A&M-Commerce hosts play festival

Texas A&M University-Commerce hosted the 2011 TCCSTA Play Festival for a group of junior colleges in the Performing Arts Building March 2-5. The students were very appreciative at the chance to be at this year's festivities.

 "This entire week in itself has been incredible," sophomore Brady Smith Howard College said. "I've seen more talent this year than I seen in the past two (years of) competitions,"

The student responses regarding the plays performed at the festival were positive.

"Everybody did a great I didn't see a play I didn't like," sophomore Alan Dean of Weatherford College

The opportunity to meet other actors was one of the benefits of the festival. Sophomore Matthew Myers of Weatherford College, who won the prestigious Bill Morton award at the festival, was excited to take bits and pieces from other actors and utilize his new knowledge to better his own craft.

"It was great we got to meet a lot of different actors," he said. "I would love to work with members of other companies."

According to sophomore Cheyenne Clark of Lone Star College-Tomball, the festival was both fun and a learning experience.

"Being around people that love theatre is a fantastic experience," she said. "I think I learned a lot."

Dean won a Superior Award in Costume Director's Choice, an Excellent Costume Award from Respondent, and an Excellent Award in Acting.

"I'm really excited," she said. "People work really hard on their costumes, so it feels nice to be rewarded."

According to sophomore Emily Posch of Lone Star College-Tomball, TCCSTA's support of junior college students is very meaningful.

"Sometimes there is a stigma against people who go to a junior college, she said. "People think you are not as smart those students that go to a four year university."

According to Posch, attending a junior college has given her the ability to perform numerous functions in a show and expand her experience.

"A few shows ago I was able to be a costume designer and an actor," she said. "I learned that I wanted to be a costume designer because I had the option of doing both."

According to Posch, the theater in the Performing Arts Center was, by far, the best theatre she has performed in.

"The audience was eight feet away, so you get that intimate connection," she said

Posch won an Excellenct Award in Costume from Respondents, an Excellenct Award in Costume Director's Choice, and a Superior Award in Acting.

"This represents that I worked harder than I did last year," she said "It also represents a learning process that I'm so thankful for."

According to A&M-Commerce Instructor and host Jim Anderson, the students that attended will take a little part of A&M-Commerce back to their universities.

 "Wherever they go, they will benefit from their time with us," he said.