DePauw Theatre Production To Represent Indiana at Regional Festival
December 6, 2006
December 6, 2006, Greencastle, Ind. - DePauw Theatre's production of The Orphan of Chao has been selected to represent the state at the annual regional convention of the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF), January 9-14, 2007, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. DePauw's effort was chosen from among 46 plays produced in Indiana during 2006.
Senior Ashley Baxstrom and sophomore Natalie Curtis (seen in top photo) will perform the scene "At the Gate" at the Region III festival's annual "Evening of Scenes." Representative scenes will also be performed by schools from Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, and Illinois, which join Indiana in comprising Region III. The production was directed by associate professor of communication and theatre Tim 
Good and associate professor of Asian studies Sherry Mou, who translated a Peking Opera adaptation of the ancient Chinese tale for the production.
DePauw Theatre's efforts at the January event will represent its largest participation to date in the KCACTF regional festival. Sophomore Chris Burton, The Orphan of Chao's assistant director and senior Shea Johnson, co-makeup designer, will attend to assist with music, costume and makeup details. Two of the production's designers, junior Jill Schneider (costume) and senior Carolyn Thatcher (lighting) will be on hand to display their designs at the Festival's design exhibition.
Festival representation is competitive. Productions, designers, and actors are nominated for representation at the Regional festival by outside evaluators invited to review DePauw productions. A Region III KCACTF selection committee meets annually to select the participants from hundreds of nominations made throughout the year. Ultimately, 
all participants at the eight regional festivals that comprise the KCACTF are competing for nomination to the national festival to be held at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. in April 2007.
Three students were chosen from DePauw to compete in the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship Auditions, which take place during the festival. They are: Junior James Patton, nominated for his performance in The Orphan of Chao, and partner freshman Jonathan Brubeck; senior Ashley Baxstrom (Chao) and partner senior Andrew Cole; and sophomore Megan Storti, nominated for her performance in last season's production In the Silence They Don't Know, and partner sophomore Camron Parker. The Irene Ryan auditions provide recognition, honor, and financial assistance to outstanding student performers wishing to pursue further education through the annual awarding of 16 regional and two national scholarships. (Patton and Baxstrom are seen in photo above right; Storti appears at left)
Started in 1969, the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival is a national theater program involving 18,000 students from colleges and universities nationwide which has served as a catalyst in improving the quality of college theater in the United States. The KCACTF has grown into a network of more than 600 academic institutions throughout the country, where theater departments
and student artists showcase their work and receive outside assessment by KCACTF respondents.
To learn more about DePauw Theatre's production of The Orphan of Chao, access this previous story. For information on the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival, click here.
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