Theatre Students Participate in Academic Conclave

Every year in late January the Theatre program takes a group of students to participate in an academic conclave where they present their work, audition/interview for summer internships and jobs, compete for scholarships, and engage in workshops that build their resumé-worthy skills. This conference also recognizes the work done by Eastern students and faculty over the last year, as adjudicated by external auditors from both the academic and professional world.

Here are a few highlights from last week’s conference – 

• Becca Figueroa and SJ Reynolds were selected to be Technical Interns for the Festival

Presenting in Design, Technology, and Management categories: (evidence of STEM success in the Arts)

• Ryan Rosenbaum, Sound Design for Our Town. Based upon his presentation, Ryan was awarded a scholarship to the Stagecraft Institute of Las Vegas.
• MK Cannon, Stage Management for Our Town
• SJ Reynolds and Katelyn Scalia for their Stage Management contributions in To Damascus
• Emma Kellermann, Sound Design for The Wolves. Emma won the Sound Design category for her extraordinary work in Ambisonic Sound, and as such, is eligible to present her materials at the national level at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.. Emma also received a scholarship to the Stagecraft Institute of Las Vegas.

Eastern received Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Merit Awards for the following:

• Christian Fronckowiak, Performer and Vocal Ensemble Director for Our Town
• Capri Agresta, Technical Director for Our Town

Irene Ryan Acting Nominations went to:

• Emily Kelly for her work in Our Town. She presented alongside her scene partner, Harry Gagne; it is worth noting that Harry himself was an alternate nominee.
• Austin Washington for his work in Our Town. Austin chose Andrew Rich to be his scene partner. 

Representative of the quality of the entire show, a scene from Our Town (directed by guest artist, Tim Golebiewski) was held for consideration as an Invited Scene.

• Actors Hanna Zammarieh, Emily Kelly, and Andrew Rich participated in the Next Steps auditions and received callbacks from conservatory programs who offer summer intensives and post-graduate training.

Perhaps most exciting was the success of Eastern’s students (Becca Figueroa, Tommaso Rotella, and Ryan Rosenbaum) in winning the Tech Olympics, a series of timed technology-based challenges. We’ve never won this particular competition before, and are so proud of our team.

It is important to mention that the participants are from multiple majors, including Theatre (acting, DTM concentrations) and New Media Studies (Performance Media Concentration).