
The 2018 festival, which showcases one-act plays created and produced entirely by Appalachian students, will feature five original works:
- “Bunbury,” written by Kay Wills ‘17, an English – creative writing alumna and directed by sophomore theatre education majors Cameron Underwood of Chapel Hill and Maddie Coggin of Charlotte
- “Chit-Chat,” written by Jenna Tonsor ‘17, a theatre performance alumna from Archdale, and directed by Shane Buchheit, a sophomore theatre education major from Cape Coral (freshman studio art/technical theatre major Carson Rainey from Raleigh serves as stage manager)
- “The Hurricane Party,” written by senior theatre arts major Matt Denney from Camden and directed by senior theatre performance major Finn Regan from Holly Springs
- “If You Don’t Stand for Something, Then Lie Down for Anything,” written by Glenn Ramey, a junior theatre arts major from McLeansville, and directed by Kat Butte from Charlotte and assistant director Daniel Herman from Atlanta, both sophomore theatre education majors
- “Strangers,” written by communication / English – creative writing graduate Paula Mandarino ’17 and directed by sophomore theatre performance major Daniel Adkins of Boone and assistant director Hannah Magee, a freshman theatre performance major from Lexington
Seventeen Appalachian students are involved in the 2018 New Play Festival productions as actors this year: Cameron Drummond, Sam Emmert, LJ Faircloth, Sean Flynn, Shelby Jenrette, Leslie Knight, Ian Lee, Matt Lore, Isabella Merchant, Alyssa Overton, Joe Perdue, Marissa Plondke, Kat Sokol, Connor Stack, Julia Urh, Andrew Wilson and Michele Zaremba. A panel of theatre students and faculty members selected the plays and directors from applications submitted during the 2017 spring semester. Each show has held rehearsals since casting in November.
Founded in 1933 by the late Cratis Williams and Rogers Whitener, Playcrafters is one of the oldest student organizations at the university. The student group fosters enthusiasm for theatre by providing opportunities for students of any major to increase their skills through production aspects such as writing, directing and acting. Along with the New Play Festival, Playcrafters presents the 24-hour Arts Festival in the fall of each year.
The I.G. Greer Studio Theatre is located on east campus underneath I.G. Greer Hall, located at 401 Academy Street in Boone. The theatre entrance is a large red door situated on the northeast side of the building on the lower level. Parking is available after 5 p.m. on campus in faculty/staff lots, and after 5:30 p.m. in the College Street parking deck near Belk Library and Information Commons.
Playcrafters is currently accepting student-written one-act plays for next year’s New Play Festival. Questions regarding eligibility for consideration, as well as original student plays, can be submitted to appstateplaycrafters@gmail.
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Attached Photos:
Playcrafters1: Appalachian State University student actors participate in the 2017 Playcrafters New Play Festival. This year’s festival runs Feb 15-17 at I.G. Greer Studio Theatre. Photo by T.J. Lewis
Playcrafters2: Senior theatre performance major Finn Regan of Holly Spings in the 2017 New Play Festival. Tickets for the 2018 festival are $5 for students and $10 for the public. Photo by T.J. Lewis
Playcrafters3: Jordan Matthews, a junior theatre major from Greensboro, participates in last year’s New Play Festival. This year’s production features five original works by Appalachian students and alumni. Photo by T.J. Lewis
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