KCACTF 2022 Results

By Press release submission

Feb 14, 2022

Saint Ambrose University recently issued the following announcement.

Once again, the St. Ambrose Theatre Department attended the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF) online.

This year, students participated in the Musical Theatre Intensive, the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship, the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC) Scholarship, and the Art Management competition. Read on to learn about each event and the achievements of our talented St. Ambrose University Theatre students.

Musical Theatre Intensive (MTI)

The goal of the Musical Theatre Intensive is to celebrate and recognize the outstanding musical theatre students within the region and to offer educational opportunities to work with musical theatre professionals. In this portion of the festival, students were asked to prepare two contrasting musical theatre selections, one from a golden age musical (before 1970) and one from a contemporary musical (after 1970) or a pop song. Students who moved on to the final round were given the opportunity to participate in an all day intensive where they worked with Broadway veterans Lauren 'Coco' Cohn and Karen Burthwright. St. Ambrose University students did quite well in this category, advancing five students past the preliminary round.

Below are the names of students, along with their musical selections, who moved on past the first round of the Musical Theatre Intensive:

Semi-Finalists from St. Ambrose University (MTI):

Junior Quinnie Rodman ("Gorgeous"- The Apple Tree, "Lifeboat"- Heathers)

Senior Kyle DeFauw ("Ilona"- She Loves Me, "The Old Red Hills of Home"- Parade)

Senior Joseph Lasher ("Mama Look Sharp"- 1776, "Good Kid"- The Lightning Thief)

Junior Peyton Reese ("Don't Rain on my Parade"- Funny Girl, "How Did We Come to This?"- The Wild Party)

Junior Katie Link ("So In Love"- Kiss Me, Kate, "I'm Not Afraid of Anything"- Songs For A New World)

Finalists from St. Ambrose University (MTI):

Quinnie Rodman

Joseph Lasher

Peyton Reese

Katie Link

Awards and recognition for students of St. Ambrose University (MTI):

Katie Link: Notable Performance Recipient

Peyton Reese: National Kennedy Center Representative (aka- Region V MTI Winner!)

Department Achievements

KCACTF 2022

Junior Peyton Reese was a finalist and MTI winner while the Romeo and Juliet web series was an Official Selection at the festival.

Irene Acting Scholarships

The Irene Ryan Acting Scholarships provide recognition, honor, and financial assistance to outstanding student performers wishing to pursue further education. The Irene Ryan Foundation awards eight regional scholarships and one national scholarship annually. Eight of the awards consist of a $500 scholarship for each regional representative.

This year, students were required to prepare two monologues and a scene with a partner which, all together, had to be under six minutes. Students were provided feedback on their pieces from professionals in the industry as well. This year, St. Ambrose University had four students move on past the preliminary round:

Semi-Finalists from St. Ambrose University (Irene Ryan):

Senior K. Hampton (Partner: First-year Caroline Sieren)

Junior Quinnie Rodman (Partner: Senior Joseph Lasher)

Junior Peyton Reese (Partner: Junior Quinnie Rodman)

Senior Kyle DeFauw (Partner: Junior Peyton Reese)

Finalist from St. Ambrose University (Irene Ryan):

Peyton Reese (Partner: Quinnie Rodman)

Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC)

The Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC) Scholarship event is intended for experienced students who have directed several scenes or a fully mounted production. Students in this program receive feedback on the final product of a scene from one or more professional directors and/or educators during the festival. This year, students were required to submit a 10-minute concept presentation video in which they discussed all of the logistics of the show they were presenting in great detail. This year, one St. Ambrose student submitted a concept presentation – Luke Peterson '21 – and he received a scholarship.

"While it is a bittersweet feeling to know that my last Region 5 KCACTF has come and gone, all in all, I'm proud of the journey I went on over the past five years," said Luke Peterson ‘21. "As a recap, I served on the Student Advisory Board for four years, was in three invited productions, was a two-time SDC finalist, and advanced on to the semi-final round of the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship competition one year as well. But more importantly than any recognition I may have received, are the relationships that I built and strengthened along the way. KCACTF is all about celebrating student work, and I have loved getting to cheer on my friends in all of the various events they participated in. That's definitely what I'm going to miss the most!"

Congratulations to Luke Peterson '21 on your achievement!

Art Management

Marketing and creating graphics is also an integral part of accomplishing a successful show and the Art Management competition recognizes the importance of this task. Sophomore Elena Vallejo participated in the Art Management competition by submitting her poster design and marketing campaign for last year's production of Two Rooms.

Lastly, it is important to note that the St. Ambrose University Theatre Department's production of Romeo and Juliet was shown during the festival week as an Invited Production. Plus, the students involved with this production were given the opportunity to receive feedback from a professional in the industry on all their hard work. Senior Becky Meissen attended the Romeo and Juliet feedback session since she played the role of Romeo.

"The respondents were in awe at the level of detail that we were able to create and the story that we were able to tell," Meissen said. "Everyone has their own views on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, but both respondents said that viewing our production made them enjoy the story on a whole new level."

As you can tell, this year's KCACTF was a spectacular one for our students and staff and we were thrilled to be a part of this year's festival. Congratulations to all students and faculty for their recognitions this year.

Other production recognitions for St. Ambrose University:

Romeo and Juliet - A Web Series

Cast for Puppetry

Joseph Lappie for Character Design

Dillion Rairdin for Music Composition

She Kills Monsters

Junior Ellis Allbaugh for Stage Management

Cast for Ensemble Performance

Two Rooms

Cast for Ensemble Performance

Senior Rebecca Meissen for Scenic Design

Duke Schneider for Cinematography