2008 Woodie Awards
Recognizing some talent through New Voices
Esme Mazzeo
Issue date: 1/31/08 Section: Life!
New Voices is a program presented by the MTA every other year, which offers student playwrights a chance to mount their work.
Last semester, this program featured a play called "Serpentine," written by Brendon Votipka '09. But even though Votipka is just a junior here, he is not exactly a "new voice" in the world of playwriting.
His first piece, titled Common Ground was honored in 2004, when Votipka received the International Thespian Society Playworks Competition Award. It has since been published by Playscripts INC. and produced nearly 100 times by different companies. Since this extremely successful debut, many of his works, including Nows, Upstairs Bedroom and Every Time I Fall have been performed by many different theatre companies, schools and training programs.
Set to a soundtrack of popular rock music, Serpentine, is a mature teen drama that explores the emotional, sexual and social pressures that adolescents must confront every day.
The play focuses on a teenage boy, his sister, and his best friend as they face the consequences that come along with acting on impulses. Commenting on his work, Votipka said, "I think we wake up in the morning wanting to feel something. We want to feel at peace with the choices we make and affirmed in the way loved ones judge these choices. Sometimes being yourself can be an uphill battle, especially when you are growing up. As the characters in Serpentine reach for the connections they want, they are confronted by forces telling them who to be and how to be."
Serpentine has been recommended by the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival to be performed at the Kennedy Center this upcoming spring and is also a candidate for recognition by the national Michael Kanin Playwriting Awards Program, which honors student-written plays in order to encourage future playwrights.
Other Muhlenberg students who have been recognized for their work in theatre include Steve Balliet '10, Kamila Jacob '11, Anna Gothard '11 , Natalie Cutcher '10, Wilma Cespedes-Rivera '09, David Bass-Clark '10, Collin Hooker-Haring '10, and Liz Wasser '08.
These actors are all nominees for the Region II Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship, which rewards outstanding actors wishing to pursue higher education. Due to their massive amount of talent, it is obvious that all of the nominees are all viable candidates.
Last semester, this program featured a play called "Serpentine," written by Brendon Votipka '09. But even though Votipka is just a junior here, he is not exactly a "new voice" in the world of playwriting.
His first piece, titled Common Ground was honored in 2004, when Votipka received the International Thespian Society Playworks Competition Award. It has since been published by Playscripts INC. and produced nearly 100 times by different companies. Since this extremely successful debut, many of his works, including Nows, Upstairs Bedroom and Every Time I Fall have been performed by many different theatre companies, schools and training programs.
Set to a soundtrack of popular rock music, Serpentine, is a mature teen drama that explores the emotional, sexual and social pressures that adolescents must confront every day.
The play focuses on a teenage boy, his sister, and his best friend as they face the consequences that come along with acting on impulses. Commenting on his work, Votipka said, "I think we wake up in the morning wanting to feel something. We want to feel at peace with the choices we make and affirmed in the way loved ones judge these choices. Sometimes being yourself can be an uphill battle, especially when you are growing up. As the characters in Serpentine reach for the connections they want, they are confronted by forces telling them who to be and how to be."
Serpentine has been recommended by the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival to be performed at the Kennedy Center this upcoming spring and is also a candidate for recognition by the national Michael Kanin Playwriting Awards Program, which honors student-written plays in order to encourage future playwrights.
Other Muhlenberg students who have been recognized for their work in theatre include Steve Balliet '10, Kamila Jacob '11, Anna Gothard '11 , Natalie Cutcher '10, Wilma Cespedes-Rivera '09, David Bass-Clark '10, Collin Hooker-Haring '10, and Liz Wasser '08.
These actors are all nominees for the Region II Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship, which rewards outstanding actors wishing to pursue higher education. Due to their massive amount of talent, it is obvious that all of the nominees are all viable candidates.