UW-Green Bay Students Competing in Kennedy Center Theatre Festival

Twenty-four University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Theatre students will be traveling to Flint, Michigan January 11-15, 2023 to have their work honored and compete in the Region III Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival.

Region III consists of Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and western Ohio. 

The UW-Green Bay Theatre program is being recognized for excellence for their Spring 2022 production of Picasso at the Lapin Agile written by Steve Martin and directed by Alan Kopischke.

UW-Green Bay’s production has been chosen as the sole representative from Wisconsin to perform scenes at the festival’s Celebration of Scenes. 

Professor Kaoime Malloy, costume design faculty member and Costume Designer for Picasso at the Lapin Agile, is also having her costumes featured in the Celebration’s Costume Parade.

In addition to Professor Malloy’s work, UW-Green Bay Theatre students, Grace Bedell and Alyssa Rettke are being recognized for their respective plays as part of the National Playwriting Program. Grace Bedell has written a ten-minute play that has been selected as one of six out of 82 submissions to be performed at the festival. Alyssa Rettke’s one-act play was one of four plays selected from 26 submissions to be performed at the festival.

More than twenty UW-Green Bay theatre students will also be attending the regional festival and competing for additional awards and scholarships. Attending the festival and competing for awards in technical theater will be UW-Green Bay students Ally Swigert, Jasmine Christyne, and McKenzie Thompson who will be showcasing their design work at the Design, Technology and Management Expo during the festival. Ally Swigert will be competing for a National Stage Management Fellowship while McKenzie Thompson and Jasmine Christyne will be participating in Allied Design and Technology. Mia Bolyard will be competing for the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship along with other Irene Ryan nominees Audrey Soberg (partnering with Mason Amidon), Chase Grabowski (partnering with Jenny Witt), Jasmine Christyne (partnering with Alexandra Smith), and Mickey Wirtz (partnering with Ty Witthuhn).

The Irene Ryan participants must be invited to the festival by an outside respondent nominating them based on their performance from a main-stage production. In addition to the Irene Ryan, Chase Grabowski, Jasmine Christyne, Audrey Soberg, and Micky Wirtz will also be participating in the Musical Theatre Intensive which will give them the opportunity to work with musical theater professionals and showcase their talents to festival attendees in a cabaret-style performance. 

Both Chase Grabowski and Jasmine Christyne will also be participating in the Next Steps program which will allow them to audition and interview with casting directors and artistic director of theatre companies as well as graduate schools. Additionally, Jasmine Christyne will be competing for an Open Jar scholarship to attend a musical theatre intensive training in New York City. 

Additional students attending the festival are Carter Bauer, Nox Brewer, Donovan Cote, Katie Fritz, Riley Leeman, Sam Lownik, Breana Malueg, Sarina Radspinner, Olivia Smith, Harmony Snellenberger, and Alax Stylinson.

The American College Theater Festivals is part of the educational program sponsored by the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. Each year, eight Regional Festivals happen across the country with a National Festival being held every April in Washington D.C. Every year, more than 18,000 college and university students compete at the regional or national level. UW-Green Bay Theatre students competing at the regional level may be eligible to advance to the Nationals in certain categories.