From the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Region 1 at Central Connecticut State University this past weekend, more than a dozen Saints presented their work, watched productions, attended workshops, and made College history.
The Siena students performed a scene from last spring's production of Doctor Faustus. They received the prestigious invitation to the stage from a KCACTF representative who attended the production at Siena. The Saints also presented their work in performance, dramaturgy, theatre tech, and management, watched performances from other colleges, and learned from the theatre professionals and faculty experts in the region.
More than 750 students presented work at the festival from all around the region, which includes colleges in New York, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. Two Saints won national awards.
Simon Meisel '24 (below, left) earned the LMDA/KCACTF Dramaturgy Award - he's the first Saint to ever capture this particular award. Isabella McClave '24 (below, right) took home the USITT Award for Achievement in Sound Engineering. Isabella's award earns her admission into the USITT (United States Institute for Theatre Technology) conference in Seattle next month. She'll present her work on the show floor at the conference.
"We are so excited that Simon and Isabella have won National Awards, but what we are most excited about is the very high caliber of work all the Siena students who participated brought to the festival. I'm also really impressed with the degree to which our students took advantage of the workshops, performances, and networking opportunities afforded to them at the festival. There were Siena students everywhere!"
Krysta Dennis, Ph.D., producer of creative arts
"It was surreal. Hearing your name, and going up onstage after so much research is a wake up call. The noise, the lights, and the people all serve as a vital reminder of the human element to dramaturgy, which is (in my opinion), the reason we make theatre in the first place. In CURCA, there are always four more project deadlines coming down the pike, so by force of habit, I turned to Dr. Dennis and said something to the effect of 'This is a lovely piece of paper they’ve given me, now what’s next?', and she had to set me straight: 'You just won the Region 1 Dramaturgy award. There are eight regions in the country. Put that in your pipe and smoke it.'"
Simon Meisel '24
"Being able to represent Siena was especially important because it was an opportunity to demonstrate that our school, with its recently established Theatre major, could compete on par with larger arts programs in the region. It was a chance to prove that size and resources don't define our ability to excel and to showcase the talented people we have. I am incredibly grateful to Dr. Krysta Dennis for introducing me to the world of theatre and for her unwavering support; Mike Lounello for pushing me into new directions and providing guidance when I needed it; and Jeffrey Salerno for teaching me what I needed to know about sound engineering."
Isabella McClave '24
