Muhlenberg Students at the KENNEDY CENTER
AMERICAN COLLEGE THEATRE FESTIVAL 2008

Serpentine, an original one-act play by Muhlenberg student Brendon Votipka ’09, was selected to participate in this year’s Region II Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF) at Carnegie Mellon University and was then recommended for consideration at the national festival at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. in Spring.  Votipka and his ensemble cast (Patrick Scheid, Zach Trebino and Dana Lynn Parisi) received special commendations in Playwriting and Ensemble Performance from the National Selection Team in recognition of their special achievement at the regional festival in Pittsburgh.

The Irene Ryan Acting Scholarships at KCACTF provide recognition, honor, and financial assistance to outstanding student performers wishing to pursue further education. Anna Gothard '11 and Natalie Cutcher '10 made it to the Irene Ryan Semi-finals, and Natalie Cutcher advanced to the Final round of 16 in the regional competition.

Brendon Votipka, a native of Colorado, has been writing for the stage since 2003, and he is studying directing, playwriting, and performance.  Many professional companies, schools, and training programs have mounted his work, including Nows, Every Time I Fall, Upstairs Bedroom, and Heads Up.  For his first play, Common Ground, Brendon was the 2004 recipient of the International Thespian Society Playworks Competition Award.  This play was subsequently published by Playscripts, Inc. and has received over 80 productions.  Other publishers of Brendon’s work include Dramatics Magazine, Kaleidoscope Annual, and the Smith and Krause Anthologies of Best Scenes and Best Female Monologues of 2005.  Brendon served for a summer as a Powerhouse Playwright Apprentice for New York Stage & Film and studied drama at Goldsmiths College in London in the fall. 

Serpentine is a surprisingly adult teen drama that explores the social, emotional and sexual pressures that motivate teens to respond in unpredictable ways.  Two siblings and a best friend are caught in the turmoil of discovering the consequences of acting too quickly on their impulses.  “I think we wake up in the morning wanting to feel something,” Votipka explains.  “We want to feel at peace with the choices we make and affirmed in the way loved ones judge these choices.  Sometimes being yourself can be an uphill battle, especially when you are growing up.  As the characters in Serpentine reach for the connections they want, they are confronted by forces telling them who to be and how to be.”

This year’s Region II Irene Ryan nominees who performed in the New Voices program of work by Muhlenberg playwrights are Patrick Scheid (Connor in Serpentine), Steve Balliet (Colin in Set), and Kamila Jacob (Princess in Princess).  Muhlenberg students nominated from other productions include: Anna Gothard (Alice) and Natalie Cutcher (Freda) in Al Takes a Bride by Caryl Churchill, directed by senior Dan McClung; Wilma Cespedes-Rivera (Monkey in the Middle by Brighde Mullins, directed by Beth Schachter of the theatre faculty), David Bass-Clark (Corps, an original dance-theatre creation by Chris Shephard’07)) and Colin Hooker-Haring and Liz Wasser (Gilbert and Sullivan’s Ruddigore directed by Charles Richter).  Richter, Director of the Theatre Program at Muhlenberg, and Tim Averill, faculty scenic designer, will accompany 30 Muhlenberg students to the festival to participate. Two Muhlenberg design students, Doug Kupferman (scenery) and Jake Nelson (lighting) will participate in the festival design exhibit, which is reviewed by professional designers who then offer feedback.  One student in each of the design areas (scenery, costumes, lighting) will be nominated for the national Barbizon Award for Theatrical Design Excellence.

George Psomas '05 wins ensemble role in upcoming Lincoln Center Theater revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein's South Pacific at the Vivian Beaumont Theater March 1. The cast will be headed by two-time Tony nominee Kelli O'Hara as Nellie Forbush and Paulo Szot as Emile de Becque with Matthew Morrison as Lt. Cable, Danny Burstein as Luther Billis and Loretta Ables Sayre as Bloody Mary and is directed by Bartlett Sher.The new production of the groundbreaking, Pulitzer-honored South Pacific by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II will officially open at the Beaumont April 3.

George was named NYC's Broadway Idol in October 2007.