EVERYBODY HAVE THEIR BUDDY??

 

Don't worry, the SAU Theatre Department has not started a mandatory "buddy system".  However, each winter, the St. Ambrose University Theatre Department takes nominated students and their partners, or "buddies", to compete in the Irene Ryan Acting Competition at the Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival (KC/ACTF).  SAU is a part of District Five of this Festival, which includes colleges in the states of Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas, Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota.  In addition to the many theatrical aspects of this Festival, there is one main attraction:  the Irene Ryan Acting Competition.

 

Irene Ryan was the actor who played Granny on the television show "Beverley Hillbillies."  According to KC/ACTF, "The main focus of the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship Auditions is to celebrate the nation's finest student actors and the craft that enables them to create compelling and truthful characterizations."  This year, SAU is taking six of its finest actors who have been nominated by respondants who have seen their work in the past year.  Marianna Caldwell (Junior), Andrew Harvey (Junior), (both nominated from Blithe Spirit), Jeremy Pack (Junior), Jack Kloppenborg (Sophomore) (both nominated from Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead), Sean Pankuch (Senior) and Jenny Stodd (Senior) (both nominated for Urinetown) will all be traveling Fargo, ND this January to compete in the scholarship competition.

 

For the 2006 competition, nominees must prepare a two-person scene, lasting a maximum of three minutes in the preliminary round (the scene may or may not include singing).  In the semi-final round, they must perform the same scene and an additional two-person scene with the same partner, not exceeding five minutes (again, either of these scenes can involve music).  In the final round, they add a monologue (or a solo musical number) to the same two scenes, and have a maximum of six minutes to present all three. 

 

This month, the SAU Theatre Newsletter has gone behind the scenes and taken a look at our nominees and the pieces they have chosen.  The nominees have had to choose their scenes and monologues (or songs) on their own, or with the help of faculty advisors Michael Kennedy and Corinne Johnson.  Each will perform their pieces at a showing in the studio theatre on Monday, December 12th, 2005 at 6:30pm.  A second showing will occur shortly before the students depart for Fargo in January.  The nominees and their partners and pieces are as follows:

 

Nominee:  Marianna Caldwell

Show nominated from:  Blithe Spirit (playing Ruth Condomine)

1^st Piece:  Scene from A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare

2^nd Piece:  Scene from Mercy Seat by Neil Labute

3^rd Piece:  Undecided, but thinking about Miss Julie or a Chekhov piece

Partner:  Joe Feldman, Junior

 

Why she chose these pieces:  Caldwell wanted to do a classic Shakespeare for one of her scenes, and chose Midsummer because "I wanted a role that fit me, but that I could play with and make my own."  As for the Labute play, she claims that, "I wanted to play the role of Abby as soon as I read it."  For her monologue, she plans to do an "old standard".

 

Why she chose her partner:  "I knew I wanted a male partner," she explained.  "I needed someone who was younger than me but attractive and could hold his own for the character's sake."

 

This is Caldwell's second KC/ACTF Irene Ryan Nomination

 

 

Nominee:  Andrew Harvey

Show nominated from:  Blithe Spirit

1^st Piece:  Scene from The Lieutenant of Inishmore by Martin McDonagh

2^nd Piece:  Scene from Women and Wallace by Jonathan Marc Sherman

3^rd Piece:  Monologue from House of Trash by Trav S. D.

Partner:  Claire Richards (Junior)

 

 

Why he chose his partner:  Harvey has found Richards to be a fun and reliable person to work with.  "She has a keen grasp of characterization and a wide acting range."

 

This is Harvey's first KC/ACTF Irene Ryan nomination

 

 

Nominee:  Jack Kloppenborg

Show Nominated from:  Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (playing Hamlet)

1^st Piece:  Scene from Landscape of the Body by John Guare

2^nd Piece:  Scene from Precious Ladies by Moliere

3^rd Piece:  Monologue from Fires of a New City by Kyle Hall

Partner:  Joe Feldman (Junior)

 

Why he chose his pieces:  "My pieces are a little more obscure than you normally see in this competition," Kloppenborg explained, "but they fit me well."  Kloppenborg's monologue is original, coming from a thesis project written by a friend of his from high school. 

