The Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival opens today with organizers’ hopes of keeping participants busy with a variety of programs and events catered to any level of drama enthusiast.

The Drama Department, Fulbright College, the UA, and other local sponsors are hosting the five-day event that will bring about 600 students and faculty from region six drama departments in schools from Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Louisiana, and Arkansas.

The UA Drama Department is very familiar with the theater competition, hosting it in 1994, 1995, and is committed to hosting the event again in 2005, organizers said.

Cara Gerlock, a second-year master’s student and festival coordinator, said the festival rotates every two years and is awarded to schools after an application process. The main sponsor, The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, is an organization based in Washington, D.C., that supports and promotes college and university theater productions and education. The Education Department of the Kennedy Center supports a series of local, regional, and national contests that display the best of collegiate theater. Currently the UA is hosting one of the regional Kennedy showcases that will send some outstanding participants to the national competition in the nation’s capitol.

The Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival started in 1969 and since its conception, the Kennedy Center has given more than 400,000 theater students an opportunity to have their work and skills reviewed. More than 16 million theater enthusiasts have attended 10,000 festivals over the years.

Future festival plans and projects can be viewed on the Kennedy Center Web site at www.kennedy-center.org.

About 32 judges and workshop leaders from across the country will be in attendance at this year’s festival and under the care of UA students and staff of the Drama Department. Department students and staff are providing technical support, hospitality services, and interactive social and educational gatherings.

The department has 21 students participating in various dramatic competitions and about 40 others helping with productions. Gerlock is working directly with D. Andrew Gibbs, department chair, in making sure that everything that needs to be happening is moving right along.

Gerlock is working directly with crew-heads who are in charge of different groups dealing with food, transportation, and hospitality, she said

The plays and designs that will appear at the competition have all previously been seen at state level festivals and were chosen to advance.

“Everything that will appear here has already gone through screening and was selected above others, making it an honor for each school,” Gibbs said.

Gerlock wanted to emphasize the uniqueness of the festival and its appeal to all types, she said.

“Anybody can come and see any of these shows – we love to have them come and see them [the plays],” she said. “These are the best of the best and guaranteed to be good.”

Three UA students are in the Barbizon Design Showcase, hosted by a national theatrical equipment company. The Barbizon competition displays talents in set and costume design.

The writer’s theater critique showcase is also displaying the talents of UA students. All of the festival’s activities have UA participants.

The UA also has 16 students participating in the Irene Ryan Showcase, a five-minute monologue and duet acting competition that was instigated by Irene Ryan, also known as Granny on the old Beverly Hillbillies show. Gibbs commented on the importance of all the competitions, especially the Irene Ryan Showcase.

“All these events are very important for an acting student – it’s excellent exposure to a national audience,” he said.

After two previous eliminations, the remaining Irene Ryan competitors will meet in front of a set of judges that will make recommendations for admittance to the national Ryan Showcase.

Two UA students will be participating in the New Play Competition in which 10-minute plays will be performed after only three days of directing preparation. The contest highlights directing skills and will be performed using festival participants as on-the-spot actors.

The 10-minute play competition is the only event that will not be held at the Walton Arts Center, but rather at the Fine Arts Theater on the UA campus.

Gerlock participated in the 10-minute plays in a past festival and raved about the experience and value being in such a competition.

In addition to the dramatic and design competitions, festival organizers will be holding a series of workshops throughout the weekend. The festival will host about 20 out-of-state guest experts and UA faculty to conduct the workshops, Gibbs said.

The drama workshops are open to the public and tickets for workshops and the plays can be purchased through the Walton Arts Center.