Theater Arts and Film Dept. rack up regional awards
Erica Tiffany
The Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF), which was held at California State University/Fullerton, Feb. 9-14, was very good to MCC participants. A total of 76 schools competed, and against talented competition, Mercedes O’Bannion and Zhanae Breeden both earned first place and are national finalists in costume design and sound design respectively. The team of Christopher Stewart, Jennafer Spruell and Nathan Schauer took second for Properties Design.
MCC by far won the most awards out of the community colleges in the region.
Kara Thomson coached the designers, who were all recognized for outstanding design work on Dracula, which was directed by MCC Performance Faculty member Kevin Dressler this past December.
“I am very proud of all of (our students) and was delighted when many were mistaken to be graduate students. It’s a great opportunity for them to find the right schools to further their careers.” said Thomson.
Jeremy Andorfer beat out over 350 other actors at the competition and earned a role as Eduardo in the One Act Play Festival entry, Things that Fall from the Sky, Michelle Luz earned the part of Mary in the Ten Minute Play Festival entry, The Ward. Luz also made callback auditions for acting employment from Missoula Children’s Theatre, a professional theatre recognized nationally for excellence.
According to Dressler, there were limited roles available, and MCC had never had an actor cast until this competition.
Cody Davis also received callback auditions from the Neil Simon Festival located in Cedar City, Utah.
“It’s not unusual for our students to be offered paid acting positions in the Phoenix Metro Area, but it is unique to have two students being recognized by organizations that audition on a national basis,” said Dressler.
According to Dressler, who coached all the successful actors, never have so many MCC students received as much attention regarding further training.
“The exposure and participation helps measure yourself against your peers, and it helps to get the constructive criticism from working professionals,” said MCC student Mercedes O’Bannion.
Also, on March 27 actors competed with scenes and monologues at the Artists of Promise Competition held at PVCC.
MCC swept in the Best Male Performer category while taking first place in the Best Female Performer category. Cody Davis, Owen Virgin, Travis Marsala, Jeremy Andorfer and Michelle Luz were the placing MCC students at that competition.
