Irene Ryan Competition

[~FloweryFriend~]

Posted: 10/24/04 at 2:15am

It's not until January, but I'm really scared about it.
Has anyone here competed in this before?
If so, please let me know of anything I should be aware of.
Any information about it that you could pass on to ease my nerves would be extremely helpful.
Thank you.

Posted: 10/24/04 at 3:29am

Ooo the Irene Ryan's are really cool. I've never competed but I went to KCACTF last year and some of my good friends competed in it and I got to see them and the final round of the competition. From my observations and from my friends who competed in it I would just reccommend to be really strong and solid on your pieces and to just do your best and have fun! Let me know how it goes for you, I wish I could go this year but I dont think the school i'm at right now participates in it.

[JamieMcG]

Posted: 10/24/04 at 8:51am

The Irene Ryan's are a blast! I was a finalist when I was in school. If I recall correctly, you have 5 minutes to present yourself in any way. Traditionally you have a monologue and a scene, I chose to do a song instead of a monologue. Just make sure you do two contrasting things that show your range and ability. And most of all, realize that the best thing you can take out of the whole experience is new friends, and theatrical contacts. Those people you meet in college and through intracollegiate events like this one are the people that end up being your circle of friends and acquaintances when you get out.

[BWayBoy88]

Posted: 10/24/04 at 2:05pm

What exactly is this?

[~FloweryFriend~]

Posted: 10/24/04 at 11:03pm

To answer BWayBoy88:

Some colleges take part in the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival.
A professor from another college comes to watch each mainstage play/musical that you present.
She give comments about what they think of the performance and whatnot.
As a result of her visit, the play may be nominated for the ability to represent itself in the Regional festival. (I think my region is from Ohio to Kansas)
Also, 1-2 actors in the show may be nominated to compete in the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship competition.

Another theatre major and I were nominated for a show the department put up in April of last year (It was hell I tell you! HELL! The cast secretly made t-shirts afterward that said "I Survived the Oppression").
Our regional festival is in January.


To JamieMcG:
Part of the reason I'm nervous is that they CHANGED THE RULES this year!
So now, instead of 5 minutes to present yourself, it is:

ROUND 1: 3 minutes to present a scene with a partner.
(If you're lucky, you move on to...)
ROUND 2: 5 minutes to present the same scene and an additional contrasting scene with the same partner.
ROUND 3: 6 minutes to present both scenes and an additional monologue.

How on Earth am I supposed to manage that?

[~FloweryFriend~]

Posted: 10/28/04 at 11:28am

*bump*

[rKrispyt]

Posted: 10/28/04 at 11:30am

I"ve competed in these, PM me, I'll give you what info I can. :)

Kristy

[DesperatelySeekingStranger]

Posted: 10/28/04 at 2:36pm

Is the same Irene Ryan that played granny on the beverly hillbillies?

[MTGoddess]

Posted: 10/28/04 at 2:51pm

Yup, that's her!
I'll be competing in my 3rd Irene Ryans this year. They're so much fun, and you learn a lot. I'm really excited about the changes made in the judging. At first, I wasn't sure about them, but now I think it was a good idea. In our region, anyway, it was becoming a little like a high school kind of competition. The acting in the finals wasn't great, but the flashy stuff always advanced. I think this will help the focus be more on the acting itself, which is great!

_____________
My life flows on in endless song above earth's lamentations!

[broadway86]

Posted: 10/28/04 at 4:14pm

I, as well as four of my classmates, are competing for the scholarship. Not sure what it'll be like, but I hope to see you there.

Good luck!

[~FloweryFriend~]

Posted: 10/28/04 at 6:09pm

Sweet!
What regions are you guys in?

[bongoboy]

Posted: 10/28/04 at 6:29pm

Flowery,

Those new rules sound great!!! Don't sweat it. I've got some advice...

Pick scenes that are suited to YOU...then pick your partner. It is better to pick a partner that is right for your scene, than say, your best friend.

Work hard on the scenes and monologue, but have fun. There's nothing worse than being unsure of yourself in an audtion.

Make sure you have either other students or even better teachers/mentors watch and critique your work before you go in. I had a teacher watch my scene the night before the competition and he gave us great advice that helped us advance to the regional finals.

Finally...forget about the competition. When I did it...there were about 100 entrants and only 12 finalists. Now I hear that the numbers are much higher. I saw some great scenes that didn't make it to the finals and others that were not so great did. As long as you feel you've worked hard and done your best...the rest is gravy. You can meet many people that you'll know for years to come.

Good luck!
Bongo

p.s. I met a competitor one year who happened to go to a college in the town next to mine. She was INCREDIBLE. She did not make it to the finals. She ended up dating a good friend of mine and I worked w/ her in a show later. She now has a VERY successful career and has been on Broadway. Point being--have fun!!! Don't sweat it.

[whimsical]

Posted: 10/28/04 at 6:36pm

My college does this. Two years ago we made it the finals at Washington D.C. with The Laramie Project. Were any of you there?

This year we're not only bringing a musical, we're bringing a musical REVUE (Smokey Joe's Cafe) and I'm not sure how I feel about that. I know most of the time people don't bring musicals. I'm kind of worried. Rehearsals are going really well, though, so we'll see! Maybe it will be well-received.

Anyone in the region with Texas?

[bongoboy]

Posted: 10/28/04 at 6:40pm

Whim,
I'm sure you know, but for those who don't. You are talking about the individual play competition, where a school submits a production to compete as whole. The Irene Ryan's are for actors who are nominated and then compete individually.
Rgds,
Bongo

[~FloweryFriend~]

Posted: 10/28/04 at 11:04pm

As much as I love my women's college, it makes finding scenes a heck of a lot harder. It is so much more difficult to find 2f scenes than mf.