The play "Murphy's Law," written and directed by Dr. Kenneth Stilson, a professor of acting and directing at Southeast Missouri State University, was performed at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival-Region 6 in Shreveport, La., on Feb. 27.

This was the first time a Southeast production was invited to be performed at the festival, and the performance was a success, Stilson said.

The play won two awards. "Murphy's Law" won an award for original comedy and Southeast got an award for production of new works, since it is an original script.

"I have a very biased opinion," Stilson said. "But I would say we had one of the best productions there."

He said the cast and crew were on top of their game. They had four hours prior to their performance to set up, but it took them only two and a half hours. They used the rest of the time to practice.

There were more than 1,000 people in the audience. On average, there were 75 people in the audience when it was performed at the River Campus, Stilson said.

Despite the time constraints and a much larger audience than they were used to, the cast and crew handled themselves well, he said. Stilson said they acted as the future professionals that he knows they are and that he could not be more proud.

"We looked very, very good amongst the productions who were there," Stilson said.

Their hard work and preparation did not go unnoticed. The audience responded positively to the play, Stilson said.

Audience members could not contain their laughter as they watched the dark comedy, said senior musical theatre major Kyle Morr, who played Murphy. He said there were several times they had to hold a scene, while remaining in character, to wait for the audience to stop laughing. He estimated the pauses added 15-20 minutes to their performance time.

Morr said witnessing the audience respond to them perform the material in such a positive way is something he'll never forget.

"The crowd went insane," he said. "They loved it."

Not only did the audience laugh, they also gave a standing ovation once the play was finished.

"Even as the lights were going black," Stilson said, "even before it got to the blackout at the final curtain, the audience jumped to their feet, and gave it a standing ovation even before the blackout, and that's not common. So it was received very, very well by the audience."

The audience was not the only ones to enjoy the play. Critics from all over the country, who were at the festival, gave the play good reviews.

In addition to performing, Stilson, the cast and the crew attended master classes, meetings and productions by other universities.

There were master classes on many different subjects that include design, acting, directing and auditioning.

"Name a subject and there are different master classes that are going on at the festival," Stilson said. "Primarily, that's what's going on and it's a full day."

Tara Meyer, costume designer and a senior studying theater design, said she went to several of the classes. One of the master classes she attended covered how to make fake blood. She took another class about costume rendering.

"It was very helpful for me," Meyer said.

The classes were taught by professionals within the field.

"I got a different perspective on working in the real world," she said. "I got a lot of good advice."

Morr said the festival is a good place to network and make friends.

"It was one of the best experiences of my life," he said.

Many members of the cast and crew said they are proud of the work they did as individuals and a team. They received positive feedback from their peers, the audience and critics, and the production is being considered for a national award from the festival. Stilson said he does not know when a decision will be made because productions from other regional festivals are in consideration as well.