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If, as Hamlet said, "the play's the thing" then that "thing" was greatly in evidence during February as Phoenix College and Glendale Community College hosted the Region VIII Festival of the Kennedy Center's American College Theater Festival (KCACTF). The event, which was held from February 7-12, featured more than 1,000 of the finest student performers, writers, and technicians from the states of Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah. Phoenix College, Glendale Community College, and Scottsdale Community College represented the Maricopa Community Colleges at the Festival, and along with Arizona State University and Northern Arizona University, the state of Arizona. Out-of-state institutions represented at the festival included University of California Los Angeles, California State University Fullerton, Brigham Young University, University of Nevada Las Vegas, and a number of other 2-year and 4-year colleges and universities.
It is considered an honor to host the event, which was sponsored in part by the MCLI, and it is an opportunity rarely afforded to 2-year colleges. According to festival co-host and Phoenix College Theater faculty Dr. Geof Eroe, "The festival was originally offered to ASU, but they had to decline. The feeling was that it should remain in the Phoenix area, and so it was offered to Maricopa and we were happy to do it." Festival co-host and Glendale Community College Theater faculty Virginia Ludders said, "Co-hosting the event between two colleges was something that had not been done before, and it required a lot of planning from a lot of people for it to succeed." Much of this planning was done by Dr. Eroe and Virginia Ludders along with their colleagues Pam Fields (Scottsdale Community College) and Dr. Crae Wilson (Eastern Arizona College). These four held regular meetings for over a year to plan the event.
The size and scope of the festival presented some logistical challenges. Because of the relatively small sizes of the theaters in the Maricopa district (roughly 300 seats) the festival had to take place at both Phoenix College and Glendale Community College simultaneously, with transportation between the venues handled by a system of buses. "The Crown Plaza was the host hotel for the event," said Dr. Eroe, "and every day people had to get on a different set of buses depending on where they were headed. Our biggest concern was that everyone be where they were supposed to be, and be there on time. It worked quite well, and there were no complaints about the splitting of venues." In fact, the event had a very congenial atmosphere. According to Virginia, "We received many comments from attendees complimenting the festival for how friendly everyone was. This was especially important considering the fact that it rained all week. But everyone had a great attitude about it and we just made jokes about Lake Glendale (the puddle in front of the Glendale Community College Theater) and went on with the show."
The festival featured production of seven full-length plays and two one-act plays as well as numerous individual competitions for actors, designers, and technicians. The largest of the individual competitions is the Irene Ryan Scholarship competition, which drew hundreds of student actors. Ryan, who was best-known for her role as the feisty "Granny" on The Beverly Hillbillies, made this competition possible through generous financial support. Although this is the best known of the competitions, there were also contests for set design, lighting design, property design, costume design, and playwrights. According to Virginia the competition, though intense, was also very supportive. "In these festivals we don't see the big school rivalries that you might see in sports. The students were all cheering for each other and genuinely happy when their fellow students did well. They were just so pleased to be able to share their work with each other that rivalry didn't really enter into it too much," she said. Dr. Eroe echoed that sentiment and stressed that it was the opportunity to share that students were looking for, not the competition. "For students that want to go on to a higher level, it gives them the opportunity to really see what other colleges have to offer instead of a brochure or a counselor. They also get to see advanced work, and that gives them the idea of the quality of work that will be required of them if they go into the business."
In addition to the competitions, there were 35 workshops for the students to attend. The workshops ran the gamut from acting to playwriting to technical theater. The technical workshops provided special challenges for Glendale Community College. "Our media center was amazing in supplying us with all of the equipment, taking requests from the presenters, and filling each request," said Virginia. "Scott Kozakiewicz from our Media Center was absolutely amazing in getting us everything we needed. In fact the entire staff of the college, from the President to the custodial staff were immensely supportive." Dr. Eroe agreed, stating, "We couldn't have done this without the support of our campus administration, and especially Christy Skeen, Joe Gonzales, Symeon Larson, and the staff of our Print Shop. Alan Levine from MCLI was amazing with his web support of the event, and the Chancellor's office and the other staff from MCLI were also so helpful."
Virginia summed up the festival by saying, "It was an exhausting and exhilarating experience. I visited with Geof the other day to tie up some loose ends, and I was reminded of how close the four of us on the planning committee had become, working together so regularly. So often we as faculty members from different colleges don't get to know each other all that well. This was a great opportunity for me to come to know and respect my colleagues in an entirely different way, and I thoroughly enjoyed it."
 Steve Meredith, D.M.A., mcli
Dr. Geof Eroe
Phoenix College
(602) 285-7303
Virginia Ludders
Glendale Community College
(623) 845-3709
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