Catching up on the Spring Semester 2012!

In the flurry of activities at the end of our spring semester left us a bit behind on blogging through our process.  We apologize, and offer the following recap of the end of the spring 2012:

March – The beginning of the month saw about a dozen students and three faculty members head off to the Southeastern Theatre Conference convention in Chattanooga, TN.  Faculty presented as part of panel discussions, attended Undergraduate Auditions, staffed our information booth, and took part in the leadership meetings for SETC; students participated in workshops, auditioned and interviewed for professional summer work, auditioned for graduate study, competed (and won) in the improv comedy competition.  A great conference year, and an opportunity we look forward to every year – convention will be held in Louisville, KY in 2013.

April – A busy time of the year for us as we wrap up our production and academic calendar.  Eleemosynary by Lee Blessing was directed by senior Eleanor Baxter in our intimate Theatre 151 space.  Ms. Baxter then followed up the closing of that show by performing her Senior Recital two days later!

The last week of the semester saw our 2012 Belhaven Theatre Festival, which featured 11 different events, from staged readings, class presentations, original productions, music concerts, improv comedy, and a presentation from our Alpha Psi Omega student-led organization.  A great tradition – which leaves us all both inspired and exhausted!

After the semester concluded, 10 students from both the theatre and dance departments at Belhaven went on a two-week trip to visit The Art Factory, a missions organization in Kandern, Germany.  While there, students worked at the Factory (doing various cleaning and organizing tasks), led workshops in dance, acting, and improv comedy, visited Black Forest Academy to lead chapel services in both the high school and middle school, and presented Shakespeare’s The Tempest.  We were very grateful for the hospitality of Rick and Mary Beth Holladay, who head up the work of the Art Factory, and look forward to future connections with their work for the kingdom.

There are many more exciting things happening in the community and work around Belhaven University’s theatre department – we promise to be more active in sharing our joys, struggles, thoughts, processes and news with you in the future!

C. McNair Wilson – guest artist

McNair WilsonWe are glad to be hosting guest artist C. McNair Wilson during the second weekend of this year’s Belhaven Theatre Festival, for a performance of his one-man show From Up Here on Friday, April 15 at 7 pm.  Wilson is a sought-after speaker and performer, a director and author; a former Disney Imagineer and is the co-founder of IMAGINU!TY Unlimited.  He will be visiting our classes and sharing with the theatre students during our weekly departmental meeting, as well as leading a creativity seminar open to the Belhaven community on Saturday the 16th.  For more info on McNair (and to check out his books and videos) visit his website or his blog.

5th Annual One Act Play Festival!

November 30 and December 1 are the performance dates for the 5th Annual Belhaven University One Act Play Festival!

Since 2006, Belhaven has produced a One Act Play Festival at the end of each Fall semester, a culminating collaborative project between the students in the Directing and Production Supervision classes.  In various years, the production of the festival has also included contributions from students in either Lighting or Technical Resources class as well.

The One Act Festival is produced in a ‘dessert theatre’ format, the audience will sit at tables to enjoy a treat during the performances, which will appear on two stages in the theatre (to shorten the transition time between plays).  Admission to the show is free, and all dessert sales go to benefit Iota Upsilon, Belhaven’s chapter of Alpha Psi Omega national theatre honorary society, sponsors of several community service and performance projects.

In past years, the students of the Directing class were on their own to find the material they would produce, which has given us a variety of material, from short plays by well-known, established playwrights, some lesser-known contemporary writers, and at least once each year, a brand-new original play.  This year, we decided to do something a little different.

The plays this year were chosen as the winners of the 2010 Belhaven University One Act Play Contest.  Scripts were submitted from all over the country by the beginning of September, and were read by the students, who each chose a winning play to direct.  This year, we are pleased to be presenting the following original plays:

Lucy Dreaming by Stacey Lane – directed by Becki Haynes
Los Libros Malos by D. Richard Tucker – directed by Deanna Smith
I, Satan, Confess by Moriah Whiteman – directed by Scott Gaines
Positive Thinking by Seth McNeill – directed by Dave Harris
Borders by Mallory Alexa Leonard – directed by Marie Warner
King Thrush Beard by Rosh Raines – directed by Lex Quarterman
Degrees of Repossession by Bret Kenyon – directed by Danielle Davis

4 of these playwrights are graduates of Belhaven, and 3 we are pleased to welcome as new associates to our theatre program!

With the success of this year’s contest, we are excited to see what next year’s contest has in store!  For more information about submission guidelines and deadlines, send an email to  “theatre at belhaven.edu” with the subject line 2011 One Act Play Contest.