Four Monmouth College students to compete for major acting scholarship

By: Michelle Anstett
Editor-in-chief

Four Monmouth College students will participate in a regional acting competition as a result of their performances in two Crimson Masque productions this past semester.

Freshmen Kayt Griffith from Woodstock, Renee Emery from Girard and Kate Drost from Naperville and senior Michael Seufert of Lansing will travel, along with other members of Crimson Masque, the college’s theatrical group, to the Kennedy Center’s Region III American College Theater Festival in mid-January to participate in the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship Competition. The festival, co-hosted by Cardinal Stritch and Marquette universities, will take place in Milwaukee, Wis., and students from colleges and universities in Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinois.

The students were chosen by regional college theater professors who double as KCACTF judges in their free time. Griffith and Emery were chosen for their performances in “A Streetcar Named Desire,” while Drost and Seufert were chosen for their work in “Proof.”

Each Crimson Masque production is adjudicated, or judged, for potential participation in KCACTF, and two actors from each show are chosen for the Irene Ryan competition. The actors, along with their chosen partners, will present one three-minute scene in the preliminary round. If a competitor advances to the semifinal round, he or she is given five minutes to present another dual scene. The final round consists of a presentation of the semifinal scene and a short monologue. The winners receive $500 scholarships and advance to the nation competition, the prize for which is a $2,500 scholarship.

Ryan, who is most famous for portraying “Granny Clampett” in the 1960s comedy “The Beverly Hillbillies” used her $1 million estate to found the Irene Ryan Foundation, which sponsors the yearly competition.

Seufert, who knew nothing about the competition prior to his selection, said “it was just another bonus for being involved in such a great production.” He feels the adjudicator could have easily chosen any of the four actors in “Proof,” and he was “surprised” when he was chosen.

He and his partner, Meghan Murphy, a student at Columbia College in Chicago, will be preparing for the competition during Christmas break. Right now, the pair is in the process of choosing scenes, which Seufert calls “a tedious process.” The Irene Ryan nominees are working with Janeve West, professor of communication and theater arts, to prepare for the competition. Seufert says she is “doing a good job prepping everyone,” and he is confident he will be ready for the competition. He added, “The only advice I’ve received so far is from Kelly (Winfrey) Seaman… She told me to pick my piece early” and to work on nuance later.

Other activities at the KCACTF Region III festival include a critics’ competition, where students write theatrical reviews of productions at the festival, workshops on various topics and presentations by shows chosen as exceptional by adjudicators over the last year.