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Every spring, the Kennedy Center opens its doors to a highly select group of talented theatre students from across the country for the KCACTF National Festival. This spring, Lycoming College’s Alexandra (AJ) Marusko ’25 earned one of those coveted invitations and walked away from the event with a fellowship at the prestigious O’Neill National Theater Institute and connections to last a lifetime.
For Marusko, a theatre stage management major and French minor from Shrewsbury, Pa., it's been a demanding yet fulfilling road to the National Theater Institute that dates back to her thirteenth year when she was “roped into theatre” to work on set construction. “I really loved it! By the time I was high school, I realized that if I didn’t try to make theatre a career, I would be doing it as a hobby on the side.” Her search for college theatre programs led her to Lycoming College.
Higher education brought with it the opportunity for Marusko to work in productions both on the stage and behind the scenes, as well as both on- and off-campus. She even spent a semester studying abroad at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama in Cardiff, Wales. In the run up to graduation, Marusko, along with all other graduating Lycoming theatre majors, attended the regional Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF) to present her work. Marusko submitted a show that she stage-managed, and her first place ranking secured her one of the 8 stage management spots at the national event.
“The national festival was an intensive program. We spent days with mentors who are professionals in stage management, attended workshops, and watched a number of performances,” she said. “I was given the opportunity to fully display my strengths and ideas, and the experience served me very well as it has led to a spot at the National Theater Institute where I am sure to have the opportunity to network and make valuable industry connections.”
The 8-week fellowship at the National Theater Institute this summer promises intensive theatrical training and mentorship with experienced theatre professionals. The institute will serve as a launching pad for Marusko, as it did for other industry professionals including Lin Manuel-Miranda, Jennifer Garner, Elizabeth Olsen, John Krasinski, and countless others.
“I’m very grateful for this opportunity. It doesn’t feel real yet,” she said. “I’m stepping into an ocean and I don’t know what’s going to come from it, but I’m excited to see what the future has in store.”
Marusko is thankful for her Lycoming education and for the faculty mentorship that helped to guide her down this path. “The faculty have played a vital and influential role in my reaching this point in my theatre career. They have nurtured my interests, encouraged me when I needed a cheerleader, expanded my knowledge by continually teaching me and piquing my interests in new aspects of theatre, and helped me plan for a future after graduation,” said Marusko. “Stage management feeds my type A personality. Watching a show get its structure, moving from ideas passed around a table to a fully-produced event with an audience in attendance, is very exciting for me!”
Just prior to graduation, Marusko had some parting words for students interested in the stage management: “Go into it with a very open mind. It’s not an easy thing to do. It can be stressful and time consuming. Enter this world with curiosity. Stay current with plays, read, and see new pieces of work. And remember to network and remain open and welcoming to everyone that you meet. This is such a very tight knit community!”