 

Why he chose his partner:  "I know Joe (Feldman) is talented and easy to work with.  I also knew we'd get along well, which is very important."

 

 

 

Nominee:  Jeremy Pack

Show nominated from:  Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (Playing Rosencrantz)

1^st Piece: Scene from As You Like It by William Shakespeare

2^nd Piece: Scene from Wonderful World

3^rd Piece: Monologue undecided

Partner:  Sean Tweedale (Sophomore)

 

Why he chose his pieces:  "I've always wanted to do a Shakespeare play, and have never gotten the chance to, so I think it'd be fun.  I have performed in Wonderful World, but I am playing a different character and learning a new point of view of the play."

 

Why he chose his partner: "Sean (Tweedale) is a good friend of mine, and I've worked with him before, so he knows my work ethic and how I perform."

 

 

Nominee:  Sean Pankuch

Show nominated from:  Urinetown (playing Officer Lockstock)

1^st Piece: Scene into a song from A Year With Frog and Toad

2^nd Piece: Scene from Brighton Beach Memoirs by Neil Simon

3^rd Piece: Song from the musical A New Brain

Partner: Scott Peake (Senior)

 

Why he chose his pieces:  Pankuch knew he wanted to do something from Frog and Toad as soon as he was nominated.  "Scott (Peake) and I did a song from that last year and it just played off so well.  It fits me."  The Neil Simon script was another that would fit Pankuch that was also age appropriate and contrasting to his first piece.  He decided to sing for his monologue because singing is his strong point.

 

Why he chose his partner:  "Scott and I work so well together," Pankuch explained.  "He has really great ideas, and we seem to think alike when we work together.  We play off of each other really well."

 

This is Pankuch's first KC/ACTF Irene Ryan Nomination               

 

Nominee:  Jenny Stodd

Show nominated from:  Urinetown (playing Little Sally)

1^st Piece: Scene from The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde

2^nd Piece: Scene from The Shape of Things by Neil Labute

3^rd Piece: Song, "I've Gotta Crow" from the musical Peter Pan

Partner:  Seth Kaltwasser (Freshman)

 

Why she chose her pieces:  "Choosing my pieces was really hard," Stodd explained, "because I had to find contrasting things that were appropriate for someone who looks 15."  She went with the Wilde piece because "Cecily is cute and bubbly and I can play her well, but the style of the piece is very classic and something I will have to work at.  People will appreciate it."  The Shape of Things was chosen, "because it's a great contrast to the first scene, and still appropriate."  As for the third piece, "I knew I had to sing somewhere in the mix, so I decided to do a solo piece.  I tried to find something I'd never done before, but after doing 'I Gotta Crow' for a class here, Cory (Johnson) won't get it out of her head.  I guess if she was wowed by it, maybe the panel of judges will be too."

 

Why she chose her partner:  "Seth (Kaltwasser) has been incredible from the moment he stepped onto the stage this fall.  He has had chorus roles in his first two shows, but people notice him because he commits to a character and works his tail off onstage.  That is the kind of person I want working with me.  He also looks rather young, so I am able to play off of him well in the scenes."

 

 

 

This year's Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival will take place on January 22-28, 2006 in Fargo, North Dakota.  Along with the nominees for the Irene Ryan Scholarship Competition, members of the SAU Theatre Callboard will attend, as well as professors from the Theatre Department.  This year, Dianne Dye and her creative costumes from the production of Blithe Spirit will also travel to the Festival, where they will appear in the annual Costume Parade.  Anyone who is willing to pay the registration fee (usually around $60) is welcome to join. Open spots are always offered to Theatre Majors/Minors first, and although space is now limited, more information can be obtained by contacting Department Chair Kris Eitrheim.  St. Ambrose wishes these six nominees and their partners the best of luck in January!

