Temple Theaters’ original play SHOT invited to appear in national theater festival

SHOT!, an original play written by Kimmika Williams-Witherspoon, will appear at the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF) on April 14 at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

Conceived by Williams-Witherspoon, Douglas C. Wager and Eugene Martin SHOT! combines poetry, monologue and documentary footage to create a vibrant, authentic story from the perspective of North Philadelphia residents. This intense, fact-based drama drawn from actual interviews with local residents creates a meditation on the history, current strife and future resurrection of the community.

During the national festival students from across the country are given an opportunity to celebrate the creative process, see one another’s work, and share experiences and insights within the community of theater artists.

In addition, the festival honors excellence of overall production and recognizes the talents of student artists through awards and scholarships in playwriting, acting, criticism, directing, and design.

This year the national selection teams saw 53 individual plays and musicals for consideration for the National Festival. More than 500 productions were considered nationwide for invitation to the regional festivals.

– Jazmyn Burton

SHOT! invited to regional Kennedy Center festival

Audiences who had the opportunity to see Temple Theaters’ production of SHOT!on campus this fall know it is a powerful theatrical experience.

And now, the production’s success has been confirmed with an invitation to the Region II Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival.

SHOT! is an intense, fact-based drama that draws on actual interviews with residents of the North Philadelphia neighborhoods that surround Temple’s campus. It examines the area’s history, current strife and hope for the future with monologue, poetry and documentary footage.

“This is an incredibly wonderful achievement since the competition among the shows from Region II, which includes parts of New York, Virginia, Ohio and Maryland, Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia, is fierce,” says Theater Department Chair Roberta Sloan.

The cast and crew of SHOT! will perform the show for a panel of judges in Fisher Auditorium, a 1,400-seat proscenium house at Indiana University of Pennsylvania in Indiana, Pa., on Jan. 15, 2010.

Read more on the SCT News and Events site

– Jazmyn Burton