[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]While attending the Region Five Kennedy Center American College State Theater Festival Jan. 17 in Minneapolis, the Truman theatre department won three design awards for its production of “The Nether.”
The theatre department received three commendations at KCACTF, awarded to senior Maddie Chambers for lighting design, theatre professor Dominique Glaros for costume design, and theatre professor Ron Rybkowski for scenic design.
“The Nether,” which premiered last semester, focused on themes related to cyber regulations and online ethics. The set featured a moving metal platform representing an interrogation room, a children’s bedroom from a virtual reality, and transitions of their interpretation of the interweb on several projection screens.
Theatre professor David Charles Goyette, director of “The Nether,” said respondents from KCACTF were invited to view “The Nether.” Goyette said the department does not typically invite respondents to view shows, but he said the department members thought “The Nether” deserved recognition. He said the respondents gave feedback on the play’s performance, design and story development.
Based on their performances during “The Nether,” Goyette said seniors Lexi Diaz and Francis Kemper were nominated to participate in the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship competition at KCACTF. Goyette said they were identified as outstanding performers by the respondents who viewed the show. He said Chambers was invited to fill in as their acting partner for the performance competition, which is part of the acting scholarship. Goyette said they were at KCACTF for five of the festival’s seven days.
“[At KCACTF] you see how large the industry is,” Goyette said. “People think about it and go ‘Oh, there’s just us could we really be part of the theater world?’ and you go and you find out that yes, you can.”
Goyette said the KCACTF opening ceremony was the first time they found out they had won the commendations. He said they were watching a slideshow that previewed all of the schools attending the regional festival, which included schools from Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota. When Truman appeared on the slideshow, he said he was confused and shocked to see the names and commendations on the screen.
Because of the vast amount of people who attended KCACTF, Goyette said he was proud to know Truman’s theatre program was competitive enough to stand against other programs. He said he would like for Truman to attend KCACTF more often, but it will depend on timing and resources.
Goyette said he enjoyed attending the workshops and watching the shows that performed at KCACTF. He said he and the students who attended were able to learn more about the industry than they imagined they would during the conference.
To learn more about the theatre department’s achievement, pick up the latest issue of The Index (pg. 7).
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