Worcester State Theatre students, faculty and staff attended Region 1 of the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival last week in Fitchburg. Adam Zahler and John Hood (Visual and Performing Arts) brought 12 current students and one recent graduate to the festival for workshops and events to further their education in acting, directing and design for the theatre.
Students who were recognized in design categories included David Higginbottom, received a Certificate of Merit for his work as assistant scenic and lighting designer on the spring 2011 production of Boy Gets Girl; Sharon Garceau, was nominated for her work as stage manager on the fall 2011 production of The Good Person of Setzuan; and Erica Hall (VPA ’11) was nominated as costume designer for Boy Gets Girl.
Four students, accompanied by scene partners, were nominated for the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarships. John Karwaski (Joseph Aliberti, partner) was the first WSU student to advance to the second round. The other acting students were Amanda Hoegen (Sara Penniman, partner), Trang Le (Christine Begin, partner), and Tasha Matthews (Kathleen O’Donaghue, partner).
Zahler, who is chair of directing for Region 1, oversaw the SDC Fellowship Program at the Festival. In addition, he conducted a roundtable discussion, “The Director’s Dilemma,” addressing specific problems faced by stage directors. He was also the interviewer/moderator for “A Conversation with Evan Yionoulis,” one of America’s noted directors and adjunct professor of acting at Yale University.