Theatre at SE students advance to regional rounds of Kennedy Center / American College Theatre Festival competition

SE Communications

DURANT – Southeastern Oklahoma State University theatre students from two productions in the Fall 2023 semester have advanced to the Region 6 festival of the Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival, which will be held in Abilene, Texas, in February.

Productions of Stop Kiss and Don’t Dress for Dinner were entered into competition, with eight Theatre at SE students competing in the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship competition and three students competing in the design and technical theatre competition. A total of nine SE students will participate with 12 entries across the various disciplines.

Southeastern students competing in the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship competition are:

• Karlie Carr from Kingston, nominated for her role as Sara in Stop Kiss
• Audrey Dorn from Tulsa, cast in Don’t Dress for Dinner, self-nominated
• Dottie Fuhr from Sherman, Texas, nominated for her role as Jacqueline in Don’t Dress for Dinner
• Alexander McKissick from Denison, Texas, cast in both Stop Kiss and Don’t Dress for Dinner, self-nominated
• Jude Scheibmeir from Sherman, Texas, cast in Stop Kiss, self-nominated
• Kelly Smith from Durant, nominated for her role as Callie in Stop Kiss
• Robbie Turner from Paris, Texas, nominated for his role as Bernard in Don’t Dress for Dinner
• and Olivia Wilson from Durant, nominated for her role as Suzanne in Don’t Dress for Dinner.

The complete audition process for the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship for the 2023 Festival season will be student preparation of a total of 6 minutes of work, consisting of two monologues and a scene with a partner. The 2023 Festival season is the first with self-nominations available.

Semi-finalists (thirty-two students advancing) will be announced at the in-person Regional Festival. Semi-finalists will perform live at the Regional Festival, with one monologue and one scene. From there, Finalists (sixteen students) will be announced at the Regional Festival and perform their two contrasting monologues (from the preliminary round) as well as their scene live. One nominee and partner from every region will be invited to the national festival and the nominee will receive a $500 scholarship. The runner-up in each region will receive a $500 scholarship but will not attend the national festival to audition for the national scholarship.

Southeastern students competing in the design and technical theatre competition are:

• Trista Davidson, from Durant, for both scenic design in Stop Kiss, and for properties design for Don’t Dress for Dinner
• Audrey Dorn, from Tulsa, for stage management for Stop Kiss
• and Kelly Smith, from Durant, for costume design for Don’t Dress for Dinner.

At the regional festival, one student in each design discipline (Costume, Lighting, Scenic, and Sound) will be chosen to participate in the National Festival.

Region 6 of the Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival consists of schools in Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas, with Festival 56 being held on February 26-29 in Abilene, Texas. More information on the regional festival and the competitions can be found at www.KCACTF6.org.