In early November of last year, West Virginia hosted the SETC state screening audition. Students from around the state gathered for a 60-90 second audition in front of three professional theatre adjudicators.  Each student was given a score, based on their audition, that would be used to select the best of the state to be ‘invited’ to attend the larger audition at the SouthEastern Theatre Conference held in March in Chattanooga, TN.  Eight West Liberty students attended and auditioned the state screenings, with five of those scoring high enough to be invited to the SETC audition, five of only fourteen from the entire state.

On March 3, 2015, the five Hilltop Players (Maggie P. Dillon, Alexandria N. Glotfelty, Geena M. Diomedi, Alex E. Franke, and Elijah G. Boyles (who had the second highest score in the state) loaded into a car for the ten hour drive to Chattanooga, TN.

West Liberty University is proud to be represented so well at this regional conference.  “To have five students from a small program like WLU’s is a huge source of validation.  If more than half of your students ranked this high, it really speaks to the strength of the program.  We have hard working faculty, supportive administrative teams, and eager and dedicated students.”

While at SETC, students will be given 60-90 seconds to audition for hundreds of casting directors from all over the 10-state Southeast region.  If they impress a casting director, the student may be offered a “call-back” where the student meets one-on-one with a theatre company to audition further for professional work in their company.  Also, student have access to workshops, presentations, and additional professional opportunities through a “job fair” and a “job board”.

We congratulate these students on earning to this honor.  Watch out Chattanooga, the hilltoppers are coming.

“SETC is the strongest and broadest network of theatre practitioners in the United States.  We provide extensive resources and year-round opportunities for our constituents. Our services, publications, and products contribute significantly to the careers of emerging artists, seasoned professionals and academicians. SETC energizes the practical, intellectual and creative profile of theatre in America.” – setc.org

Elijah Boyles, one of the five students attending SETC auditions in Chattanooga.