Gravity, an original play by Theatre Director Corey Ranson, captivated judges during the annual Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF). Theatre students competed against four other states and earned recognition for their hard work and talent by earning three Irene Ryan nominations. Recipients of the prestigious award are Laurie Guajardo Hoefelmeyer, Lexi LaCour and Gage Roberts.
“I think [the awards] it’s recognition of the stellar work that Corey Ranson does with the program and helps develop student talent to be able to compete at a state level,” Department Chair of Arts, Communications and Theatre Todd Lucas said.
The Irene Ryan Award honors the most outstanding performers and gives students an opportunity to earn a scholarship to help further their theatre career.
“It’s very important because it is immediately recognized within the theater scholastic world, so as soon as they see you’ve been nominated for one, for grad school and even when you go into certain auditions and they see that on your resume…you get to skip the line and you immediately get that audition,” Hoefelmeyer said.
Hoefelmeyer earned her nomination by playing the role of Moonlight, a widow who helps the protagonist actor cope with the death of her boyfriend. Hoefelmeyer’s enigmatic character and ability to tell a story pulled the heartstrings of many of the audience members.
“It is one of the biggest challenges but also the greatest honor to be the first actress to play the role. Nobody has done it, you have no one to look off.
“When you get an original work like this, you give birth to it… I loved her eccentricity. I like how cosmic and out-there she is,” Hoefelmeyer said.
The original work offered students an opportunity to expand on their abilities and explore different characteristics for their characters.
“This is my first KCACTF getting an Irene Ryan nomination and it felt just like a really big accomplishment for me as an actor,” Roberts said. “Doing an original play is always an exciting thing because you have nothing to go off, this is your first dive into it. In other plays you can see other productions, you can see clips on Youtube and see what other people have done, but this is getting to sink your teeth into something new and it was very interesting,” he said.