ESU senior Kelsey Pulzone of Washington Township, N.J., earned the region’s National Stage Management Fellowship at the Region II Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival held at West Chester University earlier this month.<\/p>\n
ESU junior Michael Lloret of East Stroudsburg, Pa., was named best male vocalist at the Region II Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival\u2019s inaugural Musical Theatre Initiative.<\/p>\n
East Stroudsburg University’s Theatre Department was the \u201csmall program that could\u201d as two of its theatre majors earned top awards at the Region II Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF) held earlier this month at West Chester University.<\/p>\n
Senior Kelsey Pulzone of Washington Township, N.J., earned the region’s National Stage Management Fellowship while junior Michael Lloret of East Stroudsburg, Pa., was named best male vocalist of the conference\u2019s inaugural Musical Theatre Initiative.<\/p>\n
Founded in 1969, KCACTF is a national program that serves as a catalyst to improve the quality of college theatre through its network of more than 600 universities throughout the USA and is organized into eight geographic regions.<\/p>\n
More than 75 schools from Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Northwest New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Northern Virginia, Washington, D.C. and West Virginia participated in the Region II festival.<\/p>\n
For Kelsey Pulzone, the KCACTF competition was part of a journey that began when she attended an open house at ESU and toured the Theatre Department’s facilities with set and costume designer Yoshinori Tanokura, assistant professor of theatre, who became one of her mentors in the department.<\/p>\n
Initially, she was interested in working on props, but Pulzone also explored the other technical theatre options while working on the department\u2019s productions.\u00a0 In her second semester, Pulzone took a course in stage management with Margaret Ball, Ph.D., associate professor of theatre, and \u201creally liked how the stage manager was involved in every aspect of the production throughout the entire process, from casting to the final performance.\u201d<\/p>\n
A play\u2019s director makes the artistic choices that guide a production, but the stage manager makes certain that these choices are carried through in every aspect of the production.\u00a0 The stage manager also runs every rehearsal and performance of the play.<\/p>\n
To guide the production, the stage manager creates a prompt book which contains all of the blocking for actors, the cues for the sound, lighting and props crews, and any other information needed to ensure that the production runs smoothly.<\/p>\n
Pulzone learned her craft by working with the department\u2019s experienced stage managers as an assistant.<\/p>\n
\u201cESU has had a series of great student stage managers who raise the bar each year as they mentor the upcoming students,\u201d Ball noted. \u201cTwo of our recent graduates are now working as professional stage managers.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the competition, Pulzone submitted the prompt book she created for ESU\u2019s Fall 2013 production of Lord of the Flies; <\/i>a letter of intent in which she explained her approach to stage management; and a letter of recommendation from Becky Solis, the play\u2019s guest director and an ESU theatre alumna.<\/p>\n
Pulzone expanded on her stage management philosophy in the interview portion of the competition.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe paperwork is important, and I try to stay ahead of people\u2019s needs,\u201d she said. \u201cBut the most important element is understanding the people I\u2019m working with.\u00a0 I want to be sure that my director, actors and crews have the utmost confidence in me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAs Kelsey focused on her stage management skills, she started asking the right questions to pursue a career, and I saw growth in her work,\u201d Tanokura noted.\u00a0 \u201cOur students know that we expect them to push and reach higher, and she\u2019s an excellent example of that.\u201d<\/p>\n
When her name was called out as the winner of the competition, Pulzone said she felt momentarily paralyzed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI couldn\u2019t move,\u201d she said. \u201cI really expected one of the students from West Chester to win.\u00a0 My friends had to pull me out of the seat and push me toward the stage.\u201d<\/p>\n
As one of eight National Stage Management Fellows, Pulzone will go to Washington, D.C., in April to attend the National KCACTF conference where she\u2019ll work with a team of professional stage managers, make internship and job contacts, and possibly stage manage one of the festival productions.<\/p>\n
Though she will be stage managing the rehearsals of ESU\u2019s production of The Wizard of Oz<\/i> during this time period, Pulzone is confident that she can handle both.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll figure all this out,\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s what I\u2019ve learned to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael Lloret, who began his musical theatre career at East Stroudsburg High School North, considered majoring in media communications and technology when he came to ESU, but knew his calling was elsewhere.<\/p>\n
“I just had to keep doing musical theatre,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
As a theatre work-study student, Lloret is sound designer for the department, and also works in the scene shop.\u00a0 He is president of the Musical Theatre Organization (MTO), a group that performs both on and off campus, most recently at the Stroudsmoor Christmas tree lighting.\u00a0 Last spring he directed the group\u2019s cabaret production, We are Who We Are. <\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cESU’s Theatre Department may be small,” he noted, “but there are big opportunities here and students get lots of attention from the professors.”<\/i><\/p>\n
At the conference, Lloret got up at 5:30 a.m. to sign up at 6 a.m. for one of the limited number of audition slots for the Musical Theatre Initiative.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was first in line,\u201d he said proudly.<\/p>\n
Competitors performed only for the judges during the initial auditions. In the final round of 16, however, performers sang in front of all the contestants.\u00a0 Lloret, who sang last in the finals said, “I was really nervous when I realized that I was up against some major competitors.”<\/p>\n
For his audition, Lloret sang the title number from the 1963 musical She Loves Me<\/i>.<\/p>\n
“Michael has a wonderful voice,” Ball noted, “but the most important thing in musical theatre is to learn to act the song. In the 1 1\/2 years he’s been developing this audition piece, he’s worked to hone his acting skills and it really came through in this performance.”<\/p>\n
In addition to winning a $250 scholarship award, Lloret earned an opportunity to perform at the festival’s closing event.<\/p>\n
“Getting a standing ovation from the crowd in that large auditorium was incredible,” he said.\u00a0 “It’s something that will keep me going in the future when I’m auditioning with 300 other people.”<\/p>\n
\u201cKCACTF\u2019s Region II is highly competitive, so these are big wins for ESU,\u201d Ball noted. \u201cThey showcase the Theatre Department strengths–a student-focused program and strong mentoring of students.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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