 

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"Dear Edwina"

 

From November 30 to December 4, over 2,500 youth from about 36 local schools will be making the trek to the Galvin Fine Arts Center on the St. Ambrose campus for the annual children's show, "Dear Edwina." These kids (and their chaperones!) are in for a treat with this upbeat, exciting show that is sure to let everyone laugh and enjoy themselves!

 

"Dear Edwina" takes place in Paw Paw, Michigan, on the front lawn of local advice-giver Edwina Spoonapple. Edwina's siblings are all good at something, and Edwina wants to get her talent noticed too, by getting an invitation to the Kalamazoo Advice-A-Palooza Festival. Every Sunday she gathers up the kids in the neighborhood and puts on a Dr. Phil type advice show in regards to problems kids face, like saving money and setting the table the right way. This show is great fun to watch, from dancing all the way down to the costumes and props.

 

Stage Manager Jamie Booher says "I'm excited about 'Dear Edwina' because it's not a well-known show so it has tons of possibilities. The cast and crew are working together in such a great way that it's going to make the show shine!" Directed by Dr. Corinne Johnson, with music direction by Dr. Keith Haan, choreography by Shellee Frazee, props by student Scott Peake, set design by Kris Eitrheim, and costuming by Dr. Corinne Johnson and the costume design class, this show is bound to be a blast for the cast, crew, and audience!

 

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WORDS FROM SAU ALUMNI IN GRADUATE SCHOOL

 

Although some students are thrilled to be finished with school after finishing undergrad, others put their nose to the grindstone in grad school.  This year, the newsletter has been able to hear about such grad school experiences from Lou Hare ('02) and Michael Schaefer ('03).  This month, alumnus Dan Hale ('04) shares his experiences of entering grad school at DePaul in Chicago.  His is currently pursuing his MFA in acting and plans to graduate in 2007.

 

Q: What as, an undergrad, did you fail to place a significant amount of importance upon that has affected your studies as a grad student?

A: I think Ambrose prepared me quite well for grad school.  Although, there wasn't a lot of movement in the curriculum, but I was able to get outside training.  By movement, I mean exposure to dance and other physical training. There were a lot of training methods I knew nothing about going into grad school, not that I had to know everything.

 

Q: How do you juggle academia with a social life and a job?

A: Very carefully.  I find its really nice having an outside life to retreat to and I enjoy being able to return to Jessi [my wife] every night.  Being able to remove yourself is essential.  Theatre is great, but it's also nice to go home.  It's not very hard for me to juggle school with a job or social life because my job and classes are both in theatre.  It's also nice that I can determine my own hours at my job because I am a street performer, so if I'm sick or something comes up I just don't show up.

 

Q: Compared to undergrad, how much more focused have you become in grad school?

A: That's a trick question, the very nature of grad school is to be more focused and Ambrose provides a liberal arts education.  It's good to be exposed to a lot of things like taking a religion or science class to broaden your outlook.  But in grad school, there are no general education courses so of course it's going to be more focused.

 

Q: How much interaction do you have with undergrads?

A:Quite a bit.  I don't have any classes with them.  We do a play per trimester with the undergrads, with the advanced undergrads that is.  The freshmen and sophomores are not allowed to act, but they are on the crews.  Undergrads can network with the grad students, and grad students can see fresh new outlooks by observing the undergrads.

 

Q: What has been the most difficult adjustment to make as you transitioned from undergrad to grad?

A: Moving to a new place.  It's not the most difficult, but it is the most different.  It's hard not to see the same faces that have supported you through four years of undergrad.  But you meet new people and make new friends.  And you still keep the old ones.  It is difficult to not be able to say, pop down to the costume shop to see Dianne.

 

Q: Has the education you received at SAU helped/hindered you in grad school?

A: Helped, without a doubt.  Cory, Kris, and Mike do a wonderful job to prepare their students for the professional world.  There's a big base of knowledge that I learned at Ambrose that some students are learning just now.  Just common sense things like how to audition.  There's a professionalism thats expected of you at Ambrose.  And you're expected to work well with others. 

