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Congratulations to the Region 5 Festival 49 Road Warrior Award recipients for Outstanding Responding: Sheila Tabaka from Southwest Minnesota State University & Jay Edelnant from University of Northern Iowa Congratulations to the Region 5 Festival 49 Innovative Teaching Award recipients: Faculty - Tory Depew from University of Central Missouri & Graduate Student - Aaron Scully from University of Missouri Congratulations to the Region 5 Festival 49 Gold Medallion Recipients: Cory Johnson from St. Ambrose University & The Writing for Performance Program at University of Missouri  DR. CORINNE JOHNSON Corinne (Cory) Johnson has devoted her life to exploring and engaging in the theatre. She began her formal studies of the craft when she attended Gustavus Adolphus College and later received her B.A. from The College of St. Catherine. She has a master’s degree from the University of Minnesota and holds a Ph.D. from the University of Oregon where she wrote her dissertation on the use of performance improvisation as a pedagogical tool. Encouraged by her college professors, she pursued summer stock work and got her first professional acting jobs at the Paul Bunyan Playhouse and Minnesota Festival Theatre. Connections with these companies secured her acting work at the Old Creamery Theatre, Dudley Riggs’ Brave New Workshop, Webbed Foot Players in NYC, and with three separate national touring companies out of Houston, Texas. Taking a break from the road, she accepted a one-year sabbatical replacement gig with the Luther College Theatre Department. During that seminal experience, the love of the theatre in higher education really took hold. That year she directed highly successful productions of Cabaret and Fifth of July and secured relationships with friends and colleagues that continue to this day. It was clear that a career as a college professor was in her future. Cory has now served as a professor of theatre at St. Ambrose University in Davenport, IA since 1989, with additional stints at Augustana College and The University of Minnesota. As an actress and current company member of the The Curtainbox Theatre she has been seen as Virginia in Three Viewings, Aunt Julia in Hedda Gabler, and as Virginia in W;t (under the direction of Broadway director, Phil McKinley). She has also performed at Riverside Theatre in Iowa City and numerous times at Circa ’21 Dinner Playhouse. Cory will be playing the Duchess of York in Richard III this spring. Favorite directing experiences include: Private Lives, A Streetcar Named Desire, Pippin, Glengarry Glen Ross, The Tempest, and the world premiere of former student Seth Kaltwasser’s play, TUG: This Untoward Generation at Festival Theatre. This summer she will serve as Associate Artistic Director in the debut season of The Mississippi Bend Players (MBP), a new summer stock based in Rock Island, IL . Her relationship with KCACTF goes all the way back to college when she was an Irene Ryan Nominee and spent a very cold week at the festival, that year, in Duluth, MN. Since then she has been fortunate to be named as a KCACTF “Road Warrior” and invited to bring her production of Anton in Showbusiness to the regional festival. She has also served as Region V in many administrative roles: Production Respondent, Selection Team, Workshop Coordinator, Irene Ryan Prelim Judge, Assistant Irene Ryan Coordinator, Irene Ryan Coordinator, Musical Theatre Intensive Coordinator, and this year as the Directing Initiative Coordinator. However and without a doubt, Cory considers her biggest claims to fame to be her many wonderful students. And, through the amazing benefits of KCACTF, she was honored to have been able to accompany three Irene Ryans, one slam poet, one director and one stage manager to the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. She lives in Davenport with her very patient and understanding husband, Don and their two ill-behaved dogs. **********************************************************  University of Missouri's student written production of Holding up the Sky, by Milbre Burch, directed by Professor Clyde Ruffin (performed at the KCACTF regional festival in 2010). Photo by Mallory Taulbee The Department of Theatre at the University of Missouri has sustained a nationally-recognized program of liberal arts theatre and performance studies emphasizing new play development for over eighty-five years. In 1925, Professor Donovan Rhynsburger founded the original One-Act Playwriting Contest, which acknowledged the emerging talent of Tennessee Williams, who was pursuing a degree in Journalism at the University of Missouri. In 1998, David Crespy founded MU's Writing for Performance program and has served as its co-director with Dr. Heather Carver since 2000. Over the past two decades, Dr. Crespy has served as founder and artistic director of the Missouri Playwrights Workshop and the Mizzou New Play Series, both important opportunities for University of Missouri playwrights and the continued development of scripts. They are an integral part of the MU new play development process, which begins in the writing for performance courses, develops in Tuesday night workshop readings, initially becomes staged in the New Play Series and comes to fruition as full mainstage productions of new work. Since 2002, Dr. Carver has served as the artistic director and founder of the Life and Literature in Performance Series which