Winter break is a time to relax. It is a time to celebrate, to rest, and to enjoy spending time with the family. This year was a little different. Ninety-nine Muhlenberg College theatre students put down the fruitcake and party hats, shoveled themselves out of the snow and flew, drove, or just plain walked back to the campus to host the 36th Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, held from January 7th to January 11th in our beautiful theatre buildings.
Roger L. Stevens founded KCACTF in 1969. Since then, the Festival strives to celebrate the outstanding work of college and university theatre. It also hopes to better theatrical work nationwide. To help the Festival accomplish these goals, our 99 volunteers returned four days early to prepare for the coming of our guests. Days were devoted to cleaning the spaces while nights were devoted to cleaning the spaces. Yes, the schedule was hectic, but the volunteers worked together and made the Trexler Pavilion and Baker Center for the Arts shine.
After four days of cleaning, our guests began to arrive. The rest of the Festival was devoted to sharing theatrical art with close to one thousand guests from schools in Washington D.C., Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. Each day several workshops were offered. Some were devoted to answering age old questions like "What do I do with my hands?" and "So what's all the shaking?" One workshop even offered consolation for students who are finally saying, "I'm a playwright, I'm graduating, I'm screwed." Along with the 75 workshops, guests were treated to eleven productions from various colleges and universities in the region. Muhlenberg's 2003 production of "Electra" was presented and tentatively chosen to perform at the Kennedy Center. Other productions included "Bat Boy: The Musical," "Angels in America Part One: Millennium Approaches," and a new silent opera entitled "Spirale." With all of the events, students found it hard to attend everything. Debra Bergsma Otte, Chairperson for Region II ACTF, describes this as "a magnificent problem."
To accompany the productions and workshops, some students compete for the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship. Ten Muhlenberg students competed this year. They are: Leah Goldstein '05, Frankie Grande-Marchione '05, Phil Haas '05, Angela Liu '04, Nicole Lomax '03, Caitlin Mahoney '04, Jenny Lynn Peters '05, Robbie Saenz de Viteri '04, Mia Scarpa '04, and Lori Vroegindewey '04. Grande-Marchione succeeded in making it to finals.
Tim Averill, Muhlenberg faculty host for the Festival, encouraged guests to remember three things as they enjoyed the festival: "1) 'It's about the shows, duh.' 2) Look, listen, learn, and grow. 3) Be responsible and gracious in all of your actions—performing, partying, or playing." As a host, Averill worked very hard to make sure all of the guests were constantly cared for, and volunteers were encouraged to take care of their wants before they needed to ask. As a leader, Averill and his volunteers worked so hard that they were recognized at the closing awards ceremony. Not only was he recognized, but Bob Grobman, Administrative Coordinator for Muhlenberg Theatre and the Festival, received an award. A new award was created for student Matt Freeman, who helped Averill and Grobman organize the event. Freeman is currently the Public Relations Coordinator the Muhlenberg Theatre Association.
Other Muhlenberg students awarded were Steve Hoppe for stage management, Matt Moore for directing, and Will Hartwell for theatre criticism.
After a week of such success, many Muhlenberg volunteers were sad to see the Festival end. Our guests were lovely to work with, and were very appreciative of our help and impressed with our facilities. They were so impressed that rumors began to fly that Muhlenberg would be the host again next year. Is it true? Will Muhlenberg Theatre students have something to do next winter break? Grobman, when asked if Muhlenberg will be the host for next year's festival, answered, "Oh yes, it's definite."