Newly Updated!

SSD&C STUDENT DIRECTOR FELLOWSHIP

The Society for Stage Directors and Choreographers (SSD&C) Student Director Fellowship

One student director from each of the eight KCACTF regions will be selected to attend the National Festival in Washington D.C. The Society for Stage Directors and Choreographers (SSD&C) and The Kennedy Center will co-sponsor attendance at the national festival for the selected students, along with a one-year Associate Membership to the SSD&C.

Each region will select their regional fellowship winner, based on their own criteria, utilizing a member of SSD&C in the selection process.
While in attendance at the Kennedy Center, each of the eight regional winners will attend workshops and direct a reading of one of the nationally selected student-written plays.

One Regional nominee will be awarded the National SSD&C Fellowship. This student will receive a $1000 scholarship from SSD&C to offset living expenses associated with a professional development opportunity, and a one year membership in SSD&C. The Kennedy Center will underwrite the tuition or other costs associated with the professional development opportunity.

The fellowship is available to undergraduate and graduate students.

The NEW Region VI Criteria are:

1.  The student must have directed a Participating production in the 2007 season, (January-December 2007.)

2.  The student MUST participate in the William Inge Scholarship Scene Auditions at the 2008 Regional Festival in Huntsville.  The Inge Auditions and the SSD&C fellowship are 2 separate awards for student directors.  The same student director may or may not be awarded both.  (See Inge Audition information below.) 

3.  The student MUST bring appropriate materials, (portfolio/director's book, etc.,) and sit for Interview with a panel of judges at the Regional Festival in Huntsville.

WILLIAM INGE THEATRE FESTIVAL:
SCHOLARSHIP SCENE AUDITIONS

To download application click here: Inge Directing Application.doc
(Application deadline is February 1, 2008.)

The William Inge Theatre Festival is announcing its scholarship audition program, funded by the William Inge Festival Foundation, and in conjunction with KCACTF.  The purpose of the scholarship program is to encourage and celebrate the study and performance of the plays of William Inge, as well as those of past recipients of the William Inge Theatre Festival Award for Distinguished Achievement in the American Theatre, given each year to a living playwright.

The Inge Festival Scholarship Scene Auditions will be held in Huntsville, Texas, at the Regional Festival of KCACTF Region VI, February 26- March 1, 2008

First place in this audition will be a cash scholarship of $750, to be divided equally among the student director and the cast members of the audition scene.  In addition, the director and cast members of the first place scene will be awarded up to $250 to pay for their mileage to attend the William Inge Theatre Festival in Independence, Kansas.  They will receive tickets and passes to all events including VIP meals (check out past Festivals at the Inge Center website). They will receive hospitality housing and meals while in attendance at the Inge Festival in April.  They will also perform their award-winning scene as a part of the William Inge Theatre Festival hosted by Independence Community College in Independence, Kansas.

In case the winning scene is unable to attend the Festival, a first alternate scene will be chosen.  The winning scene will still receive the scholarship, but the travel stipend will go to whichever scene attends and performs at the Inge Festival.

New Rule in effect this year:  Previous recipients of the award are ineligible to win this year.

The Inge Festival Scholarship Scene Auditions are to consist of one scene, lasting no longer than 10 minutes of running time.  A student must direct the scene, and the cast size must be between two and six actors. 

All of the actors must also be current students.  The definition of current student is the same as for the Irene Ryan Scholarship Auditions:

• An undergraduate student registered for at least six semester or equivalent quarter hours

• Or a graduate student registered for at least three semester or equivalent quarter hours

• Or a continuing part-time student enrolled in a regular degree or certificate program

• Undergraduate, graduate, and continuing part-time students must be matriculating and seeking a degree at the time of the audition.

In addition, all cast members of the scene must be registered for the KCACTF
Regional Festival at which the William Inge Theatre Festival Scholarship
Scene Auditions occur.  Each participant must bear the expenses of attending the KCACTF Regional Festival.

The chair of the theatre department (or the equivalent academic officer) must verify the student status of all cast members and the student director in writing to the Regional Chair prior to the regional festival's William Inge Theatre Festival Scholarship Auditions.

Each scene must be pre-registered using the registration form available above.

The scene must be chosen from the works of William Inge or from a selected annual list of additional playwrights who are past recipients of the Inge Award. 

A complete list of past Inge Award winners is listed below for reference. The list of annual eligible playwrights will rotate each year from that list.  The works of William Inge will be eligible every year.  (Selected playwrights for the 2008 auditions are listed below.)

In addition to being written by one of the annual eligible playwrights, all audition scenes must be material for which permission from the rights holder can be secured.

Cuts or changes to published material may be in violation of copyright.  The William Inge Theatre Festival and KCACTF expect that scholarship auditionees will abide by the rights holder's restrictions regarding cuts and changes. The William Inge Theatre Festival and KCACTF affirm the playwrights' rights to have their work presented to the public with integrity.

Only basic lighting is permitted and will be provided by the host for the rehearsal and performance.

It is recommended that no costume as such be used.  A costume accessory may be used.

The host for the audition will provide six chairs and a table. If simple hand props are used, the auditionees must provide them.  Do not bring extensive scenery or props.  The emphasis on these auditions is on acting and directing, not physical production.

SELECTING MATERIAL

Use material that is within your age range, your vocal range, your emotional range, and within the scope of your movement skills.

Avoid material that requires an uncomfortable dialect.

See that the material moves to a conclusion.  Begin somewhere and go somewhere through the material.

Discuss your choice of material with your teachers to ascertain that it is suitable for presentation at the regional and national festivals.

