On Feb. 7th in Montgomery, Alabama, Roanoke College swept the award ceremony at this year\u2019s annual Region 4
\nAmerican College Theatre Festival; also known as \u201cACTF\u201d for short. Three notable students in particular won astonishing
\nfirst place prizes in their respective categories, practically unheard of. This was a tiny department with a limited budget
\nagainst humongous universities with MFA programs across the entire southeast area of the country, and yet, Roanoke College managed to make a notable impression across them all.<\/p>\n
To celebrate this momentous occasion, I\u2019ve had the pleasure of interviewing senior Kennedy Swineford, junior Bella Testerman, and junior Allison Dunnegan about their ACTF experience and theatric processes.<\/p>\n
Junior Allison Dunnegan is a public health and sociology double major. Always wearing the best smile and an impeccable positivity to be around, she scored the National Fellowship
\nin Dramaturgy, first place Region 4 recipient. This was her very first time working on
\ndramaturgy, and out of dozens of every single university’s productions, earned the highest
\nmark. Here\u2019s what she had to say in her recent interview:<\/p>\n
Q: What were your first initial thoughts and feelings upon winning the national fellowship in dramaturgy? How would such a win impact your future?<\/b> <\/span><\/p>\n Q: What was your process towards doing dramaturgy for <\/b>The Moors<\/i><\/b>? Were there any specific strategies you used?<\/b> <\/span><\/p>\n Q: What\u2019s your history\/background with dramaturgy? How did it become your passion, and is it a potential career path for you?<\/b> <\/span><\/p>\n Q: How did your experience differ with this ACTF festival compared to last year?<\/b> <\/b><\/p>\n Q: Did Roanoke College Theatre have an impact towards your growth in dramaturgy? If so, what are some examples?<\/b> <\/b><\/p>\n Q: What are your next steps after such an accomplishment?<\/b> <\/b><\/p>\n Q: Any closing comments or people who\u2019d like to thank?<\/b> <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAnyone considering theatre, just do it! Follow the joy it brings you, and you\u2019ll never know what you might find.\u201d<\/p>\n Zachary Bayers<\/p>\n Editor-in-Chief<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" On Feb. 7th in Montgomery, Alabama, Roanoke College swept the award ceremony at this year\u2019s annual Region 4 American College Theatre Festival; also known as \u201cACTF\u201d for short. Three notable students in particular won astonishing first place prizes in their respective categories, practically unheard of. This was a tiny department with a limited budget against […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40,"featured_media":8763,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,53],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8762","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","category-sunday-special"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/brackety-ack.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_4953.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brackety-ack.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8762","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brackety-ack.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brackety-ack.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brackety-ack.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/40"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brackety-ack.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8762"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/brackety-ack.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8762\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brackety-ack.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8763"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brackety-ack.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8762"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brackety-ack.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8762"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brackety-ack.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8762"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n<\/b>
\n<\/b>\u201c<\/b>My first thought was, \u2018this is not real.\u2019 I definitely did not expect my name to be called. I went into the festival hoping to learn more about dramaturgy, research and collaborating with my peers, so I\u2019m totally honored by it. <\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>\u201cFor my future, I\u2019d say this has really proved my love for theatre, dramaturgy, public speaking and research, all aspects I\u2019d have to use in my career one day that I can apply to my future. I definitely want to keep pursuing this [theatre] throughout Roanoke however, or even longer.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/b>
\n<\/b>\u201c<\/b>First, I used my experience as an actor to remember what I wanted from dramaturgy, then used that to guide myself. After I spoke with my director to get a feeling for what sort of historical, dramaturgical aspects she wanted to include in the show. As I continued to research the things that interested me, I incorporated them in, researching stage blood and such. I did major research in the summer before the acting team came together in September, and once that clicked into place, I got actors to ask me questions that I included answers for in my research.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/b>
\n<\/b>\u201c<\/b>This was my first time doing dramaturgy, which is why it was so shocking. I\u2019ve been doing theatre since I was five in a community theatre to keep me stimulated, however it slowly turned into something I\u2019m extremely passionate about and truly love. It\u2019s given me skills that I\u2019ve used in every single one of my classes, jobs, internships that I\u2019ll forever be grateful for. <\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>\u201cI say anyone and everyone should do theatre. <\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>\u201cFor the future, I\u2019d love nothing more than to have at least some kind of involvement in theatre. However, I love public health, and would like to see the two combined in a story telling format. I want to research and work with that, for it’s a goal of mine to seek one day.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/b>
\n<\/b>\u201c<\/b>Last year I was in a completely different field. I was nominated for acting, thus I brought a scene and a monologue. With last year being my first festival, I didn\u2019t know what to expect, but this time around I knew I wanted to do as much as possible. <\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>\u201cWith dramaturgy, I got to do a lot more workshops and really \u2018zero in\u2019 on learning that craft. But I also knew I wanted to do more work with ten-minute plays, 48 hour challenges to write programs, and even work with a playwright. Each year you attend this festival, the more ways you find methods to get involved.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/b>
\n<\/b>\u201c<\/b>Yes, because theatre Roanoke is always very encouraging to try new things, and doesn\u2019t shy away from being willing to have someone new and experiment. Just the fact that even though I\u2019m not a theatre major, I\u2019m able to be a part of productions is something I haven\u2019t taken for granted.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>\u201cThe professors explained to me how to do dramaturgy and were always available to questions I asked even during the summer, making it even more special. Overall, the welcoming atmosphere and the department being willing to have people try new things and support them is crucial.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/b>
\n<\/b>\u201c<\/b>I\u2019m looking forward to being in <\/span>Romeo & Juliet <\/span><\/i>this semester, and although we\u2019re still in season selection for next year, I definitely look forward to those shows in any capacity. And from this experience, I know I definitely want to do dramaturgy, learn, and experience just as much as I possibly can as I enter my final year.\u201d<\/span>
\n<\/b>
\n<\/b>Q: If you could talk to your younger self, what advice\/statements would you tell her?<\/b>
\n<\/b>
\n<\/b>\u201c<\/b>I would tell her to continue to follow the joy, and don\u2019t be afraid to take creative risks. <\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>\u201cIt\u2019s okay not to pick the \u2018right\u2019 option because whichever path you choose will be the correct one. I didn\u2019t think I was going to do theatre here at Roanoke, but after finding so much joy in it my freshmen year, I knew I had to continue it. With the [theatre] community I\u2019ve been involved with, it\u2019s given me so much. I wouldn\u2019t be where I am today without it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/b>\u201c<\/b>I\u2019d like to thank my parents for always being supportive, and would also like to thank my friends for being there for me and being my biggest supporters in my home away from home. <\/span><\/p>\n