gives fully-staged performances of original, adapted and devised student works. Together with their colleagues in the department, Crespy and Carver's MU Theatre students have written, performed, directed, and designed new works for the stage from the university to the KCACTF regional festival and at the national festival. New play development continues to thrive today as a full department endeavor with current MU faculty directors and designers: Dr. Cheryl Black, Dr, Suzanne Burgoyne, Dr. Kevin Brown, Professor Brad Carlson. Professor Jon Drtina, Dr. Cat Gleason, and Dr. Claire Syler. Numerous MU Theatre students have written plays that have received awards from KCACTF over the years. Recent MU Theatre student original plays performed at the Region 5 festival include Nights on A Couch by Matt Fotis, directed by Noah Lelek in 2012, The Lost Slipper by Amanda Newman, directed by Carrie Winship in 2013, and Sleeping With Hitler by Aaron Scully, directed by Professor Jon Drtina in 2015. Slide Show Submission Deadline is Friday, December 23. All 2016 Associate and Participating productions should submit photos. Go here to submit your photos.  A scene from Fort Scott Community College's production of The Bald Soprano which will be included in the Region 5 Festival 49 Invited Scene Showcase. Seasons Greetings Region 5! The following productions will take part in the Festival 49 Invited Scene Showcase which will occur as a part of the Opening Ceremonies at the Des Moines Civic Center Mainstage on Monday, January 23. Congratulations to all involved! All in the Timing St. Cloud State University Directed by Brenda Wentworth As You Like It Winona State University Directed by Jim Williams When the World was Wild and Waste Augustana University Directed by Jayna Gearhart Fitzsimmons Boeing, Boeing Central College Directed by C.D. Adamson The Bald Soprano Fort Scott Community College Directed by Lawrence Alford The Seagull Doane University Directed by Joel Eggers Jesus Christ Superstar University of South Dakota Directed by Ryan Fortney It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play Missouri Baptist University Directed by Kasey Cox A Raisin in the Sun University of Central Missouri Directed by Julie Mollenkamp Selected as a part of the Region 5 Diversity Initiative  Costume from Concorida College's The Country Wife - one of the Festival 49 Costume Parade finalists. Congratulations to the productions that will take part in the Festival 49 Costume Parade during the closing ceremonies festivities on January 27 at Hoyt Sherman Place!
The Country Wife Concordia College Melissa Thurn (Student Designer) Christian Boy (Faculty Mentor) The Two Henrys Minnesota State University, Mankato David McCarl (Faculty Designer) Assassins University of South Dakota Caitlin Quinn (Faculty Designer) The Little Foxes University of Central Missouri Sara Murdy (Student Designer) Victoria Depew (Faculty Mentor) Twelfth Night Southwest Baptist University Bethany Wood (Faculty Designer) Hecuba University of Nebraska, Kearney Sara Ice (Faculty Designer) Much Ado About Nothing Dordt College Susan Blom (Faculty Designer) The Birds Emporia State University Susan Mai (Faculty Designer) Mr. Burns, A Post Electric Play Iowa State University Sara Bennett (Student Designer) Kelly Schaefer (Faculty Mentor) Chicago Wichita State University Jamie Urban (Faculty Designer) Hedda Gabler St. Ambrose University Dianne Dye (Faculty Designer) Much Ado About Nothing University of Sioux Falls Kendra Dexter (Faculty Designer) Slide Show Submission Deadline is Friday, December 23. All 2016 Associate and Participating productions should submit photos. Go here to submit your photos.  Greetings Region 5!DEADLINES EXTENDED:
Deadlines have been extended for the following events. Students and Faculty are encouraged to get involved! SDC Directing Scenes - Deadline Extended to 12/16 Stage Management - Deadline Extended to 12/16 Workshop Sumbission - Deadline Extended to 1/6 Please encourage your students and faculty to register to be a part of these amazing festival events! Please go here for these and other upcoming deadlines. Please let me know if you have any questions. All the best, Brad #kcactf5 We are thrilled to announce the six productions invited to be presented at Festival 49 in Des Moines! Thanks to everyone who entered participating shows in 2016! Congratulations to these fine productions for their excellent work!  Good Kids Written by Naomi Iizuka Directed by Carrie Winship - Student University of Missouri Something happened to Chloe after that party last Saturday. The problem is, Chloe can't remember anything about that night. Provocative and stunningly current, Good Kids explores the public and unsettling aftermath of a sex crime and its cover-up. Who's telling the truth? Whose version of the story do you believe? And what does that say about you? ***********************************************  Othello Written by William Shakespeare Directed by Shea Salladee Iowa Western Community College What sin have I committed? Through Othello, Shakespeare gives us a piece of work that is thematically timeless. The notion of wrath, greed, pride, gluttony, sloth, lust and envy can be found in works throughout theatre’s rich history. In this adapted production, you will see the seven main characters as they grapple with their own human nature and the notion of sin. This condensed version focuses on classical language and heightened movement, creating