Two UA theatre productions selected for Kennedy Center festival
The Kennedy Centers American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF) has selected two productions by The University of Akron Theatre Program to showcase during its Region 2 Festival, Jan. 10-14 at Indiana University in Pennsylvania.
UA theatre major Bobby Round, a resident of Uniontown, performs in "The Great God Brown."
Two dozen UA theatre students and faculty are attending the festival to perform a one-hour version of "The Gospel According to Tammy Faye," directed by UA Theatre Professor Susan Speers, and a scene from "The Great God Brown," directed by UA Theatre Professor James Slowiak.
The two UA productions were selected from among 221 productions entered in the festival. Both will be performed for KCACTF’s Fringe Festival.
Diverse offerings
Written by J.T. Buck, a 2004 graduate of the UA Theatre Program, and Fernando Dovalina, "The Gospel According to Tammy Faye" was first performed on the UA campus in September. The UA production features an eclectic pop-country-gospel score, a fantasy-style mode of storytelling, and a cast of students, professional actors, and a live four-piece band. Tammy Faye Bakker was known as "The First Lady of Televangelism" for founding, along with her husband Jim Bakker, the world's first satellite-broadcast Christian network in the 1980s. Known for her bold makeup, including the famous mascara-laden eyelashes, in later years Bakker battled cancer and became an unlikely hero in the gay community.
Written in 1926, "The Great God Brown" is one of playwright Eugene O’Neill’s most mystical and expressionistic works. It draws inspiration from Jungian psychology, Nietzschean philosophy, Greek myth, and Asian and Christian religious sources, creating a world in which the denial of one's true self can lead to devastating consequences. The UA production, first performed in November, incorporates such stylistic devices as masks, puppets, musicians and a formal, physical approach to acting that is based loosely on Asian theatre techniques.
In addition to the performances, seven UA students have been chosen to audition during the festival for an Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship. The late Irene Ryan is best remembered for her portrayal of "Granny Clampett" in "The Beverly Hillbillies" television series. The Irene Ryan Foundation of Encino, Calif., has awarded scholarships to outstanding student performers at every regional KSACTF festival since 1972.
For more about KCACTF, visit http://kcactf2.org/. For more about the Theatre Program at The University of Akron, visit www.uakron.edu/dtaa.
The Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival
The Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF) is a national theater program created to be a catalyst for the quality of college theater in the United States.
Through state, regional, and national festivals, KCACTF honors excellence of overall production and offers student artists individual recognition through critiques, awards and scholarships in playwriting, acting, criticism, directing and design.
Since its inception in 1969, KCACTF has given more than 400,000 college theater students the opportunity to have their work critiqued, improve their dramatic skills and receive national recognition for excellence. More than 16 million theatergoers have attended approximately 10,000 KCACTF productions nationwide.
Media contact: Cyndee Snider, 330-972-5196 or cyndee@uakron.edu.