Tacoma To Host Community Theatre Festival

For those planners out there.  Here’s two year’s notice on a great sounding opportunity for Tacoma.

Tacoma, WA – Tacoma Little Theatre (TLT), Tacoma Musical Playhouse (TMP) and The Washington State Community Theatre Association (WSCTA) have joined in partnership to bring over 600 enthusiasts, advocates and performers from around the country to Tacoma in June of 2009 to celebrate the power of community created theatre.  Tacoma will host the American Association of Community Theatre’s (AACT) 2009 biennial festival: AACTFest 2009.

The partnership presented a bid proposal to the AACT in January.  Jon Douglas Rake, TMP Managing Artistic Director, and Judy Cullen, WSCTA President attended the Winter Board meeting of the AACT held in Fort Worth, TX this past weekend to make a live presentation of the proposal. The Board voted in a closed session after all bidding presenters had been heard, and the Tacoma delegation was informed that their proposal had been accepted.

The festival process that culminates in a national theatre festival, sponsored by the AACT, is entitled AACTFest, and is held in odd- numbered years. AACTFest presents a forum for community theatres from the eleven regions of AACT to enter productions for adjudication and advancement from the state level, to the regional level and finally, to the national level.

AACTFest Goals include:

• To provide an optimum learning experience through festival entry at state, regional, and national levels, which affirm, support, and nurture community theatre companies as they strive toward excellence in theatrical productions.
• To stimulate and inspire community theatre companies to strive for the best work possible and to recognize them for their achievement through an appropriate adjudication process.
• To provide a learning experience in artistic, technical, and management areas for people in attendance through performances, adjudication, and workshops.
• To develop enlightened and discerning audiences for community theatre.

AACTFest had its beginnings in 1957.  At that time, the first World Festival of Amateur Theatre (Le Festival Mondiale du Théâtre Amateur) was held in the principality of Monaco under the high patronage of Their Serene Highnesses Prince Ranier and Princess Grace. The World Festival of Amateur Theatre was, and is, the official competition of the International
Amateur Theatre Association (IATA). “Amateur” is used in this context of “to love”; thus, an amateur is one who does something for love and pleasure rather than for monetary remuneration. The typical American definition of amateur, implying a relative lack of skill, is not accepted by IATA. While IATA handles the international aspects, the festival itself is an almost entirely Monégasque production organized by the Studio de Monaco, home of the Cercle Artistique Monégasque d’Amateurs de Théâtre. Random theatres from the American scene took turns representing the U.S. at this quadrennial international event.  In 2005, Tacoma Musical Playhouse represented the United States with their production of I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change.

After eight years, the World Festival organization contacted the American National Theatre and Academy (ANTA). Through the offices of Princess Grace, ANTA was asked to provide input as to what theatres from the U.S. should attend the World Festival.  ANTA felt it would be more appropriate to pass the invitation on to the American Community Theatre Association (ACTA). ACTA was the community theatre division of the seven year old American Theatre Association (ATA) umbrella organization. (In 1965 ACTA consisted of approximately 12 to 14 community theatres and had a membership of 40 to 50).

Eventually, ACTA organized nine festival regions and set up operating rules, following the international regulation of 60 minute productions. It was decided to hold an official ACTA National Festival every two years, with participants moving from state to regional to national, and every four years to the international festival at Monaco. This system was inaugurated in 1971 based on the international sixty minute time limit. The first National Festival of American Community Theatre (FACT) was held at the Theatre of Western Springs, IL.

In 1986, the American Theatre Association dissolved as an entity. Along with this dissolution went both ACTA and the FACT name. Rising from the ashes like the fiery phoenix however, was the American Association of Community Theatre (AACT). Taking up the torch where ACTA had left it, AACT continued the FACT tradition with AACTFest.

There hasn’t been a national festival of this nature on the west coast since 1983 when the Chilkat Center in Haines, AK hosted.  In 1927, Tacoma Little Theatre hosted the annual convocation of the Drama League of America. There has not been such a gathering in Pierce County in the years since.

AACTFest 2009 will involve hundreds of volunteers from around Washington State, and will bring twelve performing companies from around the United States as well as representatives from U.S. amateur theatre companies abroad. 

“Tacoma has a great tradition of community theatre, and Washington is one of the western states that is most active in the AACT, “ said WSCTA President, Judy Cullen.  “ This festival will be a great event for our local theatres and our state organization.  I am incredibly excited about the task at hand and all of the terrific northwest hospitality that we will share with our guests.”