Theatre with impact: Carthage wins two 国家 awards
博彩网址大全剧院 recently won two 国家 honors from the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival （KC/ACTF） showcased at the 2024 Regional Festivals. The awards recognize Carthage’s 逐字剧院 and 新游戏倡议 programs as distinguished theatre projects.
逐字剧院
Carthage Verbatim’s mission is to give voice to the unheard stories in our community. 它开始于. 麦克伦登 sought a play that raised awareness about the war in Afghanistan. 没有找到他想要的, he decided to create a play using transcripts gathered through interviews.
Along with alumna Laurel McKenzie ’16, 教授. 麦克伦登 collected testimony from 12 local veterans. Sixty hours of material was compiled into a two-hour play, “阿富汗/威斯康辛州,” raising awareness of issues veterans face.
KC/ACTF presents the Citizen Artist Award to institutions for insisting that theatrical production is central to the urgent community, 国家, and inter国家 conversations on the campuses of higher education nationwide. Receiving several Citizen Artist Awards in eight years affirms the College’s commitment to use art to positively impact the community.
Over the past decade, students and faculty have staged nine different verbatim projects. 教授. 麦克伦登 adapted the process into a 逐字剧院 Techniques class. This has opened the door for collaboration with colleagues from other areas on campus including the Social Work Department, 护理部, and the Center for Faith and Spirituality.
One current project, “Terminal Exhale,” features healthcare workers who treat gunshot victims. An excerpt will be performed in October at the 80% Coalition Summit in Milwaukee before the full production is presented in late March on the Carthage campus. A $9,000 Saemann Foundation grant supported its development with theatremaker and gun violence prevention advocate Michael Cotey.
作为 Summer Undergraduate Research Experience, Dakota Smith ’27 worked with alumna Leah Gawel Keller ’19, who now attends Harvard Divinity School, to interview participants who have experienced religious trauma. They compiled transcripts into the 逐字剧院 project titled “破碎的契约.”
What makes 逐字剧院 impactful is the focus on real people. “Drama is happening every day around us, and often truth is stranger than fiction,” said 教授. 麦克伦登.
新游戏倡议
The 新游戏倡议 brings acclaimed playwrights to campus to work with students. Together, they embark on a creative journey to produce a brand-new play.
For “The Genderless Play Experiment,” playwright C. Quintana explored queer joy to break down preconceived notions about gender, sexuality, and identity. 教授essional director and drag artist Lucky Stiff was selected to direct the play using a series of cabaret-style vignettes.
For the 16th installment in the 新游戏倡议, “恒星的生命周期,” written by Ali Viterbi, will debut on campus in November in the Wartburg Theatre. The play presents the friendship of Anna and Lily set “against the life of the stars,” on a journey from prom to the nursing home, on cross-country road trips and intergalactic space expeditions.
Get tickets for 2024-25 theatre and dance performances
Carthage has a long history of participating in KC/ACTF at its regional conferences, including presenting 11 plays at the regional festival in the last 15 years. Award-winning theatre students often travel to the 国家 festival in Washington, D.C. to accept prizes and participate in intensive workshops.
Students and faculty will attend the next KC/ACTF regional conference in Madison, 威斯康辛州, in January 2025 to see plays, 参加研讨会, and network with theatre professionals from peer institutions from a five-state region.
Carthage’s National KCACTF Citizen Artist Awardees:
2018 — “A Seat At The Table”
2019 -“向上和离开”
2021 — “Fighting for 首页” (优点)
2023 -《博彩平台网址大全》
2024 — “Genderless Play Experiment”
2024 — 10 years of 逐字剧院