Choose material in which you have faith, and that as you rehearse allows you to gain confidence.

REHEARSING THE MATERIAL

For actors:
Listen to your director -- the scholarship is for the scene as a whole, not an individual performance.  You can make a case for your choice, but the final say goes to the director.

Discuss your character with your director and agree on what your character wants.  Don't be afraid to ask questions.

Make strong, positive choices aimed at putting your character in charge of the scene.  Play your action (e.g., intention, motivation, what you want)! Follow your impulses and let the director be the editor.

Listen to the other characters (both in rehearsal and performance).  A scene takes place between the characters, not in individual spheres.  Place your attention on what the other characters are doing and what you want from them.

Be generous to the other performers.  Don't upstage them or have extraneous movement when others are speaking.  Remember that success is judged by how well the scene works, not in a single actor standing out from the rest.

Locate and exploit counterpoints and tensions between yourself and the character, tensions within the character, tensions between the character and the dramatic situation.

Allow time for audience reaction when the character has to make a choice. Share choices with the audience.

Avoid literal interpretations of the text in movement and gesture.

For Directors:
There are many different philosophies about directing.  What matters is: does the scene make sense and get through to the audience?  And, was the audience entertained along the way without having to work hard.

Listen to your actors' input.  Although the final choices are yours, intuitive actors will often show you a better way.  Gather everyone's creative energies and focus them through your lens.  If you eliminate the actors' input, then you are left with only one imagination at work, instead of several.

Don't be afraid to say, "I don't know" to an actor's question if you don't truly have a good answer.  Some of the most creative answers are found in discussion with actors.  If you latch onto an answer, simply because a question is asked, it may not be the best one.  The sign of a good leader is one who knows when he needs more information before making a decision.

Decide what the scene is about (why is it in the play?  What does the audience need to discover?) and make sure that the most important points are made clear to the audience.  Sometimes clever staging or bravura acting can obscure the point of the scene.  The assessment of a director is in the overall impact of the scene. 

Imagine the physical space appropriate for your scene; set the boundaries and maintain control of that space during the performance.  During rehearsal, watch from several different angles to ensure good sightlines for the audience.

Arrange the furniture for a maximum number of good positions on the stage. Create angles and obstacles for movement.  In imagining the fourth wall, make it specific and make sure all the actors know what is there and where it is.

The story of the scene can be told physically as well as orally.  Movement patterns and positioning onstage can reveal a great deal about a character or a scene.

Movement should develop organically from the material; the connection between the physical action and its emotional source should be strong and clear. 

Keep the staging focus of the scene on the characters that require it. Through staging, and vocal and physical movement, you can draw the audience's eye to where you want it.

Stage with angles that can be easily adjusted by a step or two up or downstage so that the focus is easily thrown from one character to another. Avoid too much 50/50 profile, or straight upstage/downstage positioning.

A good hint is:  When possible, don't give a note the first time you write it down.  Many actors will correct things themselves, without your help.  It is better if they do it themselves because then they "own" their performance and can get the "director's voice" out of their heads more easily.  You can always give the note at another rehearsal if the problem isn't fixed.

While good criticism is helpful, it needs to be doled out only in doses that the actor can swallow.  Don't expect too much improvement in any single rehearsal.  Some actors can't even listen to a note until they are reassured that they will be okay in the part.  You have a lot of power as a director and you must yield it wisely in a manner that makes it a positive experience for all.

Make certain your actors are confidant as you get closer to performance. Actors
perform much better when they are sure of themselves.  The last couple of run-throughs should belong to the actors, with minimal notes (only notes that are easily fixed, not re-thinking the character).  The actors need to run the scene a number of times in order to gain flow and confidence.

Time the performance carefully so that it is always within the required limits; audience laughter is part of your ten minutes -- you don't get extra time if they're laughing too hard to press forward.

Finally, don't let the William Inge Theatre Festival Scholarship Scene Auditions be the first public performance of your audition pieces.  Have a complete dress rehearsal.

AT THE AUDITION
Do not wear real costumes, but be suggestive of the style.  Be appropriate to the feel of the material and the needs of the character (e.g. an uptight 1920's businessman should not wear a t-shirt, jeans and tennis shoes).  Wear simple, attractive, comfortable clothes and shoes suited to your movement choices. 

Minimize jewelry.  Style your hair so that it flatters your face, not hides it.

Warm up your voice and your body.

Assess the acoustic qualities of the performance space and make choices regarding how much vocal energy you will need to be heard.

Complete List of Past Winners:

1982 - William Inge
1983 - Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee
1984 - William Gibson
1985 - Robert Anderson
1986 - John Patrick
1987 - Garson Kanin
1988 - Sidney Kinglsey
1989 - Horton Foote
1990 - Betty Comden and Adolph Green
1991 - Edward Albee
1992 - Peter Shaffer
1993 - Wendy Wasserstein
1994 - Terrence McNally
1995 - Arthur Miller
1996 - August Wilson
1997 - Neil Simon
1998 - Stephen Sondheim
1999 - John Guare
2000 - A. R. Gurney
2001 - Lanford Wilson
2002 - John Kander and Fred Ebb
2003 - Romulus Linney
2004 - Arthur Laurents
2005 - Tina Howe
2007 - Jerry Boch and Sheldon Harnick

Selected Playwrights for the 2008 Scholarship Auditions:
William Inge
Christopher  Durang, (the 2008 Honoree)
Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee
Sidney Kingsley
Wendy Wasserstein
Lanford Wilson

For more information on the William Inge Theatre Festival: www.ingecenter.org

To download an application, click here: Inge Directing Application.doc