Three months after its opening, Ragtime and its cast are still receiving recognition.
New director, Mike Fernandez, has revamped the drama department since his arrival. The theater department has grown from only three majors, four years ago, to over thirty current majors. This growth led to what senior American studies major from Memphis, Matt Raich, feels is safe to say “Lipscomb’s best and biggest production ever.”
Seth Jones, a senior and vocal music education major from Rhodesdale, Md., says he is excited to see Lipscomb adding to its music-related programs.
“After all, in Music City we should at least seek to be musically excellent,” Jones said.
Ragtime featured a very large and diverse cast. Because of their exceptional performances, several actors and the entire production were nominated for various competitions.
Tyler Ashley, a sophomore and musical theatre major from Nashville, and Caleb Pritchett, a junior and double acting and directing major from Franklin, Tenn., were both nominated for what Pritchett refers to as the “Heisman of college theater,” the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship. As a part of this nomination, over 200 nominees competed in Tampa, Fla.
Pritchett was also nominated for Best Actor in a Musical (Non-Professional) by Broadway World and came in third in the voting.
“As an actor, when you can make someone feel a strong emotion, it makes you feel good and affirms that what you’re doing on stage has a purpose and the audience is actually getting something out of it,” Pritchett said.
Raich and fellow Ragtime actor Luciano Vignola have also been recognized for their performances and will be attending the Southeastern Theatre Conference on March 3. This will create opportunities for them to join summer stock theatre casts which do events such as Shakespeare Festivals.
In addition to the recognition received for Ragtime, the theatre department has several other upcoming events to look forward to.
For the last three performances, Lipscomb has used a choreographer and former Julliard professor from New York, Justin Boccitto. For Ragtime, he had very limited time to work with the cast, but was still able to accomplish a lot.
However, as of next semester, the choreographer will be an adjunct professor and will be teaching dance classes as a part of the soon-to-be-offered minor in dance, as well as classes for theatre students.
“I’m not a well-trained dancer and neither is really anyone in the cast,” says Raich, “But Justin [Boccitto] was able to do so much for Ragtime. What he will be able to do in a whole semester will be incredible.”
For those interested in seeing more theatre before the department’s fall production Hairspray, Blackbird Theatre, a non-profit theatre founded by Lipscomb alumni Greg Greene and Wes Driver, will be putting on Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia in Shamblin on Feb. 25.
In addition, there will be a student-acted and directed showcase of shorts featuring five 25 minute scenes from famous 19th and 20th century playwrights. The showcase will be at the end of April in Shamblin.