Student Profile: Tara Kromer

Tara Kromer is pursuing her MFA in Theatre for Young Audience with a concentration in Directing. She recently attended the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, which was her first theatrical competition. "At first this prospect was very intimidating, but because the respondents at the festival were so helpful and constructive with their critiques of my work, I found it to be very rewarding and quite the learning experience!"

Tara directed Christopher Durang’s For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls in the Fall One Act Festival. Faculty member Be Boyd was her advisor on the project and told her about the KCACTF Director’s Fellowship Program. For this competition Tara chose a scene from Lee Blessings’ Independence to cast, conceptualize, and direct.

Tara was also the Assistant Director for last semester’s production of Sideshow and part of her job was to do the dramaturgical work. Earl Weaver, faculty member and Sideshow director, nominated her for the dramaturgy competition at KCACTF. For this part of the festival, Tara was assigned two new ten minute plays to do all of the required dramaturgical research to help the director and actors do a staged reading.

The festival was exhausting and Tara stayed very busy but her hard work paid off in the end. She was awarded runner up in both directing and dramaturgy. She is excited to compete in not only KCACTF again. “I feel that in the coming years I will be even better prepared and really hope to make it to the National Festival in Washington!

By: Elle Sullivan