South Dakota State University Theatre and Dance’s fall 2024 production of “Fuddy Meers” by David Lindsay-Abaire has been selected to be presented at the 57th annual Region 5 Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival Conference in Des Moines, Iowa, on Jan. 21. 

The production was one of four selected to be presented at the conference from a seven-state region. This is the first SDSU production ever selected for the festival. “We are thrilled and honored that ‘Fuddy Meers’ has been selected as an invited production at the festival this year,” cast member Jacob Stevens said. 

To help defray the costs of taking the production to Des Moines, a one-night-only fundraising performance of the show will be presented at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 14, at the Oscar Larson Theatre in the Oscar Larson Performing Arts Center on the SDSU campus. All tickets will be $10 and can be purchased online or two hours prior to curtain at the center, starting at 5 p.m. 

The Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival is a national theater program involving 18,000 students annually from colleges and universities across the country. Since its inception, the festival has given more than 400,000 college theater students the opportunity to have their work critiqued, improve their dramatic skills and receive national recognition for excellence. More than 16 million theatergoers have attended approximately 10,000 festival productions nationwide. 

In January and February, eight regional conferences showcase the finest regional productions, offer workshops and celebrate students’ work. The seven states comprising Region 5 include Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota and South Dakota. 

“Fuddy Meers” was produced on the SDSU campus this past October, when two responders came to see the production and gave a response to the cast, designers and crew after the performance. The responders then made a recommendation to the regional selection committee, which met in early December to decide which productions to invite. 

“We were notified almost immediately after the show that we were being held for consideration, so we saved the scenery, costumes — everything,” production director Jim Wood said. “Then we had to wait until the last week of classes to find out. Everyone was so excited when we finally got the word that we are going. When classes start in January, we have one week to get the set back up and practice for the tour — it’s going to be a crazy, exciting week!” 

To prepare the show for traveling to the conference, the team will practice setting up and tearing down the set in addition to making slight adjustments so that the production can fit into the new venue. The theater in Des Moines is smaller than the Oscar Larson Theatre, so some adjustments will need to be made. Since it has also been several months since the last performance, the company planned one more performance in the Oscar Larson Theatre to help raise funds to offset the cost of taking the production to Des Moines. 

“We are taking 29 students and five faculty, plus renting a truck to take the set down, so this will be quite the undertaking,” Wood said. “It’s not often that I make a sports analogy, but this is the theater equivalent of making it to the playoffs.”
While the original production at SDSU was met with good reviews, student cast members are excited to have the chance to perform the show again — especially to an enthusiastic crowd of theater students and faculty. 

“Playing the role of Limping Man in this incredible production was an unforgettable experience, and I couldn’t be prouder of the talented cast and team that brought this absurd, yet heartwarming story to life,” Stevens said. “Working on ‘Fuddy Meers’ has been incredibly transformative as a performer and as a person. This experience pushed me out of my comfort zone and taught me the value of vulnerability and authenticity in performance and life. The bonds I formed with the cast and crew have taught me the importance of community, and the lessons I’ve learned from this production will stay with me long after the final curtain falls in Des Moines.” 

“Fuddy Meers” features one harrowing and hilarious turn after another on a roller coaster ride through the day of an amnesiac trying to decipher her fractured life. Claire is abducted by a man who claims her husband wants to kill her. Audiences will view the ensuing mayhem through the kaleidoscope of Claire’s world. 

The show contains mature language, live gunfire and themes related to domestic violence. 

The production is directed by Wood, artistic director of SDSU Theatre and Dance. Members of the cast include: Claire Booth, Jacob Stevens, Morgan Foote, Gerrit VonEye, Alex Strawn, Carl Steinlicht and Kennedy Foster.