South, SE drama productions recognized at ACTF festival
by Vanessa Herron, reporter

    South and SE campuses returned from the American College Theatre Festival last month with recognitions for their work.

   TCC South won for Excellence in Scene Design and SE Campus for Excellence in Costume Design and Sound Design.

   Students from South and NE campuses joined hundreds of college students from across Texas on the Collin County Community College campus in Plano. A week earlier, SE Campus attended the Area 1 festival at Texas A&M University in Commerce.

   Jakie Cabe, NE theater director, and his students performed Medea during ACTF.

   The production was also performed on NE Campus earlier this fall.

   “This is my first year to participate in ACTF, and I found it to be an incredible learning experience,” he said.

   “I’m very proud of the cast because we performed a very difficult, abstract, post-modern show,” he said.

   Students received feedback on their performances from David Mold, professional director and professor of theater at Marymount Manhattan College in New York City.

   The students also attended several workshops, taught by professionals, ranging from Acting for the Camera and Music Theatre Showcases to The Art of Illusionary Stage Violence and Improv.

   However, most student participants thought the most enjoyable parts of the festival were the performances.

   “It’s really cool to come together with the other colleges and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of other performances,” Joshua Colson, a NE student and Medea cast member, said

   Patti McCormick, South Campus theater director, took her students to perform Enemy of the People.

   “The festival is a great place for TCC students to meet students from the other colleges and network,” she said.

   The performances from the various colleges were competing for a nomination to perform at the regional level of the American College Theatre Festival.

   Timothy Gorts, a student member of the South Campus production, said the competition was stiff.

   “The stakes just kept getting higher and higher, and the pressure just built up with each new performance,” he said.

   While in Commerce, SE Campus students performed The Masque of Beauty and the Beast, under the direction of John Dement, SE theater instructor, and participated in the workshops and other events.

   “My students made it a point to meet and network with the students from the other schools,” he said.