Saint Ambrose University recently issued the following announcement.
Back in the fall of 2020, the St. Ambrose Theatre Department put on Ibsen's Enemy of the People as a radio production about the charge to have the integrity and the bravery to stand up against actions that are wrong, even if the majority want to silence you.
The show was received extremely well by audiences and won "Best Radio Drama" at the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System awards. Now, two of the show's cast members, junior Quinnie Rodman who voiced Petra and the Sound Designer, Aaron Randolph lll '02 Music Major '12 Theatre Major, have been awarded the Kennedy Center American College Theatre's National Commendation for their roles and the department couldn't be prouder.
Randolph expressed how thankful he was to win this award and to have worked with the staff and students here at St. Ambrose.
"I am deeply honored to represent the St. Ambrose University Theatre Department through this recognition," said Randolph. "The piece was an exciting opportunity for me to do something I've never done before and to explore a new genre with some of my favorite artistic collaborators. The end product is something the entire department should be proud of. It's a wonderful example of a group of talented artists working together to make something truly unique and timely!"
Rodman also felt extremely honored to even be considered for this achievement.
"Growing up I had always thought that theatre was something fun to do, but never something I could be good enough to do professionally," Rodman admitted. "Winning an award on a national level where hundreds of other people were considered makes the possibility of a professional acting career feel attainable."
Before finding out about the award, Rodman was nervous as to why she was being called in by her theatre professor, Dr. Corinne Johnson.
"Cory was being very cryptic about the award and told me to meet in her office because she had something that I was going to want to see," Rodman shared. "When she presented me with the award and told me that St. Ambrose had never gotten one before, I was so proud of myself and thankful for everyone who worked on the show with me, I could have never done this by myself."
The awards that this production and the cast have received are truly uplifting for everyone who was a part of the show because most of them have never been a part of a radio show. However, the radio format actually provided the students with the chance to focus on specific vocal skills.
"We got to focus on the inflection of our words which is super helpful in a radio play setting but transfers well as we get into live theatre again," Rodman said. "We didn't focus on blocking or facial expressions at all, we had to convey the entire story with the conviction of our voices which was a very fun challenge."
Cast and Crew
During rehearsal, actors donned collars to honor Ruth Bader Ginsburg who had died that day.
Another reason the department was thrilled to see this production succeed is because they had actually been planning on doing a musical in the fall of 2020, but COVID-19 restrictions prevented this. While Enemy of the People was not on the original agenda, this experience allowed students like Rodman and Randolph to still have the creative and collaborative experience.
Many of the cast and crew members have fond memories when looking back on this experience and Rodman is no different.
"One of my favorite memories from the show was from the rehearsal after the news that Ruth Bader Ginsburg died," Rodman said. "While it was a very sad occurrence, Cory brought us Ruth Bader Ginsburg collars and we all wore them during the recording that day. It was a great way to bring us all together while honoring a great female leader."
On behalf of the St. Ambrose University Theatre Department, we send our congratulations to Rodman and Randolph. These two individuals surely have a bright future ahead and hopefully they find time to participate in radio productions again.
Original source can be found here.
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