University of the Ozarks Theatre presented their show, "God of Carnage," at the American College Theatre Festival at Arkansas State University in October with resounding success.
The company came away from the event with six awards.
The first award, Best Load-in/Load-out, was for having the smoothest set-up and take-down of lighting, costumes, sound and scenery. The award was voted by the honor crew made up of members from all universities participating in the festival.
Annie Williams from Forth Worth, Tex., Lauren Rodonis-Charters from Frisco, Tex., and Utah Robertson from Iowa Park, Tex. each received an Irene Ryan Acting Award for their individual performances in the play. All three have been invited to participate in the Regional Festival to be held in Shreveport, Louisiana next spring.
Jacqueline Jurcik, from Dover, Ark. was recognized for her sound design, and Theatre Professor, Bruce Brown, was recognized for his scenic design of the production.
"All of the students involved with the production had reason to hold their heads high and to be proud of their work," said Brown. "And though not officially recognized by an award, Katelyn Nichols’s work as the stage manager of the production, Justin Hughes’s exquisite lighting design, Catalina Ruiz’s informative and eye-catching program/ graphic design, along with the beautiful costumes created by Alisha Nystrom really made our production a stand out at the festival. I’m so proud of this company and their professional-level work!"
The cast and crew of the University Theatre production "God of Carnage." Photo by Professor Bruce Brown (copyright 2012 by Bruce B. Brown).
University of the Ozarks Theatre has had a busy semester in addition to winning at the festival.
The company also presented their Theatre Students Performance Showcase on Dec. 4. The Performance Showcase involved a series of more than 20 scenes and monologues featuring student directors and actors. In addition, the company is currently preparing for their winter production, Good Boys and True, which will open Feb. 28, 2013 and run through March 2, 2013.
Also in preparation is a massive alumni show, Steel Magnolias, scheduled for April 18-20, 2013. The show will feature alumnae from the past 40 years. In fact, with the exception of the role of Shelby, all performance roles and the stage manager were cast from Ozarks alumnae. Ozarks freshman, Annie Williams will have the honor of playing Shelby alongside the amazing cast of alumnae. Weekly rehearsals for the alumni show will begin in February.
To keep up to date on the latest information from University of the Ozarks Theatre, check out their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/UniversityOfTheOzarksTheatre.
Topics: Theatre