Altoona Community Theatre took first place honors at the Pennsylvania Association of Community Theatre’s PACT-FEST 2003, held at the historic Mishler Theatre last weekend.
ACT’s entry, a cutting from its November production of the musical “Smokey Joe’s Cafe,” was selected from seven performances by theatres throughout Pennsylvania to advance to the Eastern States Theatre Association’s regional competition in Vorhees, N.J., April 4, 5, and 6.
At the ESTA festival, ACT will compete against state winners from Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and New York for the opportunity to advance to the national festival being held by the American Association of Community Theatre in Torrington, CT, the last week in June.
Second place at PACT-FEST 2003 went to Little Theatre of Wilkes Barre, which presented Act Two of Edward Albee’s drama “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”, and third place went to Hamilton-Gibson Productions of Wellsboro, which presented an original one-act called “Walk Right Up”: by Celia McBride.
In addition, the PACT-FEST 2003 adjudicators awarded outstanding performance honors to Thomas Wells Putnam of Hamilton-Gibson Productions for his role as Millar Ruskin in “Walk Right Up” and to Stephanie Mackowski of Bradford Little Theatre for her role as Steph in “Under the Shade of the Trees.”
Catherine Anastasi and Christine Lusardi Stoner received an outstanding ensemble acting award for their performances in Tyrone Community Players’ entry “Tell Me Another Story, Sing Me a Song.” And William Scott of Hamilton-Gibson Productions received an award for Outstanding Set Design for “Walk Right Up.”
Approximately 150 community theatre practitioners gathered here in Altoona from throughout Pennsylvania for PACT-FEST 2003. Additional theatres performing were The Barnstormers of Ridley Park, presenting “This Day and Age” by Nagle Jackson and Blue Ridge Theatre Guild of Blue Ridge Summit, presenting “Tangled Up in Blue” by Brad Boesen.
Adjudicators for the festival were Robert Frame, head of the theatre program at Cayuga College in Auburn, New York; Annie McGregor, an acting and directing professor at the theatre department at Penn State University Park; and Libby Anne Russler, an actress, director and producer from the Washington, D.C. area.
Steven C. Helsel, Operations Manager for ACT and President of the PACT Board of Directors, said ACT was very much surprised to have won.
