BWW Blog: Albright College - Art for Dreamers

Albright College is a small Liberal Arts college in Reading, Pennsylvania. Albright is home to the Domino Players Theatre company, which is almost 100 years old! Over the last fifteen years, Albright has been recognized eleven times by bringing a production to the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Region II Festival. Four of those eleven shows were awarded the National Award for Best Production of a play, in 2007, 2016, 2019, and 2020. KCACTF is a national theatre program that has over six-hundred academic institutions participate annually. Festivals through January and February are held in all eight regions across the nation. Out of the over six-hundred colleges, there can be upwards of 2,500 fantastic shows to be offered a spot to perform in front of colleges and universities. Each region has about seven slots, and national awards are judged from all eight regions. Out of those fifty-six shows, one will be awarded best production of a play.

There is no doubt that having a production invited to this prestigious festival is a life-changing opportunity; having the chance to perform in front of thousands of people from all over is a dream come true for some. Whether or not your school's production was invited or not does not mean you cannot go to the festival. This experience is for any college, and anyone registered may attend. A week of workshops, shows, games, bonding, and expanding your circles. The most exciting thing for me was getting to mess around, and have fun with my cast- mates, and seeing other schools work.

This past festival, Albright was invited to bring "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time." We had a later slot, so most of the week, we all had an opportunity to see the other shows. It was so nerve-racking seeing so many wonderful shows, knowing we had to do the same thing afterwards. When it was finally our time to get ready, everything had to be done so quickly and professionally. It was overwhelming at times, seeing so many people hanging lights, preparing sound, having props fixed, and setting up costumes in just a few hours. It was exciting and gave us the rush we needed to give our best performance.

Having this experience was life-changing and gave me a new confidence I knew I had, but was afraid to reveal. Having to remember all the last minute changes and having group hugs every time anyone exited the stage. We became a real family during rehearsals. We stood up for one another and reassured those who needed it. During the show weekend, it was bittersweet- having to say goodbye to something we all worked so hard on. It felt like we were losing a family member, but getting the chance to perform again during this festival reminded us that it never really has to end. The friendships we developed through the many months were strong, and we will always remember the opportunities "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" gave us. Our Director, Jeffery Lentz, cast, crew, and the rest of our professors, set us up for a bright future of family-oriented performances.

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