 

Q: How did you choose your grad school and what advice would you give on choosing?

A: Its important to find a grad school that fits you.  I wasn't sure if I wanted to go to grad school, so I just applied to some big ones.  Ask around and see if the program you're looking into fits you.   A big thing with DePaul was that they offered a lot of movement and masque work, and that's what I'm interested in.  Know what you're getting into, and be sure it's what you want.  Its a big commitment and a lot of money. 

 

Q: Why did you feel grad school was a necessity for you and what is your goal post graduation?

A: As much as I learned at St. Ambrose, there is still a lot out there to be learned and grad school is a great way to find that.  Post graduate, I'm planning to keep my options open, and use my connections that I've been forming in grad school to get jobs in Chicago.  I'm not planning on teaching right away but that's also an option.  Basically, I just want to keep my options open.

 

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ALUMNI CIRCLE: SARAH ZOLLER ROMANOWSKI

 

The SAU Theatre Department is always interested in the whereabouts and activities of their alumni.  This month, Sarah Romanowski, a 1998 graduate (formerly known as Frumah Sarah Zoller) was kind enough to share the news from her current theater department and their most recent production of Seussical: the Musical.  When asked why she chose to direct this show Sarah enthusiastically shares, "I have so much talent this year, and the show features many actors and actresses." The production was very well done and the superintendent said, "The opening performance of 'Seussical the Musical' was absolutely, positively, fantastic! You have to see this one...WOW!"

 

Sarah has been teaching for 4 years at Webster Groves High School, in St. Louis, Missouri, where she directs two theater productions a year and guides her students to producing ten to twelve one acts plays each year. The one act plays are student written and student directed.

 

Doing so much in the theatre each year one may wonder how she keeps up with all the different design elements, but she simply says, "Whenever possible, I allow my advance students to take on the roles of designers."

 

Congratulations on all of your hard work!

 

**If you are an SAU alum who has done previous work with the theatre department, we want to know what you're up to!  Please write to SAUTheatreNews@yahoo.com and submit a blurb for our newsletter on your life post-graduation.

 

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GETTING TO KNOW THE SAU THEATRE ADVISORY BOARD

 

Welcome to the second installment of the Newsletter's look at the SAU Theatre Advisory Board members.

 

For those of you who missed the last installment-featuring Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse owner Denny Hitchcock-the SAU Theatre Advisory Board consists of a group of three theatre professionals who meet once a year to review the SAU Theatre Department's academic curriculum, season offerings, and to ensure that the Department is up-to-date, thorough, and is functioning at its highest level.  In the spotlight this month is Todd Hensley, a professional lighting designer and theatre consultant at Schuler Shook-quoting its website, "an internationally recognized theatre consulting firm with extensive experience in planning performance facilities"-in Chicago. 

Having done a fair amount of acting and design work in high school, Hensley decided to attend college in order to pursue a career in theatre.  He received a Bachelor of Arts in Communications at Morehead State University in Kentucky before earning his Master of Fine Arts in Theatre Design at the University of Minnesota.  Straight out of graduate school, Hensley had a job waiting for him; he was to assist Duane Schuler-the Resident Lighting Designer for Lyric Opera of Chicago-"for four very fun years," quipped Hensley.  After this time, though, he decided to strike out on his own.  Telling Schuler this, he learned that Schuler had formed a partnership with another successful lighting designer in Chicago-Robert Shook-and he was asked to help them as a Theatre Consultant (in addition to his work as a freelance lighting designer).  He joined Schuler Shook in 1988 and has since been made a partner in the company; he plans "many new theatre [buildings] with the company and [lights] a few shows a year as a free-lancer."  When asked what he enjoyed most about his job, he declared, "Variety and challenge.  One day, it's a big musical in some city-the next, it's a small, intense drama down the street from my house.  And the theatre consulting work is quite varied:  we work on opera houses, professional theatres, schools and universities, casino theatres, even churches!"

