OUC students have enriching experience at Regional Theater Festival

Dr. Lance Mekeel, actor Melina Barry, “Dead Zone” playwright Lindsay Adams, and actor Markis Blackwell

Dr. Lance Mekeel, Visiting Assistant Professor in the Theater Program at Ohio University Chillicothe, along with students Julia Everidge and Jensyn Cousins, recently attended the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival – Region II Festival. The festival was held Jan. 16-20 at Indiana University of Pennsylvania in Indiana, PA.  Everidge and Cousins were selected to attend on behalf of OUC for their role previously played in The Merchant in October.

The Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF) is a multitude of festivals in regions across the United States. Each region festival showcases select productions to be featured in the nationals in Washington, DC.

The goal of the festival is to provide an enriching experience to students. Each festival offers workshops covering all facets of theater such as acting, costume, lighting and sound design, dramaturgy, voice, dance, directing, etc.

While it was Mekeel’s third year for attending, this was his second year playing an active role in various aspects of the festival. This year, Mekeel offered the Michael Chekhov Technique of Acting workshop and directed a 10-minute play called, “Dead Zone.” The play was a regional finalist for the National Environmental Playwriting Award.

Everidge was an acting scholarship nominee for the Chillicothe Campus. To participate, Everidge was required to prepare a two and three-minute scene and a monologue. Over 200 participants prepared auditions for the preliminaries.

To be an acting scholarship nominee, a college’s production must be registered with the KCACTF and a faculty member from another institution attends the production and gives feedback. The director collaborates with the faculty and decides who to nominate for the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship Audition.

Mekeel enters each of the campus’s productions for nomination of the scholarship. “I want our students to see what the festival is like. The experience will help them in determining if a career in theater is what they want to move forward with,” shares Mekeel.

Mekeel nominated Ohio University Lancaster for their production of Moon Over Buffalo. OUL presented their production on Jan. 20 of the festival.

Though Everidge did not make it to the finals, she is very thankful for the opportunity. She shares, “It was such a great experience for me. As a theater major, the feedback I received from the faculty respondents is valuable and key to my success. For most, the experience is for a hobby, but for me it’s my education.”

Anyone interested in participating in the campus’s play productions, feel free to contact Mekeel at mekeel@ohio.edu to see how you can get involved!