Student-authored play to be performed at regional festival

December 13, 2005

WHITEWATER – For the third time in six years, a University of Wisconsin – Whitewater theatrical production has been selected for performance at the region III festival of the Kennedy Center’s 2005-06 American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF) competition. The student-directed play, “Life Sentence,” authored by 2005 UW-Whitewater graduate Neil Haven, will be presented January 10-15, 2006, at Illinois State University.

The original script for “Life Sentence” is also under consideration for the Michael Karin Playwriting Award. , UW-Whitewater senior theatre education major Allison Pearse from Tuscola, Ill., has already received a Director's Award for her role in the production. Three UW-Whitewater cast members, Sara Griffin, a junior theatre BFA performance major from Cross Plains, Wis., Andrew Truschinski, a senior theatre BFA performance major from Marshall, Wis., and Dawn Tucker, a senior theatre BFA performance major from Gays Mills, Wis., have also been nominated for the prestigious Irene Ryan Foundation acting scholarship.

“Most of the show’s success has to do with the wonderful cast and director,” said Haven. “Advancing to this level opens up many doors for myself, Allison, Sara, Andrew and Dawn.”

“‘Life Sentence’ impressed me when it was performed here last spring, so I am not surprised at its selection to the festival,” said John Heyer, dean of the college of arts and communication. “We are proud of Haven, Allison Pearse, who won an award for her direction of this play and the other outstanding students who are performing.’ It takes great teamwork to move a production to national competition, and we have that quality in the students in our theatre program.”

Haven currently works as a professional actor in various theatres around the Milwaukee and Door county area while continuing to write plays.

“I’m very pleased that the production is going to the festival,” professor Jim Butchart, the faculty advisor for the production said. “It’s a wonderful production, script and show dealing with problems facing the college student life.”

Marshall Anderson, chair of the UW-Whitewater theatre/dance department added, “We are excited to see that Haven’s quality of work is recognized to go on to be presented at the regional festival.”

Depending upon three judges reactions at the region III festival, the production may be invited for presentation at the KCACTF National Festival in Washington D.C. in April 2006.

The KCACTF is a national theater program involving 18,000 students from colleges and universities around the nation, which has served as a catalyst in improving the quality of college theatre in the United States. The program, which began in the late 1960s, has grown to a network of more than 600 academic institutions throughout the country to allow theatre departments and student artists showcase their work and receive outside assessment by KCACTF respondents. Detailed information on the festival is available at www.kennedy-center.org/education/actf.