“A Single Girl’s Guide,” Troy University’s very own musical, is among six shows that are heading to Roanoke, Va., for the regional Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival.
According to Tori Lee Averett, the main choreography director of the play, the KCACTF is part of the Kennedy Center, a well-established national entity, which promotes theater programs in universities.
“It’s a big honor to be chosen to represent the Kennedy Center’s mission for the art,” Averett said. “It’s like Troy had been selected for a bowl game.”
“The theater and dance department put out the musical last semester and sent out an invitation to representatives of the center,” said Josh Williams, a graduating senior of the theater and dance department from Angola, Ind., who plays the male lead in the show. The representatives came on their opening night and talked to the cast and crew about what they thought worked and what did not.
The department received the invitation to compete in the festival a few days before Christmas.
Out of a couple hundred shows evaluated across 10 states in Region 4, only six shows were selected, said Averett. Moreover, “A Single Girl’s Guide” is chosen to be the closing act for the festival.
According to Averett, KCACTF is a week-long event with different activities such as design exhibition and competitions on several aspects of theater at the collegiate level. There will be contests in fields like acting, orchestra and stage management to promote excellence in all those areas.
According to Averett, about 50 students from Troy’s music, theater and dance departments are participating in the festival. They are scheduled to leave for Virginia in groups in the first week of February. The musical performance will be on Feb. 8 at 8 p.m.
“Although the show was produced last semester, we have created a newly improved version with the same flavor as the old one,” Williams said. “There are some changes to the opening number, and one song is replaced. The writers have made some adjustments to shorten it…It’s going to be a different experience for the audience.”
“The first rehearsal was a few days after class started,” Williams said. “There are enough changes to the musical that despite being familiar with the script, the cast and crew still have to work really hard for it.”
According to Williams, this is also a time for mastering their choreography and fixing the details they did not have time to tend to last semester.
“We are really proud and excited,” Williams said. “It’s a big deal, especially for the cast, because this is the stage for us to get our names out there, to show that we can do professional works. It also gives Troy University a good reputation in fostering creativity.”
“With competition like this, people might take what we do more seriously,” Williams said. “It is noticeable when a small school in southern Alabama gets recognized
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