Scottsdale, AZ (January 24, 2012) – Scottsdale Community College’s Theatre Art program was one of only ten colleges in the region chosen by the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival to perform their full-length production of Eugene Ionesco’s The Bald Soprano at the regional festival held at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah, February 7 – 11, 2012.
“Our invitation to perform at this national competition affirms the faculty, staff and student talent that is a strong hallmark of our award-winning Theatre department,” said SCC president, Dr. Jan Gehler. “We are so very proud of our students and look forward to hearing their tales of accomplishment when they return.”
Each year students and faculty come together at Kennedy Center regional festivals to see one another’s works and share ideas. Region VIII includes colleges from central and southern California, Arizona, southern Nevada, Utah, and Hawaii.
As SCC’s Theatre Arts students explored the works of playwright Eugene Ionesco last year, the Theatre program opened the 2010-11 academic season with a Fall performance of Ionesco’s Rhinoceros, followed by two of Ionesco’s works in the Spring, The Bald Soprano and The Chairs. Ionesco’s works are from the school of drama known as the Theatre of the Absurd, a genre that often includes irony, slapstick humor, and wordplay.
The Bald Soprano is a hilarious parody of conversation which explores the absurdity of human communication. The play was first performed in Paris in 1950, and has been continually performed since 1957 alongside other Ionesco works at the Théâtre de la Huchette in Paris.
Randy Messersmith, SCC’s Theatre Arts Director and Director of The Bald Soprano, has applied an innovative approach to the production to give the audience an entertaining portrait of language’s diminishing power in contemporary society. Using voice-modulating software, the characters in the play have been separated from their voices – certain students act their parts wearing masks, while others give voice to the characters.
"The Festival provides opportunities for our theatre students to develop their skills, insight and professionalism,” said Messersmith. “It also encourages colleges and universities to present distinguished productions of revitalized or newly conceived and experimental works, thereby rewarding risk. That is why I am proud of our production team's efforts both onstage and in a technical capacity--when presented with my crazy idea they kept an open mind, and through their diligence, dedication and talent are being recognized for thinking outside the box.”
Cast of The Bald Soprano:
Zach Jost……….Mr. Smith body
Abel Zerai..........Mr. Smith voice
Michelle Fish..........Mrs. Smith body
Kirsten Zollars………Mrs. Smith voice
Chris Ellis……Mr. Martin body
Steven Dukes……….Mr. Martin voice
Paula Vasquez……….Mrs. Martin body
Rae Miller……….Mrs. Martin voice
Stacey Bohn……….Mary body
Sasha Wordlaw……….Mary voice
Sky Donovan……….Fire Chief body
Taylor Burch……….Fire Chief voice
Production Staff of The Bald Soprano:
Randy Messersmith……….Director
Boyd Branch……….Voice Modulation & Media Design
Kimb Williamson……….Scenic Artist
Mark Eschbach……….Sound Design/Audio Engineer
Eric Freeman……….Sound Board Operator
Elizabeth Peterson……….Costume Design
Amber Davis……….Wig Design
Katrine Bjerg……….Wig Assistant
Trestle Masks……….Mask Design
Tami Uptegraff……….Lighting Design
Tory Thompson……….Light Board Operator
Teresa Kalloch……….Stage Manager
Ryan Pierce-Hrechany……….Media Operator
Marg Grady……….ASM/Properties Design
John Hedges……….Technical Director
--Produced in association with Samuel French, Inc.
The Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (www.kcactf.org) is a national theater program involving thousands of students from colleges across the country. The Festival is divided into eight regions, each hosting regional competitions in February. During the regional festivals, college theatre students showcase their work, participate in workshops, perform for and receive outside review by Festival judges, and have the chance to win awards and scholarships and, if selected, move on to the National competition held in Washington, DC in April. The Festival offers students recognition in playwriting, acting, criticism, directing, and design. Since its establishment in 1969, KCACTF has reached more than 16 million theatergoers and 400,000 college and university theater students nationwide.
-----
Media contact: Denise Kronsteiner
0 comments:
Post a Comment