AC theatre to present at Mid-West regional festival posted 12/21/07
One-act performance selected as a Showcase Production

ADRIAN, Mich. – The theatre department at Adrian College is proud to announce their participation in the 2008 Regional Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF) next month.

The theatre department’s production of ‘The Polar Bear Club’ has been selected as a Showcase Production in the 2008 regional festival. It is one of ten productions from institutions around the Great Lakes area.

The KCACTF for Region III, which includes university and college theatre programs in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin, will take place in Milwaukee on January 9 through 13, 2008.

‘The Polar Bear Club’ is an original, one-act production written by former student Kelly Fox who graduated in April 2007 with a degree in Musical Theatre. The play revolves around the main character, Nicky Robert who is a college senior, and the everyday decisions she makes. The audience gets an inside look at the quirky relationship Nicky has with her sister Meghan as history repeats itself.

Fox currently lives in Los Angeles, Calif. and works for a cruise line as the principle female singer on her ship. She travels the Pacific Ocean for six months at a time and will be departing again soon for her next adventure.

Professor Michael Allen, chair of the Adrian College theatre department, says this is a great honor for the department.

“For those of us in theatre arts, this is sort of the equivalent of being invited to a bowl game,” says Allen. “It is a great honor for us and is especially gratifying when we remember that we are competing for this honor with all the participating colleges in the mid-west region, not just the small schools.”

The KCACTF is a national theatre program involving 18,000 students from colleges and universities nationwide. It has served as a catalyst in improving the quality of college theatre in the United States. Marquette University and Cardinal Stritch University are the co-hosts for the regional festival that attracts approximately 1,500 participants.

Through state, regional, and national festivals, KCACTF participants celebrate the creative process, see one another's work, and share experiences and insights within the community of theatre artists. The KCACTF honors excellence of overall production and offers individual recognition to student-artists through awards and scholarships in playwriting, acting, criticism, directing, and design.

In January and February of each year, regional festivals showcase the finest of each region's entered productions. Regional festival productions are judged by a panel of three judges selected by the Kennedy Center and the KCACTF national committee.

Allen says he will travel to the festival with about 20 students and theatre professor Annissa Morgensen-Lindsay.

“We have a group of extremely talented and dedicated students in our theatre program,” says Allen. “In addition to the performances of ‘The Polar Bear Club,’ we will have students involved in acting, scene and lighting design, and directing competitions.”

President Jeffrey Docking is also very excited about the news.

“This news is absolutely incredible,” says Docking. “We are extremely proud of our theatre students and the department’s accomplishments. We are looking forward to their performance at the festival.”

Docking commented on the strength of the theatre programs at the College.

“The theatre department here at Adrian College is very strong thanks to Professor Allen and our talented faculty and students. The numerous programs offered in the department allow our students to be involved, even if they aren’t a theatre major. We couldn’t be happier with the performances they produce as well as their growing number of achievements.”

The production of ‘The Polar Bear Club’ is scheduled to take place in the Studio Theatre at Cardinal Stritch University on Thursday and Friday, January 10 & 11.

The theatre department will be presenting the performance to the public before they leave for the festival. They will be performing Monday Jan. 7 at 7:00 PM in Downs Hall and it is free and open to the public.

For more information about the festival, please contact Michael Allen at mallen@adrian.edu or visit the KCACTF regional website at http://www.kcactf3.org.