Senior music major Michelle Guillot performs a monologue of a scene from “Eurydice” by Sarah Ruhl.
The play retells the myth of Orpheus from the point of view of his wife, Eurydice.
The Lion's Roar/Elizabeth Brown
In a few days, many students and some members of the faculty will travel to Texas to participate in the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF). In preparation for this festival, a student showcase fundraiser was held to help raise funds for participating students. The fundraiser also allowed those students to perform their competition pieces in front of an audience for the very first time.
According to kcactf6.org, the 2016 Regional Festival, which is the first step to nationals, will be Wednesday, Feb. 24 through Saturday, Feb. 27 in San Angelo, Texas at Angelo State University. Region 6 includes: Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.
12 students are to compete in the festival in three categories including: Kalee Broussard, Chelsey Davis, Justin Davis, Rachel Davis, Neal Eli, Anthony Gary, Misty Gros, Michelle Guillot, Provence Hatfield, Jaimee Rome, Natalia Timotina and Olivia Waguespack. The three categories students will be competing in are: the Irene Ryans, Musical Theatre Initiatives (MTIs) and Design, Technology and Management (DTMs). According to kcactf6.org, the Irene Ryans are for acting, the MTIs are for singing for musical theatre and the DTMs are for theatre design.
The fundraiser, which took place on Saturday, Feb. 20 at 7:00 p.m. in the Vonnie Borden Theatre, was led by the theatre program within the Department of Fine and Performing Arts with the help of Southeastern’s National Honorary Theatre Society, Alpha Psi Omega. To start the night, monetary donations were collected at the door including monetary voting for favorite actors which later would allow the favorite to receive flowers at the end of the performances.
After walking in the door, scenes from “High and Mighty” were performed by multiple students. Following this was back-to-back performances by senior music major Michelle Guillot with partner senior music major Provence Hatfield of: “If Momma Was Married” from “Gypsy” by Styne, Laurents and Sondheim, a monologue from “Eurydice” by Sarah Ruhl and a scene from “Extremities” by William Mastrosimone. Next was back-to-back performances by senior English education major Jaimee Rome with partner junior marketing major Justin Davis. First was a solo performance by Rome of “Sonnet 29” by William Shakespeare followed by performances of a scene from “In A Pig’s Valise” by Eric Overmyer and a scene from “Women of Manhattan” by John Patrick Shanley by Rome and Davis. After Rome and Davis were solo performances of “Moonfall” from “Drood” by Rupert Holmes and “What Good Would the Moon Be?” from “Street Scene” by Kurt Weill by junior music major Rachel Davis. Hatfield also gave solo performances of “Burn” from “Hamilton” by Lin-Manuel Miranda and “Something Wonderful” from “The King and I” by Oscar Hammerstein II after Davis.
Following her performance, Hatfield felt delighted to be able to perform on the stage and take part in the upcoming festival.
“It’s breathtaking,” said Hatfield. “It’s a great experience to be able to do your passion. I’m honored to be able to compete and to see how I’ll hold up against other contenders. I’m one step closer to where I want to be in life.”
To close, senior music major Kalee Broussard performed “Make Someone Happy” from “Do Re Mi” by Betty Comden, Adolph Green and Jule Styne.
Following the fundraiser, Davis was glad to see the turnout of students.
“I think the fundraiser is great,” said Davis. “It’s really great to see the multitude of students come out, considering it’s a monetary thing.”
Members of the audience enjoyed being able to see the artistic performances of the students.
“I actually didn’t even know about the festival, but it’s definitely interesting to get to see people acting and, being from the music side, using music to show their version of art,” said senior music performance major Dakota Jenkins.
According to senior theatre major and Alpha Psi Omega Treasurer Anthony Gary, a total of $873 was raised as a result of the fundraiser.
Looking ahead to the festival, theatre associate professor and faculty advisor for Alpha Psi Omega James Winter strongly felt that the students are ready to take on their competitors.
“Given that there’s been a lot illness and whatnot, I thought they did well tonight which gives me great hope for the festival,” said Winter. “If they were getting laughs and applauses tonight, I think that’s a really positive sign. I feel very strongly about this group. This is the most disciplined group we’ve brought there in a long time.”
For more information on the upcoming festival, visit the Southeastern homepage or kcactf6.org.