CAMPUS NEWS
Spamalot SFA’S RECENT PRODUCTION of Monty Python’s Spamalot presented by the schools of theatre and music has garnered a number of awards and nominations from the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. KCACTF is a national organization that celebrates the educational and creative process of university and college theatre. It promotes professional standards and provides students and faculty members with opportunities to bridge the academic and professional worlds, according to Angela Bacarisse, professor of theatre at SFA, who served as director and choreographer for Spamalot. “This brings regional and national attention to the school and the students,” Bacarisse said of the honors. “The students will be seen at regional auditions, and they could possibly advance on to national auditions. Just being nominated will be a great line on their résumés. For all of us, it is an acknowledgement of excellence in our area.” KCACTF invited the musical number “His Name is Lancelot” to perform at the regional festival in February in San Angelo. KCACTF officials “held” the entire show for consideration to be performed at the festival, which is a highly prestigious nomination, but one that the School of Theatre had to respectfully decline, Bacarisse explained. “This means that they thought the show was good enough to bring it to a larger audience,” she said. “I have traveled a show all the way to the national performance at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. It was a great opportunity for the students to pack a show in a truck and perform it in a different theatre. “We gratefully thank KCACTF for this acknowledgment,” she said. “However, Spamalot is just too big and involves far too many people, including the large cast, the orchestra and technicians, for us to be able to re-mount the production. So we declined the nomination.”
WE ARE GRATEFUL THE COMMUNITY EMBRACED OUR EFFORTS AND CAME OUT TO SEE THE SHOW. WE DO A LOT OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF THEATRE. SOME MAY BE YOUR CUP OF TEA, AND SOME MAY NOT. BUT WE STRIVE WITH EVERY PRODUCTION TO PUT OUR BEST FOOT FORWARD. “THIS WAS AN ENSEMBLE EFFORT. THERE IS A SAYING: ‘IT TAKES A VILLAGE TO RAISE A CHILD.’ I HAVE BEEN SAYING: ‘IT TAKES A VILLAGE TO PUT ON A SHOW!’ IT WAS REALLY GREAT HOW EVERYONE PULLED TOGETHER TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN AND IN SUCH A JOYOUS WAY.” – ANGELA BACARISSE, SFA THEATRE PROFESSOR
4 SAWDUST
More than 2,200 people came to W.M. Turner Auditorium in November for the six-performance run of the musical by Eric Idle, John Du Prez and Neil Innes. Some returned to watch the show multiple times, bringing friends and family members to enjoy the humorous dialogue and clever songs. “We are grateful the community embraced our efforts and came out to see the show,” Bacarisse said. “We do a lot of different types of theatre. Some may be your cup of tea, and some may not. But we strive with every production to put our best foot forward. “This was an ensemble effort,” she said. “There is a saying: ‘It takes a village to raise a child.’ I have been saying: ‘It takes a village to put on a show!’ It was really great how everyone pulled together to make this happen and in such a joyous way.” The School of Theatre continues to solicit financial support for Bacarisse’s next major project, which will be directing two new plays that will travel to Edinburg, Scotland, this summer to be included in the 2015 International Collegiate Theatre Festival. During a two-week trip to Edinburgh in August, the School of Theatre will produce Hate Mail by SFA playwright-in-residence Jack Heifner and the student-written Mom and Dad by Nick Pinelli and Allison Day. Pinelli, a senior from The Woodlands, and Day, a senior from San Antonio, wrote the play as an honors project for their class with Heifner. – ROBBIE GOODRICH