Special to the
Opelika Observer
Auburn Area Community Theatre will participate in the Alabama Conference of Theatre’s annual play festival held on Nov. 2 at Theatre Tuscaloosa with a one-act play titled “An Ongoing Examination of the True Meaning of Life.”
A preview performance and send-off will take place at the Jan Dempsey Community Arts Center on Oct. 24 at 7 p.m. There is no charge for this event.
“We’ll recreate how it is done in competition. We’ll blow the whistle and start the stopwatch to time the whole set-up and take-down of the set. It’s challenging,” said AACT Artistic Director Andrea Holliday.
The play was a crowd favorite at AACT’s Summer Shorts showcase last August.
“It has really evolved,” said Director Terry Kelley. “The actors are constantly trying new things, new ideas, and getting new laughs. It’s been a wonderful process.”
Every entry must comply with festival rules: All of the set and props must fit into a 10-foot square taped on the stage floor. The set-up and take-down must take fewer than 10 minutes, and the performance can last only an hour.
Three adjudicators will then comment and make suggestions on all aspects of the performance and select the winning entries.
“It is a rare experience for an actor in community theatre to get feedback and constructive criticism from theatre professionals from around the country. Everyone who has been to competition is inspired by the judges’ comments, and they bring what they learn back to our group,” Holliday said.
AACT actors Madison Richards, Christine Schumock and Jay Amling will compete against other community theatres from around the state, and one entry will be selected to represent Alabama and compete against 10 Southeastern states. In alternate years, the competition culminates in a national theatre festival hosted by the American Association of Community Theatres.
AACT has previously taken entries to competition, receiving numerous individual acting awards. AACT won the Alabama Conference twice and placed second at the Southeastern Conference in 2011.
For more information on the festival, AlabamaConferenceofTheatre.org.
To learn more about the AACT, visit www.auburnact.org.