an enthralling journey of fate and tragedy. Forgive us our sins. ***********************************************  Exit 27 Written by Aleks Merilo Directed by Mike Ricci North Hennepin Community College Based on the true story of ‘The Lost Boys of Utah’, Exit 27 take an unflinching look at the FLDS (Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints), the polygamist sect of the Mormon Church, and their practice of abandoning adolescent boys in the desert for committing minor sins against the church. Indoctrinated to mistrust anyone outside the church and forbidden to return home, these boys are trapped in a world where their survival is not guaranteed. ***********************************************  Amahl and the Night Visitors Written by Gian Carlo Menotti Directed by M. Michele Phillips Musical Director and Conductor - Stephen Shelftz Creighton University In 1951, NBC commissioned an opera to be written expressly for television. Composer/Librettist Gian Carlo Menotti was chosen to create the work, but he was strangely uninspired. Then, quite late into the process, he happened upon the painting by Hieronymus Bosch called "The Adoration of the Magi." From that moment he knew his opera must include the Three Kings, an irrepressible young boy and a Christmas miracle. Amahl and the Night Visitors is a poignant and funny hour long opera, which possesses an intricate and beautiful score. It remains a timeless story for every age. ***********************************************  The Moors Written by Jen Silverman Directed by Laura Chaney Cottey College Two sisters and a dog live out their lives on the bleak English moors, and dream of love and power. The arrival of a hapless governess and a moor-hen set all three on a strange and dangerous path. The Moors is a contemporary dark comedy about love, desperation, power, and visibility. ***********************************************  One River Written and Directed by Tom Isbell University of Minnesota Duluth A documentary theatre adaptation of a community journalism effort, One River tells the stories of the St. Louis River: its people, its history, its future. A cautionary tale about the future of our most precious resource - water - it's also a reminder that without place, there are no stories; without stories, there is no place. *********************************************** DEADLINES EXTENDED:
Deadlines have been extended for the following events. Students and Faculty are encouraged to get involved! SDC Directing Scenes - Deadline Extended to 12/16 Stage Management - Deadline Extended to 12/16 Workshop Submission - Deadline Extended to 1/6 Please encourage your students and faculty to register to be a part of these amazing festival events! Go here to view upcoming deadlines! #kcactf5 CONGRATULATIONS to our Region 5 PLAYWRIGHTS!The plays below were selected through a blinded screening process led by Todd Ristau, NPP Playwriting Chair of Region 4. We thank them for their service to our region.
10-Minute Plays: Student playwrights, dramaturgs, directors, stage managers and actors will develop the work at festival and perform on Friday afternoon. Adorned by Chelsea Smet - University of Missouri Kansas City Antlers by Kyle Marks - Augustana University Eisbeth by Anna Acklen Brown - Truman State University Enough by Samantha Christman - Minot State University Florence of Arabia by Minuette Layer - Stephens College Truth or Dare by Candace Nelson - University of Nebraska Lincoln One-Act Plays: Each school will bring a prepared staged reading to festival to be performed on Wednesday evening. Lessor Gods by William Bonfiglio - Iowa State University Roosevelt's Ghosts by Aaron Scully - University of Missouri Seeking Addie by Jennie Pardoe - University of Missouri Planet Earth Play Region 5 The following play will receive a staged reading at festival: Nah-zhee by Aaron Scully - University of Missouri Full-Length Top Plays: These plays will be championed by Region 5 for National Award Consideration. Aboveboard by Emily Kimball - Minnesota State University, Mankato An Unbearable Story by Michael Bayler - University of Missouri Of Madness and the Electric Dream by Taylor Sklenar - Iowa State University Reincarnation by Amy Taylor - University of Missouri Space Race by Erin Nelson - University of Missouri The Day I Came to Life by Melissa Jackson Burns - University of Missouri The Hired Man by Heather Meyer - Spaulding University The Year of by William Bonfiglio - Iowa State University NAPAT Award for Playwriting Excellence Region V Nominee – forwarded for final selection for the award by a national committee. The Disappointments by Aaron Scully - University of Missouri REMINDER: Any playwright who submitted to Region V for Festival 49 may apply to have a one-on-one mentorship meeting at festival. APPLICATION DEADLINE is December 15. Apply here. DEADLINES EXTENDED: Deadlines have been extended for the following events. Students and Faculty are encouraged to get involved! SDC Directing Scenes - Deadline Extended to 12/16 Stage Management - Deadline Extended to 12/16 Workshop Sumbission - Deadline Extended to 1/6 Please encourage your students and faculty to register to be a part of these amazing festival events! Please go here for these and other upcoming deadlines. Please let me know if you have any questions. All the best, Brad  Production Photo from Little Red Riding Hood from University of Northwestern, St. Paul, 2015 Greetings Region 5!
