On February 8th, Theatre AUM went to Americus, Georgia to perform their production of Woyzeck at the Rylander Theatre as one of five productions in Region 4 chosen to attend the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival.
All of the 23 cast and crew members attended KCACTF. The cast included: Kodi Robertson- Woyzeck, Brittany Vallely- Marie, Faith Roberts- Margaret, Jonathan Meinsler- Showman, Brandon Baggin- Captain, Antonio George- Drum Major, Amy May- Sargent, Kate Saylor- Doctor, Chris Mascia- Andres, Kiersten Mattox- Zirkus, Tara Fenn- Gypsy, and Kaylee Baker- Child. Kodi, Brittany and Kate were also chosen to audition for the prestigious Irene Ryan Award for outstanding acting. Brittany and her scene partner, Kiersten, ultimately got passed through to the Semi-Final round of the auditioning process. The crew included: Val Winkleman- Director, Marcus Godbee- Assistant Director, Neil David Seibel- Voice and Movement, Lexi Tippett- Stage Manager, Emily Aveldańez- Lighting Director, Sarah Hillard- Sound Board Operator, Mike Mann- Sound Designer, Olivia Tippett- Backstage Hand, Elise Sottile- Scenic, Costume and Makeup Designer and Mike Winkleman- Technical Director. The crew brought home a lot of amazing awards for their hard work on this production. Elise placed 2nd in Costume Design and an Honorable Mention for her Makeup Design. Emily took home an Honorable Mention in Lighting Design and won the Stagecraft Institute of Las Vegas, which comes with an exciting week in Las Vegas for a lighting design workshop. Lexi took home 2nd place in Stage Management.
As soon as the cast and crew got to Americus the hustle and bustle of the weekend was in full swing. The main comment that came from the mouths of those who went was, “I’m so tired. We hardly got any sleep!” It was because some were busy viewing other productions that were chosen alongside of Woyzeck to attend KCACTF, some were busy setting up their work and showcasing their art for the awards they were nominated for, and for some, like Lexi, were busy stage managing a show they had never worked on. It definitely was not a relaxing and stress-free trip, but one full of madness, hard work and of course the love of theater.
If you witnessed Woyzeck you understand the hard work every cast and crew member put into this production. Everything you saw on the stage at AUM had to be packed up and replicated in a theater they have never stepped foot on. As you can imagine that was not an easy task. Being on a new stage brought on a lot of different obstacles they are not use to encountering at Theatre AUM’s stage. The actors had to adjust how they projected on stage so those watching at the tip-top of the balcony of the Rylander Theatre could hear them, the board operators had to quickly learn a how to operate a different program, and the scenic design had to fit the size and shape of the much larger stage. When the cast and crew came back from their stressful few days they explained how much the crowd loved their rendition of Woyzeck, and that they performed their best show yet on the stage of the Rylander Theatre. Even though they did not advance on, the cast and crew won the Golden Construction Hat for their best load in/load out awarding them for an outstanding set up and take down of their set.
I believe I can speak for all of AUM in saying how proud we are of Theatre AUM. To be chosen to go to KCACTF alone is a huge accomplishment and honor, but to be nominated and win all of the other awards that these students took home, just adds on to the honor.
By Olivia Crutchfield
