Download Image: Web
Ten Lycoming College theatre majors and minors participated in this year’s Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF), Region II, held in Pittsburgh Jan. 14-18. The theatre department takes a group of students to the conference each year to provide them with the opportunity to showcase their talents, present their work, compete with students from more than 50 other universities and colleges in the nine-state region, and attend workshops led by theatre professionals. Lycoming student attendees who presented their work in acting, musical theatre, design, stage management, and playwriting included Olivia DiFraia, Eliza Flanigan, Gabriella Fugon, Gale Hall, Shantel Hill, Alijah Hunter, Julia Martin, Alexandra (AJ) Marusko, Evelyn Stong, and Chayton Wesneski.
National First Place Stage Management. Marusko received the highest regional recognition in stage management, earning the National Award: Regional 1st Place Stage Management Fellowship. This prestigious honor, recognizing her exceptional work, qualifies her to attend the National Festival at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., as a Stage Management Fellow in April. She will participate in exclusive events alongside winners in the other seven regions.
Regional Awards. Hunter earned multiple regional awards for her excellent lighting design and technical theatre work, including Jane Childs DTM Legacy Award, presented to one first-time presenter per region for lighting design excellence; Tech Olympics, recognized with a Certificate of Excellence for outstanding performance in the Tape Out competition; and Team Competition First Place, which went to a team of students from various institutions.
Musical Theatre Intensive (MTI) Program. Several Lycoming students auditioned for the Musical Theatre Intensive (MTI) Program scholarships, including DiFraia, Fugon, Martin, Hill, and Wesneski. Wesneski was named a Semi-finalist in the MTI scholarship audition. Hill was selected to perform in the MTI Cabaret at the festival. DiFraia was featured in the group number presented at the festival’s closing ceremony.
National Playwriting Program (NPP), Acting Scholarship Auditions, and Scenic Design. Hall participated in the NPP’s Monologue Slam competition and submitted scripts for review to the program. Hill was cast to perform in the NPP’s 10-minute Play project. Hill, Marusko, Martin, DiFraia, Wesneski, and Fugon represented Lycoming in the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship Auditions. Evelyn Stong showcased her scenic design skills in the Scenic Design Competition.
“Our students consistently earn recognition and awards year after year, showcasing their dedication to their craft and chosen areas of specialization. This ongoing success also reflects the exceptional mentoring provided by our department’s faculty. We take great pride in supporting our students’ presentations and creating opportunities for Lycoming College students to participate in the annual conference,” said Biliana Stoytcheva-Horissian, Ph.D., professor of theatre and chair of the department.
Accompanying Stoytcheva-Horissian and students were Bonnie Hall, adjunct theatre faculty at Lycoming, and Matt Ripa, visiting assistant professor of theatre at Lycoming. Ripa and Stoytcheva-Horissian continued serving the region in their KCACTF Region II organizational leadership positions as the Irene Ryan acting scholarship auditions coordinator and the executive steering committee representative.
The KCACTF is a national theatre program involving 20,000 students from colleges and universities annually and a network of more than 700 academic institutions nationwide. KCACTF encourages, recognizes, and celebrates the finest and most diverse work produced in university and college theatre programs.