2016 PRODUCTION PHOTO SLIDE SHOW SUBMISSION: Region 5 will again celebrate the Productions and Certificates of Merit for Festival 49 at one or more all-festival gatherings during festival week. This presentation will be built around photographs of YOUR entered production(s). Photos may also be used in other Awards Ceremonies or in other ways during the festival. Please go here for more information and to submit a photo of each of your participating and associate entries from 2016. The deadline is December 23, 2016. FACULTY AWARD NOMINATIONS: A reminder that nominations for the Gold Medallion Award and the ATHE Innovative Teaching Award for Faculty and Graduate Students are due on Wednesday, December 7. Please submit nominations to Brad Dell - [email protected]. Road Warrior nominations for outstanding respondent can be submitted here. UPCOMING DEADLINES: Please encourage your students and faculty to register to be a part of these amazing festival events! Deadlines are approaching (or have been extended) for: Theatre Criticism (12/1) Costume Parade (12/5) Theatre Management (12/6) Workshops (12/7) Directing Events (12/9) - including SDC, 10 Minute Play Reading, and Directing Workshop! Dramaturgy (12/9) Stage Management (12/9). Please go here for these and other upcoming deadlines. FESTIVAL 49 DATES: Please note that the dates for Festival 49 are January 22-28, 2017. This year our festival does NOT fall during the week of MLK day. Please plan accordingly. Please let me know if you have any questions. All the best, Brad  The John F. Kennedy Center Gold Medallion - the Highest Honor Awarded by KCACTF Greetings Region 5!
GOLD MEDALLION NOMINATIONS: The Gold Medallion is KCACTF's highest honor awarded to individuals or organizations that have made extraordinary contributions to the teaching and producing of theatre and who have significantly dedicated their time, artistry and enthusiasm to the development of KCACTF. If you wish to nominate someone for the Kennedy Center Gold Medallion, please email your nomination to Regional Chair Brad Dell - [email protected] by Wednesday, December 7. ATHE INNOVATIVE TEACHING AWARD: ATHE and KCACTF have teamed up again to honor excellent teaching with the ATHE Innovative Teaching Award. One award will be given to a faculty member and one will be given to a graduate student. To nominate a faculty member or graduate student please submit the nominee's CV, a recommendation letter, and the nominee's statement of innovative teaching philosophy to Regional Chair Brad Dell - [email protected] by Wednesday, December 7. ROAD WARRIOR AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING RESPONDENT: The KCACTF Region 5 "Road Warrior Award" is intended to provide special recognition for people who often function as unsung heroes of the festival: the Regional Production Respondents. Please go here to submit your nominations for Outstanding respondents by Wednesday, December 7. Other Reminders: PLANET EARTH & FULL LENGTH PLAYS DEADLINE - DECEMBER 1: The deadline to submit Full Length plays and plays to be considered for the Planet Earth Award is December 1. Please go here for more information. MANY VOICES FELLOWSHIP: Playwrights of color should consider submitting work for the Many Voices Fellowship or Mentorship program. The submission deadline is December 1. Please go here for more information. UPCOMING DEADLINES: Deadlines are approaching for Theatre Criticism (12/1), Costume Parade (12/5), Theatre Management (12/6), Workshops (12/7), Directing Events (12/9),Dramaturgy (12/9), Stage Management (12/9). Please go here for these and other upcoming deadlines. FESTIVAL 49 DATES: Please note that the dates for Festival 49 are January 22-28, 2017. This year our festival does NOT fall during the week of MLK day. Please plan accordingly. Please let me know if you have any questions.All the best, Brad |
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