 

Hensley puts a great emphasis on the importance of lighting design in the theatre, praising its value as "an incredible tool to make the play clear to the audience."  When questioned on the methods he pursues as a designer on a project, he painted a vivid picture:  "I tend to envision each circuit of the lighting as a brushstroke.  I spend time daydreaming over the scene designer's sketches, then I start planning each 'stroke' and how it gets formed using lighting instruments.  There might be 30 brushstrokes in a small show-there might be 200 in a large show.  I study the actual focus of each light before I put it in on the light plot.  Then I know that the 'lights' will work!"

 

Involved with the SAU Theatre Advisory Board since 2003, Hensley has had the opportunity to closely watch the Department grow and change in exciting ways over the past few years.  He lauded our Theatre program for its "knowledge of and attention to the greater world of theatre production."  However, Hensley commented that he'd like to see the design program grow.  In order to help out the program and to inform Theatre Majors and Minors, Hensley came to SAU and offered a master class in Lighting Design for a weekend in the Spring of 2004.

If you would like to learn more about Todd Hensley and Schuler Shook, please visit www.schulershook.com.

 

Join us next month as we examine the third member on the SAU Theatre Advisory Board, William Theisen. 

 

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Name:  Sarah Foley

Hometown:  Davenport, IA

Majors/Minors: Occupational Therapy/Psychology/Theatre

 

Previous Productions at SAU: Frankie and Johnny (costume design), "The Jungle Book" (Raksha), "Bringing It All Back Home" (daughter), "Danny and the Deep Blue Sea", Gypsy (Hollywood Blonde)

 

Favorite role at SAU?  "Daughter in 'Bringing It All Back Home'."

 

Why did you come to SAU?  "For the theatre department and education programs, and because my parents went here."

 

Favorite SAU experience?  "Being witness to Dan asking Jodi to marry him after H.M.S. Pinafore."

 

Latest project?  "Susie in 'Dear Edwina' and Sally in A Lie of the Mind"

 

Dream job?  "Owning my own summer camp."

 

Favorite Actor/Actress? "Johnny Depp and Charlize Theron."

 

Biggest Pet Peeve:  "People not being appreciative of others, and people taking things for granted."

 

Favorite Phrase: "Everything happens for a reason."

 

Advice for Incoming Freshmen:  "Try a little bit of everything.  You never know what you're going to enjoy."

 

What will you miss the most about SAU?  "The friends that I have made, the experiences that I've had, and all of the memories that could never be relived."

 

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THEATRE AROUND THE QCA THIS MONTH

 

 

           

Show:   ComedySportz Quad Cities

Producer:   Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse

Dates:   Every Friday and Saturday night at 7:00pm

Tickets:   $8 prepaid, $10 at the door

Location:   1818 3^rd Ave, Rock Island, IL.  Downtown in the District, next to Circa '21.

Note:  SAU students Andrew Harvey and Don Abbott are      

            ComedySportz players.  Check with them to catch them onstage.

 

Show:  Christmas From the Heart

Producer:  Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse

Dates:   Wednesday, Nov. 9 thru Sat, Dec. 31

              Wednesday Matinees @ 1pm

              Wednesday, Fri, Sat Evenings @ 7:15pm

              Sunday Evenings @ 5:15pm

Tickets:  Prices range from $24.96-$41.60 for dinner and show

               Call (309) 788-7733 x2 or visit www.circa21.com

Location:  1828 3^rd Ave, Rock Island, IL; located in the District of RI

Note:  Producer Denny Hitchcock is on the SAU Theatre Advisory Board

           Alum Kimberly (Kurtenbach) Furness is a cast member

           **Grease opens in January, which Furness is also a part of

 

Show:  "The Boxcar Children"

Producer:  Davenport Jr. Theatre

Dates:  December 8-11, 2005

Location: Mary Nighswander Theatre, located on the Annie Whittenmeyer Complex. Davenport, IA

Tickets and Times: Call (563) 326-7862 for more information

 

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