Rockville Little Theatre (RLT) recently traveled to Louisville, Kentucky, to compete in the American Association of Community Theatre Festival, a week-long event that stretched from June 12 to 17, 2023. The performances were held at the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts in the 619-seat Bomhard Theatre. RLT performed a 55-minute cutting of their January 2023 production of Pride@Prejudice by Daniel Elihu Kramer to a nearly full house on Wednesday, June 14, at 8:15 p.m. Twelve companies from all over the United States, including a drama club from a military base in Germany, competed for several awards.
The ensemble cast included Niranjali Amerasinghe, Lena Winter, Meghan Williams Elkins, Ian Swank, and Joseph Coracle. The Festival production Team included Laura W. Andruski (Director), Aaron Skolnik (Production Stage Manager/Asst. Director), and Teresa Gillcrist (Producer/Asst. Stage Manager).
Immediately following their performance the cast and festival production team were adjudicated by a three-person panel: Jeff Calhoun, a Tony nominee for Disney’s Newsies and Deaf West Theatre’s Big River; Faye M. Price, former Co-Artistic Producing Director of Pillsbury House Theatre (Minneapolis); and Rick St. Peter, director and educator in professional, academic and community theater for 25 years. Adjudicator Price stated, “At the end of the play, I felt like I watched a cast of thousands… Beautiful ensemble work!”
At the completion of AACT Fest 2023, an award ceremony, sponsored by Music Theatre International, was held on Saturday, June 17, in the Bomhard Theatre. RLT actor Joseph Coracle was recognized for his performance with an acting award for Outstanding Achievement in a Featured Role. Additionally, the Broadway Licensing Group, a festival sponsor, awarded RLT a Certificate of Achievement for “their exceptional talent and creativity.”
To view the AACT Fest 2023 program, visit aact.org/aactfest-2023. For a complete list of awards given, visit aact.org/aactfest-2023-awards.
Now in its 76th season, Rockville Little Theatre was founded in 1948 and is the oldest continuously operating, award-winning, 501(c)3 nonprofit live theater in the Rockville area. RLT provides high-quality performances at reasonable prices and strives to entertain, enlighten, and educate all who attend its theatrical events. RLT offers an opportunity for community members to step out of their everyday lives and to assume new roles as playwrights, actors, directors, costume designers, set designers, and audiences. For more information, visit rlt-online.org.
SEE ALSO:
Rockville Little Theatre Wins Big at ESTA (news story, April 20, 2023)
Rockville Little Theatre’s ‘Pride@Prejudice’ wins Outstanding Production at Maryland Community Theatre Festival (news story, February 22, 2023)
A pileup of plots in ‘Pride@Prejudice’ at Rockville Little Theatre (review by Alexandra Bowman, January 31, 2023)
