MACT

AACTFest 2025 was held at the Hoyt Sherman Place Theatre in Des Moines, June 25 – 28.

Here are the awards that were presented on Saturday night:

• Peoples Choice Awards:
  • Favorite Performer – Jim Wadzinski as Morrie in Tuesdays With Morrie
  • Favorite Moment – Bostyn Elswick for acknowledging (or not acknowledging) the bat during Natural Shocks
  • Favorite Show – Tuesdays With Morrie
• Backstage Awards:
  • Best to Work With – Time Stands Still
  • Outstanding Service Rendered in Torrential Conditions – Mike McTeague of Quannapowitt Players
• Special Achievement – Choreography – Avinash (Ebong Theatrix – Bethesda, MD)
• Special Recognition – Vocal Direction – Steffanie Stafford (Forever Plaid – Absolute Theatre – Rochester, MN)
• Outstanding Achievement:
  • Featured Role – Jennifer Westergom as Drew (Happy Hour at Pink Palace – Highlands Lakeside Theatre – Sebring, FL)
  • Featured Role – Jessie Worden as Bradley (Men On Boats – Des Moines Playhouse – Des Moines, IA)
  • Supporting Role – Margaret Macbeth as Alice (Happy Hour at Pink Palace – Highlands Lakeside Theatre – Sebring, FL)
  • Supporting Role – Jim Barton as Richard Ehlrich (Time Stands Still – Outstanding Service Rendered in Torrential Conditions – Reading, MA)
  • Prop Design – Lo Stone (Not sure, but I think this is from Men On Boats – Des Moines Playhouse – Des Moines, IA)
  • Set Design – Ruth Neeman (Time Stands Still – Quannapowitt Players – Reading, MA)
  • Costume Design – Rhonda Hendrickson (Silent Sky – Stagecrafters – Auburn Hills, MI)
  • Sound Design – Mark Hansen (Forever Plaid – Absolute Theatre – Rochester, MN)
  • Lighting Design – Marianna Chebotaryova (Constellations – Theatre33 – Bellevue, WA)
  • Ensemble Performance – Love, Loss and What I Wore (Verona Area Community Theatre – Verona, WI)
  • Leading Role – Bostyn Elswick as Angela (Natural Shocks – Sopris Theatre – Glenwood Springs, CO)
  • Leading Role – Jamie Fair as Frank Gulick (Tone Clusters – Tupelo Community Theatre – Tupelo, MS)
  • Direction – Jonathan W. Martin (Tone Clusters – Tupelo Community Theatre – Tupelo, MS)
• Production Nominees:
  • Tone Clusters (Tupelo Community Theatre – Tupelo, MS)
  • Love, Loss, and What I Wore (Verona Area Community Theatre – Verona, WI)
  • Time Stands Still (Quannapowitt Players – Reading, MA)
  • Natural Shocks (Sopris Theatre – Glenwood Springs, CO)

Excellence in Production: Tone Clusters (Tupelo Community Theatre – Tupelo, MS)

Editorial:

This was my sixth AACTFest. I’ve attended Region V festivals for many cycles. I’ve attended every MACTFest, except one, since 2001. I’ve attended state festivals in Wisconsin and Iowa. This was certainly not my first festival. However …

The adjudications at this festival were the worst of any festival I’ve ever attended. They talked about the author. They talked about the book. They even talked about the setup. But they said very little about the performance. Very little to help the cast and crew improve.

For anyone that was at the festival (or not), please don’t ask me to explain these awards. I can’t. For example, everyone I talked to expected Tuesdays With Morrie to be the “best show”. It didn’t even make the adjudicators’ top four. My opinion is that the awards presented reflect the low quality of the adjudicators and adjudications.