Theatre students rent theatres in New York and Atlanta to showcase talents to casting directors

March 10, 2011 - For more than a year, nine Shorter University theatre students have been saving money for a trip that could ultimately change their lives.

On March 13, 2011 at the 14th Street Playhouse in Atlanta, Ga. the students will perform their theatrical showcases before a live audience. From there, the students will head to the Producer’s Club Theatre in New York and perform on March 16 for what they hope to be an audience full of the more than 100 casting directors.

Shorter students performing in the showcases are Elizabeth Telford of Duluth, Elizabeth MacDonell of St. Simons Island, Jennifer Holcombe of Fayetteville, Emily Duke of McDonough, Chris Lewis of Carrollton, John Carucci of Kennesaw, Callie Edwards of Watkinsville, Zack Vandever of Alpharetta and Vandi Enzor of Carmel, Ind. The students are now in the process of practicing their showcases where they will each perform songs, monologues and scenes.

With strong support from Shorter faculty members and the Friends of Theatre group, the students have been able to raise money to not only rent the venues where they are to perform, but also to cover a good portion of the travel fees. “We had a dream to present our showcases, as many other performing arts schools do, and we decided to be proactive and make it happen,” said Telford, a senior musical theatre major. “Thanks to our incredible support here at Shorter, our dream is actually coming true.”

Money raising efforts included a spaghetti dinner and concert event as well as selling concessions at every Shorter University main stage show produced by the theatre department.

Founded in 1873, Shorter University is a Christian college committed to excellence in education. Since 2003, U.S. News & World Report has ranked Shorter among the South’s best baccalaureate colleges, and the Princeton Review annually includes Shorter on its lists of best value and best Southeastern colleges.The university offers traditional bachelor’s degrees in 48 major areas as well as undergraduate degree programs for working adults, the Master of Business Administration, the Master of Education and the Master of Arts in Leadership. General education and calculus courses are offered in an online format, and Shorter recently launched online programs that lead toward the Associate of Science, the Bachelor of Business Administration, and the Master of Accountancy degrees. For more information, visit www.shorter.edu.

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