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MILLIGAN COLLEGE, TN (April 16, 2012) — Milligan College students will present the 25th annual Festival of One Act Plays, April 23-26, in the McGlothlin-Street Theatre in Milligan’s Gregory Center for the Liberal Arts. The festival begins at 6 p.m. each evening and features three one act plays.
This 25-year Milligan tradition was started in 1987 by Richard Major, professor of theater at Milligan, to energize the theater program and provide hands-on theater experience for his students. This year’s festival includes approximately 80 participants in 12 plays directed by Milligan students.
Early on, the festival was performed outdoors. Major and his group of directors and cast members built the stage for the festival performances each year.
“The first festival in 1987 showcased six works and was performed in the courtyard of Hart Hall, a Milligan dormitory” Major said. “The first night of the festival the audience consisted of about 60 people. Not bad. The second night attendance rose to about 175, and by the third night they were hanging out the Hart Hall windows with a crowd exceeding 300 individuals.”
It wasn’t until 1997 that the festival moved indoors to the 168-seat Derthick Theatre.
With the 2001 Derthick renovations, the festival was forced to relocate to a smaller venue in Milligan’s McMahan Student Center for the next five years. Finally in 2008, the festival moved to its current home, the spacious Gregory Center for the Liberal Arts.
In 2000, the success of the one acts inspired Major to include a short film festival in the festivities, allowing communications majors to showcase their film-making skills.
“The first film festival was like going to the Oscars,” said Major. “It was held in Wilson Hall and several people dressed up in tuxedos, the young women wore gowns, our local TV stations covered the event and there seemed to be photographers everywhere.”
The film festival solidified its own identity and eventually spun off into a separate event. This year’s film festival is set for Friday, April 27, at 5:30 p.m. in Gregory Center.
In the past 25 years, Major estimates there have been approximately 175 one acts performed and at least 1,500 students who have participated in the plays since its inception.
“If I knew it was going to last this long, I would have kept better records,” Major said.
The lineup for this year’s festival includes:
Monday, April 23
“The Philadelphia”—by David Ives; directed by Ben Sharp
“I Never Saw Another Butterfly”—by Celeste Raspanti; directed by Jonathan Cooper
“Rumple Schmumple”—by Megan Gogerty; directed by Natasha Carpenter
Tuesday, April 24
“Invitations”—by Corri Richardson; directed by Corri Richardson
“Sure Thing”—by David Ives; directed by Krista Knudtsen
“Return to Sender”—by Matt Thompson; directed by Rebecca Miller
Wednesday, April 25
“Wanda’s Visit”—by Christopher Durang; directed by Brennan Seth Tracy
“Enigma Variations”—by David Ives; directed by Candice Schlaegel
“No Worries, Mate”—by Daniel Banks; directed by Daniel Banks
Thursday, April 26
“Sorry, Wrong Number”—by Lucille Fletcher; directed by Heather Knudtsen
“Judgment Call”—by Frederick Stroppol; directed by Jared Saltsman
“Let Me Count the Ways”—by Jay D. Hanagan; directed by Matthew Rees
The festival is free and open to the public, but the theater department will collect donations to benefit a burn fund established by Milligan and the West Carter County Volunteer Fire Department to assist Phillip Davis of Johnson City, a Milligan student and volunteer firefighter who was severely burned while working on his car at a friend’s home.
Donations also may be made through PayPal at www.milligan.edu/burnfund or sent to Milligan College, Phillip Davis Burn Fund, P.O. Box 750, Milligan, TN 37682.
For more information about Milligan’s fine arts program, visit www.milligan.edu/arts.