JMU Advances In Regional Theater Event
University Group One Of Six Picked To Present Play At Festival
Posted: January 7, 2013
HARRISONBURG — A play from James Madison University was one of six chosen to be showcased at the 45th annual Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival this month.
The competitive festival, which is under way in Maryland, only selects a handful of plays in eight geographic areas to be showcased at regional festivals.
Virginia is in Region 2, which includes Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Washington, D.C., West Virginia, Ohio and parts of Virginia and New York.
“It’s intended to encourage college and university theater, and they have awards in virtually every category,” said theater professor Roger Hall, who directed the play, “For Sale.”
The play is about a young couple who have just bought their first home when an economic crisis forces them to re-evaluate their lives.
Productions that win at the regional level will advance to the national festival in Washington, D.C., in April.
While James Madison has attended the festival in the past, its selection this year was especially exciting for alumnus Garret Lee Milton, who wrote the play as an undergraduate.
“This is [my] first full-length play that has ever been produced from page to stage,” said Milton, 25, of Triangle. He has written about six plays and a host of other creative works.
According to Hall, JMU has had several original student works chosen to advance to the regional festival over the years.
“Some of our most successful graduates of the [theater] program have been playwrights who have written shows while they were undergraduates that we produced,” Hall said. “It has been a real kind of developmental thing for some of our young writers who have gone on to do pretty substantial kinds of work.”
It has been several years since Harrisonburg has submitted a work for consideration, Hall said.
“It’s a huge deal to be able to wave the JMU and Harrisonburg flag into this regional festival,” Milton said. “This is a huge stepping stone for me and a feather in my cap that JMU is going to help me achieve something better in my life.”
Milton created “For Sale” in Hall’s advanced playwriting course.
After he graduated, Hall approached Milton to make several revisions so he could get the work produced by a student group in the fall.
“I was thrilled,” Milton said. “I’ve never had this kind of success with playwriting.”
Attending the festival at Towson University in Maryland, which began Saturday and runs through Wednesday, will also be a highlight for Hall, who is retiring at the end of the spring semester after 38 years.
“It’s a nice honor,” Hall said.
Contact Emily Sharrer at 574-6286 or esharrer@dnronline.com
The competitive festival, which is under way in Maryland, only selects a handful of plays in eight geographic areas to be showcased at regional festivals.
Virginia is in Region 2, which includes Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Washington, D.C., West Virginia, Ohio and parts of Virginia and New York.
“It’s intended to encourage college and university theater, and they have awards in virtually every category,” said theater professor Roger Hall, who directed the play, “For Sale.”
The play is about a young couple who have just bought their first home when an economic crisis forces them to re-evaluate their lives.
Productions that win at the regional level will advance to the national festival in Washington, D.C., in April.
While James Madison has attended the festival in the past, its selection this year was especially exciting for alumnus Garret Lee Milton, who wrote the play as an undergraduate.
“This is [my] first full-length play that has ever been produced from page to stage,” said Milton, 25, of Triangle. He has written about six plays and a host of other creative works.
According to Hall, JMU has had several original student works chosen to advance to the regional festival over the years.
“Some of our most successful graduates of the [theater] program have been playwrights who have written shows while they were undergraduates that we produced,” Hall said. “It has been a real kind of developmental thing for some of our young writers who have gone on to do pretty substantial kinds of work.”
It has been several years since Harrisonburg has submitted a work for consideration, Hall said.
“It’s a huge deal to be able to wave the JMU and Harrisonburg flag into this regional festival,” Milton said. “This is a huge stepping stone for me and a feather in my cap that JMU is going to help me achieve something better in my life.”
Milton created “For Sale” in Hall’s advanced playwriting course.
After he graduated, Hall approached Milton to make several revisions so he could get the work produced by a student group in the fall.
“I was thrilled,” Milton said. “I’ve never had this kind of success with playwriting.”
Attending the festival at Towson University in Maryland, which began Saturday and runs through Wednesday, will also be a highlight for Hall, who is retiring at the end of the spring semester after 38 years.
“It’s a nice honor,” Hall said.
Contact Emily Sharrer at 574-6286 or esharrer@dnronline.com