AC plays host to theater festival

Last week, Amarillo College was thrust into the spotlight when it played host to the Region VI Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival. The event drew hundreds of people from 47 colleges and universities representing six states.

They attended workshops, contests, performances and the Irene Ryan Scholarship auditions.

“We did have over 700 students, instructors, respondents, presenters, regional committee members and national committee members show up,” said Monty Downs, one of the event’s coordinators and theatre instructor. “We also had many locals attend the eight scheduled performances. The Globe-News reported that this festival would generate over $500,000 for the Amarillo economy.”

Ray Newburg, who serves as Region VI’s Texas Chair and liaison between regional and national committees, said that since the Globe-News Center for the Performing Arts opened, AC has been in the works to host the festival.

During the festival, participants attended workshops of their choice at the Amarillo Civic Center. The workshops focused on a variety of theatre studies such as acting, playwriting, costume, makeup and set design, among others.

Six full-length performances were staged at the Globe-News Center, in addition to various scenes for the annual Irene Ryan Scholarship competitions, which awards 19 regional honors and two fellowships each year.

Sixteen of those awards consist of a $500 scholarship for each regional representative of KCACTF.

Two actors from each region travel to Washington, D.C. to compete for two $2,500 scholarships at the national festival. These scholarships can be used at any school the winner chooses and are not limited to theatre majors.

In addition to acting competitions, students were also critiqued on other elements of theatre through playwriting and design competitions.

“Students need to see their art performed to appreciate it,” Newburg said. “What better way is there than to see theatre performed by their peers from all over the region? The rewards of seeing productions by students, they normally would not be able to see, is enormous. Additionally, these students will be our students’ colleagues in the future.”

Theatre Arts majors were also on hand throughout the week to help program move smoothly and efficiently. “They helped load-ins and load-outs of all eight productions,” Newburg said. “We set up displays, ran workshops, and assisted in the numerous competitions to make the festival run smoothly. All 16 of our majors did an excellent job.”

Downs also praised the work the students took on during the festival.

“Ray Newburg and I are very proud of our students,” he said. “Most worked more than 80 hours each last week, doing a variety of jobs. In addition to their hosting duties for the whole week, they also presented their designs and acting scenes.”

As part of a two-year commitment, AC is slated to host the festival again next year.

Regional VI includes colleges and universities in Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Missouri, Arkansas and New Mexico.

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