Centenary hosts 3rd annual high school theatre festival
February 7, 2017
SHREVEPORT, LA — Centenary College’s Department of Theatre will host over 100 local high school students at the third annual Regional High School Theatre Festival February 10 through 12 at the College’s Marjorie Lyons Playhouse. Theatre students from Byrd, Caddo Magnet, Captain Shreve, Green Oaks Performing Arts Academy, Huntington, the Bossier Parish Talented Arts Program, and Loyola College Prep will participate in an intensive weekend of workshops conducted by Centenary students and faculty as well as faculty from LSU Baton Rouge, Louisiana Tech, Bossier Parish Community College, and Northwestern State University.
“Centenary’s theatre festival show cases local high school theatre to colleges and universities as well as to other high schools,” says Don Hooper, chair of Centenary’s Department of Theatre. “Our festival offers abundant workshops to local high school students and teachers conducted by professors from a variety of colleges and universities. And, we give trophies to the winners – these trophies rival what a football team wins.”
Festival participants will attend a college fair and interactive workshops on topics ranging from scene painting and stage work to improvisation, stage combat, and specific acting and movement techniques such as Meisner and Viewpoints. Other sessions will offer audition tips, highlight the skills necessary to be an effective stage manager, and educate students about the wide variety of careers available in the entertainment industry.
Fun extras include aerial yoga with local yoga studio Aerial Expressions and a demonstration of the Department of Theatre’s 3D printer, which has opened up new possibilities in scenic design and engineering for productions at Marjorie Lyons.
Instructors for the workshop sessions include Hooper, Logan Sledge, and Jodie Glorioso from Centenary, Jonathan Offutt from Bossier Parish Community College, Paul Crook and Mark Guinn from Louisiana Tech University, Sydnee Fullmer from LSU Baton Rouge, and Scott Burrell from Northwestern State University.
The Regional High School Theatre Festival kicks off with opening ceremonies at Marjorie Lyons Playhouse on Friday, February 10 at 5:00 p.m. An awards ceremony, also at Marjorie Lyons, will close out the festival at 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, February 12. Both ceremonies and the short performances are free and open to the public.
For more information, please contact Don Hooper at dhooper@centenary.edu.