Posted 11:51 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025
UW-La Crosse theatre students captivated audiences with not only their on-stage performances, but also their technical expertise behind the scenes at the American College Theatre Festival Region Three competition in January.
The event, which spanned Jan. 5-12 in Madison, brought together universities from five states, including Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Western Ohio. UWL sent 38 theatre students and eight faculty members to the festival, where they competed, collaborated, and learned through a variety of activities.
One of the festival’s highlights was the chance to perform the production “What the Constitution Means to Me.” The show was one of only eight selected from more than 50 productions across the region to perform.
And moving the production from UWL’s 100-seat Frederick Theatre to the 1,000-seat Maltby Theater in Madison was no small feat. The crew received a glowing endorsement for their impressive technical work in this process. River Podjasek, a Theatre & Dance student and technical director for the show, accepted the coveted Golden Handtruck Award on behalf of the entire UWL team, recognizing professionalism and technical skill in ensuring the quick and efficient setup and breakdown of the production materials — including lighting, sound, costumes and props — in only four hours.
Senior Paige Verbsky had a busy but “magical” week during the festival competing for the acting scholarship, directing one of the 10-minute plays, working as part of the scenic load-in crew, and supporting her peers by attending as many presentations as she could.
“I was possibly the most tired I have ever been but had an amazing week getting to support my extremely talented classmates, gain new experiences, and gather some feedback that I will hold close to me as I graduate in a few months,” says Verbsky. “I am so, so thankful for my ACTF adventure, the teachers and faculty supporting us through the process, my friends and classmates who make it all worthwhile, and the new friends I have made along the way!”
Several UWL students also received honors at the regional festival for their outstanding contributions to theatre production and design:
- Ozzy Glazer, Theatre & Dance student, received Special Achievement recognition for documenting their design and building process for props and puppets used in UWL's fall production, “Puffs.”
- Sage Goetsch, Theatre & Dance student, brought home four awards at this year's festival including Sound Design - Honorable Mention for "Orlando;" Randy Lutz Allied Design & Technology Award for "Puffs;" RED Representation in Theatre Recognition of Excellence for "Orlando." His win for "Puffs" earned him an invitation to the United States Institute for Theatre Technology conference in March.
- Amber Meyers, Theatre & Dance student, was awarded the ETC Emerging Lighting Designer Award for her work on UWL's fall production of "Puffs.”
- River Podjasek, Theatre & Dance student, received two honors at this year's festival including the McGraw Hill Recognition in Design & Technologies for "What the Constitution Means to Me" and Special Achievement in Technical Direction.
- Paige Verbsky, Theatre & Dance student, received the NPP 10-Minute Play Director Award for her work directing participants at the festival.
National recognition
The National Committee attends the festivals in each of the eight regions, after which they meet to discuss all of the invited performances from across the country and bestow honors in multiple areas of design, performance and overall production. They also consider two special awards for the universities producing those shows.
UWL's production of "What the Constitution Means to Me" took home six national awards from the American College Theatre Festival. That includes four awards for the production as a whole as well as honors for the director and lead actor:
- Taylor Rammer, Theatre & Dance student, Outstanding Performance in a Play or Musical
- Greg Parmeter, director, Outstanding Direction of a Play or Musical
- Distinguished Production of a Play or Musical
- Distinguished Performance and Production Ensemble
- Citizen Artist Award (This award recognizes programs in higher education using theatrical production to promote long-term societal impact in artistic terms, encouraging empathetic exploration of the complex cultural and physical world, and advocating for justice on campus and throughout the world.)
- Facilitation of a Brave Rehearsal Space (This award celebrates theatre faculty and guest artists who create a rehearsal room community that prioritizes the mental, physical, and emotional well-being of their student artists and empowers those students to take on challenging stories or moments onstage.)