Members of the Marywood Theater Department were recently in attendance at the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF) at the University of Maryland.

According to the KCACTF website, the goal of the festival is to revitalize and celebrate university and college theater in America. KCACTF involves 18,000 students from over 600 different colleges and universities across the country.

The festival lasted from Jan. 14 to Jan. 18. and held a plethora of different workshops and programs in many fields including playwriting, dramaturgy, directing and more.

Junior Theater Education Major Mason Marie Clark said the department attends the festival because it is a great learning opportunity for students and to take part in the competitions that occur there.

“It shows pride for our theater program and we can win awards for it,” said Clark.

Out of the nearly 100 individuals who auditioned, Clark earned the opportunity to be one of 10 performers in a cabaret, which is a collection of pieces from various musicals to show the range of the performers.

Third-year Theater Major Alexander Murray was chosen out of 120 applicants to perform in one of the National Playwriting Program’s Ten Minute Plays at the festival.

Murray said he feels the festival is special because of the role students play in the performances.

“It was [an] amazing [experience because] all shows were written by student playwrights and directed by students,” said Murray.

While at the festival, four Marywood students also auditioned for the Open Jar Institute, a five-day musical-theater workshop in New York City that allows students to train with Broadway professionals and advance their theater career. The results of the Open Jar audition will be announced at the beginning of February.

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