin ’08 & Stephen Blahut ’07 attended the Playwright’s Center in Minneapolis on a fellowship awarded to them during the National American College Theatre Festival at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C in spring 2007. They attended the national festival by winning the Region II Award for Dramaturgy for their work on the 2006 WCU show, The Merchant of Venice. Every July, the Playwright’s Center has this festival which workshops five new plays called the Playlabs Festival. The Playlab is designed to help emerging playwrights work with professional directors and designers to put on a staged reading for their works. Everything from cutting, rearranging, and rewriting had occurred to help develop the play the best it could be. Many of these plays then go on to be produced professional at theatres around the country such as the Public Theater in New York City, the Geva Center Theatre in Rochester, and the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis.
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