The Saddleback College Forensics Team placed 3rd at the 15th Annual American Readers Theatre Championship Tournament on May 2-3. The American Readers Theatre Association draws the top Readers Theatres from around the country. The tournament offers several unique awards and nominations from entertainment industry officials, theatre experts, and communication experts. In 2013, Saddleback placed 4th and 1st at the Readers Theatre Championships. Saddleback has established itself as one of the top Readers Theatre Colleges in the country. Lone Star College-North Harris placed 1st, Orange Coast College 2nd, Saddleback 3rd, and Mt. San Antonio College 4th.
Coach Lucas Ochoa stated, “Every year the competition seems to increase in difficulty. There are so many talented students and directors across the country. To have my show place 3rd at this tournament and win a Gold Medal at Nationals is incredibly humbling. This year I decided to tackle a controversial and relevant topic: Police in the U.S. The challenge of this show was to discuss a heated issue without offending anyone. For over a year I worked on constructing a script through interviews with police officers, the department of homeland security, and current media pundits.
This was by far the scariest show I directed. Through the hard work of students: Taylor Stickle, Dante Johnson, Adam Duarte, and Scott Lankford, I believe we accomplished a thought-provoking and deep look into the world of corruption and power within our police force. I’m also proud of my mentor and colleague, Larry Radden. I will continue to seek his advice and guidance with Readers Theatre. His show, Prima Opus also had a tremendous showing at this tournament. I don’t know what I’ll be directing next year. I have 2-3 topics in mind but it all depends on what literature I can find and where my passion leads me. Whatever happens, I’ll continue to help Saddleback College any way I can. Ultimately, I take pride in Readers Theatre but the goal will always be to bring home a National Championship to Saddleback. I truly believe we will do it. It’s only a matter of time.”
Coach Larry Radden stated, “I’m extremely proud of the success of all seven of our students. Prima Opus gave it the best run possible, and I love and appreciate those young ladies. Dirt had such a prolific and timely argument and I’m so happy for Lucas and his cast. Dirt made it to Finals. This was a very difficult tournament. The awards are beautiful.”
The Results:
Prima Opus– Semi Finalist Cast: Katie Rochefort, Maggie Shephard, Sami Recchia
Best Script Nomination
Best Set Design Nomination
Best Actress Nomination- Sami Recchia
Dirt-3rd Place Cast: Taylor Stickle, Scott Lankford, Adam Duarte, Dante Johnson
Winner of Best Ensemble Award
Best Blocking Nomination
Best Costume Nomination
Best Script Nomination
Best Actress Nomination-Taylor Stickle
Best Actor Nomination- Adam Duarte
The Saddleback Forensics Team started in the 1970s and prides itself on offering students the ability to create innovative arguments for future writing and speaking engagements to strengthen their critical thinking skills and to better communicate with others.
Located in Mission Viejo, Saddleback College provides quality higher education and training to the greater south Orange County community. Having served more than 500,000 students since 1968, Saddleback College offers over 300 degree and certificate programs to help students reach their personal, career, and educational goals. For more information, please visit www.saddleback.edu and for Fine Arts information, please visit www.saddleback.edu/arts.
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Nina Welch
Fine Arts Public Information Officer
Saddleback College
28000 Marguerite Parkway
Mission Viejo, CA 92692
