CCC Students Participate In Local Acting Competition
Jennifer Duncan
Issue date: 4/16/09 Section: Arts and Entertainment
|
CCC was represented well at the event. Freshman Communication Arts major Ahna Boley said that she enjoyed participating in this event with her sister, Alisha: "The money for winning was a drawing factor, but also, Alisha and I are doing it together, which makes it fun." Alisha Boley, who is a senior Communication Arts major, said she was interested in seeing others and how they compared to her.
"I wanted to do the competition because of the exposure, auditioning practice, and prize money. It is a good opportunity to see who else is competing out there and learn how I stand against them."
Travis Freeburg, also a Communication Arts major, thought this event was a great opportunity. "Acting is my hobby. Performing is my thrill ride. Competing is my life. Ok, so that is not really true. But, I do love to act, and competitions are a great way to hone skills, get exposure, and just network!"
The competitors were judged by a team of four, including CCC Professor of Communication Dr. Bob Cundiff. Each performer had to present two completely memorized monologues.
"The competition requires us to prepare two monologues, one serious and one comedic, and perform them from memory. One must be classic and the other modern, but both have to be taken from a specific list of playwrights, and total performance time cannot exceed six minutes," explained Travis.
Prize money was awarded to the top five finishers. According to Ahna, the first place finisher received an all expenses paid trip to Washington D.C. to compete at the national level and a chance to win $10,000.
Alisha said that through this event, people could see that Christians are involved in the arts, too.
"As a Christian, this presents the opportunity to show that all Christians are not stuffy and ultra-conservative. We love and enjoy the fine arts and acting just like everybody else. The difference is, we can see a production and enjoy it without crass humor, explicit visuals, or swearing. The theatre does not need those things to be successful. It just caters to the public's want for worldly visuals."
Ahna said she was looking forward to the event. "The event should be fun!"
Travis agreed. "I'm excited. I am performing a monologue from 'Othello' by Shakespeare, and a comedic monologue from 'The Bear' by Chekhov."
Twenty performers auditioned, and unfortunately, none of the CCC students placed, even though each of them did a wonderful job. "The acting competition was a great learning experience. Although I did not win anything, I learned how I can improve my acting skills, plus what other talent is out there," said Ahna of the event.
Travis said, "The competition was an invaluable experience for us to interact with and appreciate other actors and judges who have experience in a variety of fields. It gave us a number of different perspectives."