By Haddassah Winters
Every year, The Kennedy Center for the American College Theater Festival holds a nation-wide competition for college students to compete in various aspects of theater. The winners of each region go on to compete at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
“We’ve been going each year since I arrived at PC in 2008,” says drama professor Lara Starcevich, “what generally happens is we submit a play that we’re doing and a respondent comes out to watch our play and give us feedback. Then, with the respondent’s advice, we select two to three actors to go and compete in the festival.”
The two actors, Victoria Smith and Steven Berry prepared three scenes, two duets and a monologue, for this highly competitive event and condensed it all to fit the five minute time limit. They also chose their scene partners, Hugh Carino and Jade Evans, to be their partners for the competition.
“The ride to Denver was in a van,” said Victoria Smith, “we got stuck in snow and stopped uncountable times. We left Saturday afternoon and got there Monday morning. Hugh and I went in to do our scene on Tuesday. It was less than 3 minutes and afterwards, I felt like falling over.”
“We should have flown and not driven,” Starcevich said, “it was way too far. Next time we fly so that everyone is rested and able to preform having time to relax beforehand.” Even with these snags, the actors expressed an overall gratefulness for the opportunity.
“It was a great, wonderful experience,” said Steven Berry, “and I’m really glad I got to go.” Jade Evans agreed, saying “as an aspiring actress it was a much needed experience and it really helped me see where I needed to develop my skills for the future.”
“Unfortunately,” said Starcevich, “they didn’t get through round one but they got some very supportive feedback. Steven and Jade included an original scene that they worked on together and the judges were very enthusiastic about their work. Victoria and Hugh also received praise for their original scene and intensity of expression.”